Page 135 of Psync
Eli sent Juniper a few pictures of Osaka Castle, telling her to expect a ton of presents when he got back. He considered telling her what was actually going on but decided against it. When Haruka pulled his head out of his ass, it would be a massive pain to get Juniper to calm down if she found out his boyfriend had kidnapped him.
It occurred to Eli that a normal reaction to being locked up was fear. He’d felt plenty of it the last time.
But no, Eli wasn’t the one who needed to be afraid right now. If Haruka didn’t back down, Eli was fully prepared to make his life a living hell.
His stomach growled.
Eli poked it and said, “Quiet, tummy, we’re winning this thing. Just hold on a little longer.”
He looked at his phone, and it told him it was only a bit past noon. How long could Haruka hold out before caving? A few hours? A few days? The man was stubborn, but he had serious issues with Eli not eating. Which one was he more obsessed with? Eli eating, or Eli not getting kidnapped?
His stomach growled again.
Fuck this.
He put an ear to the door, but it was only a precaution. Since Haruka wasn’t spamming his phone, it meant he was probably in a meeting.
He dismantled his barricade and stepped into the hallway. He grabbed his wallet, phone, and the cute shoulder bag filled with fancy stationery he’d bought for Alice.
He stopped counting the stairs as he went down them. All he knew was there were way too goddamned many of them, but he couldn’t afford to take the elevator and alert security that he was on his way. Haruka would pay when this was all over. He didn’t know how, but he knew it would involve coffee.
Every few floors, he took a short break so he could catch his breath—and so he could writefuck youon a piece of paper to leave on the landing.
When he finally reached the main floor, he sat on the last step and concentrated on breathing until the corners of his eyes stopped popping with little sparks. He needed to go back to his old gym routine. His nose wrinkled when he remembered who helped him come up with his old routine. Stupid Ash.
He hoisted himself up and put on his game face. Then he opened the door and bolted for the exit.
As expected, he was surrounded in seconds.
He took a deep breath and crossed his fingers, hoping his boyfriend was exactly as obsessed with Eli as he thought he was.
“Excuse me, but you’re between me and the place I want to go.” Eli moved toward the door, and the security guard in front of him took a step back.
“Please forgive me, sir,” the guard stammered.
Eli took another step forward. The guard took another step back, then another as Eli kept going.
In his peripheral vision, Eli could see the other guards throwing looks at one another as Eli backed the lone guard against the door. There was less than an inch between them when he moved forward again. The guard pushed the door open, and Eli stepped outside.
“I’m sorry, that was incredibly rude of me. But your boss gave you instructions that were impossible to follow.” Eli bowed low. “It’s not your fault. I promise I won’t let him fire you. What’s your name?”
“Kamakura Keiji.”
Eli watched as Kamakura’s eyes darted between Eli and the other guards filing outside.
For a moment, it looked like one of them was about to get brave, so Eli said quickly, “Trust me, he meant it when he told you not to touch me. He’ll be angrier about that one than letting me go.” Eli bit his lip because he wasn’t entirely certain it was true.
Nara sounded like a great place for lunch. But how was he going to get there?
“Kamakura-san . . . do you have a car?”
“Yes, but—”
“I know you’re going to follow me when I leave. Wouldn’t it be easier to do so if we were in the same car? I’ll even let you drive.”
Kamakura looked like he was questioning every single one of his life choices when he sighed and said, “Follow me.”
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