Chapter Three

Icouldn't believe the nerve of this man.

The sparkle of amusement in his eyes, and the way he was pressing his lips together, told me he was trying not to laugh.

It made me like him.

I shouldn't, but I did.

He was taking what was a very stressful situation for me—my first time kidnapping someone—and was turning it into something almost fun. It was weird, but it almost felt like we were on a date, rather than in the middle of a kidnapping.

Not that I had a lot of kidnapping experience. I'd done this exactly one time… this time. Still, I didn't think we were supposed to be smiling and having fun together.

Alpha wolves were notoriously difficult, and never in a million years would I have expected to click with one. Especially this one.

Beckett was one of the most difficult wolves to get close to. He was known for being cold, calculating, and willing to make the hard choices no one else wanted to make.

I'd compiled these details as part of my research, so that I'd know what to expect while holding him hostage.

Getting caught was a given in my plan. There was no way around it. No one could keep an alpha captive indefinitely, and his pack would find us. I'd needed to know how long I had before that happened.

Plus, I was curious what would happen once I'd been dragged back to his pack, and they made an example of me. My research taught me that my punishment would be appropriate. Beckett made fair decisions, but he wasn't known for being merciful.

So who the heck was this man with the beautiful eyes and sense of humor sitting in my passenger seat? I snuck a peek at him from the corner of my eye.

Maybe the wolf I'd meant to kidnap had already been taken… by aliens. Because Beckett couldn't be the one making me want to smile when I should be crapping my pants over how badly my plan was going.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Beckett's words were unexpectedly soft, almost velvety as they fell from his kissable lips.

My heart lurched. Surely I hadn't been looking at his lips thinking about how kissable they would be.

Of course not.

Because that would be insane.

"You're not what I expected." The truth slipped out, and I immediately wished I could pull the words back in.

"Is that so?" His eyes crinkled at the corners and a smile flirted around the edge of his mouth.

"No. I mean, yes," I answered, completely flustered.

Sagging back into my seat, I stared out the window, trying to figure out my next step.

All my careful planning had fallen apart. At that point, I wasn't sure how to navigate the situation I was in. Maybe I should just call it quits, because how on earth could I make sure he wouldn't escape during his bathroom break?

I'd seen enough movies with a kidnapping plot to know how this worked. In fact, I'd streamed dozens of them the last few months, you know, for research. Once you got in the bathroom, you simply squeezed out the window and ran until you could blend into a crowd. Then you asked for a phone, or ducked into another shop to hide.

Basically, the kidnapped person was outta there before the dumb kidnapper figured out they were missing. And let's face it, I was incredibly bad at kidnapping. There were a lot of things I was bad at, but I really sucked at this. Heck, if they gave out awards for crimes, they wouldn't even have given me a participation trophy.

Blowing out a long sigh, I turned into the auto parts store's parking lot and eyed Beckett. There was no way I could leave him in the car, so he was going to have to go with me. Beckett didn't raise a fuss, and we headed inside and straight to the counter.

"How can I help, bro?" The clerk focused on Beckett, dismissing me as though I didn't exist. Jerk.

Beckett took it in stride. "I've got a taillight out. Can you look up the part for me?"

I didn't need him to do that. They probably thought I was just a dumb girl who didn't know anything about vehicles. I bet they'd both be shocked to learn I changed my oil myself.

Clearing my throat, I rattled off the make and model of my vehicle, and waited while the guy looked it up. To his credit, Beckett stepped aside, clearly aware I wanted to be in charge here.

"Right. The bulb is on that wall back there." The guy seemed bored as he gestured in the general direction of the bulb.

Beckett followed without a word as I moved to the back of the store and grabbed the correct package off the wall. Marching back to the counter, I placed the small package on the counter and took out my card to pay. The cashier ran my card, then handed it back to me with the receipt.

"Have a nice night." He nodded at Beckett, still acting like I didn't exist, and I resisted the urge to make a childish face at him as I took my part and left.

At the SUV, I pushed the button for the lift gate and stared at the light.

It couldn't be that hard. I spotted the place where I could unscrew a couple of bolts and grabbed my little tool bag.

"Nifty bag. Need help?" Beckett asked, leaning against the vehicle.

"Nope. Feel free to just stand there and look pretty." I sarcastically batted my eyelashes before taking out my screwdriver.

Focusing on the screws, I took out one, then the other, and wiggled the blown light free. I sensed Beckett watching me and raised my gaze to meet his stare.

My breath froze in my lungs. The warmth in his eyes caused a fuzzy excitement to bubble up in my belly and chest.

No, no, no. I couldn't let myself be attracted to him.

Beckett reached out and plucked the light housing from my hand. He was so close that the heat radiating from him was warming my blood. I swallowed hard, fighting the urge to take a step back.

Pinned between him and my SUV, I couldn't help but feel trapped. To my surprise, rather than feeling afraid, his closeness caused my heart to race and an unfamiliar hunger to flare in my belly.

"I know you can do this without my help," he said in a low, husky voice as his fingers expertly twisted the housing to remove the socket the bulb rested in, "but I don't like being useless."

Every joke and snappy comeback drained from my body. Taking a shaky breath, I pushed the new bulb into place.

"Thank you." I whispered the words under my breath, and his eyes narrowed.

Beckett's gaze traced my lips before darting back to mine. "You're welcome."

I never thought replacing a taillight could turn into such a sexy moment, and I was one of those women who watched food porn videos. The type where hot guys made delicious desserts videos that made me wish I could be the next ingredient.

With his body so close to mine, all I could think about was the size of his large calloused hands, the heat in his expression… and that I shouldn't be thinking thoughts like these.

Needing to diffuse the situation, I inhaled deeply and let the breath out slowly.

I dropped my eyes to the light as he fit it back into place. "Where did you learn to do these things?"

"Family. We all help and teach every chance we get." His words punctured my heart like an arrow.

I didn't have a family to fall back on.

"And you?" he asked.

"Mostly through online videos."

"There's nothing wrong with that." His voice was gentle and the backs of my eyes burned.

"I imagine it's important for the pack to help each other." I allowed myself to wonder, for just a second, what it would feel like to have a family, support, and love.

Giving my head a shake, I tried to clear my mind. I needed to stop torturing myself unless I wanted to risk breaking down in front of him. With tears stinging my eyes and the aching sensation in my throat, I knew a breakdown was imminent.

"It is." His hand grazed mine as he took the screwdriver from me.

Unable to meet his gaze, I picked up the screw. Putting the metal into the hole, I twisted it a few times before he took over with the screwdriver. He was a wolf, and the fact he'd no doubt sensed my sadness made me wish I could become invisible.

"Want me to go press the brake?" Beckett asked.

I nodded, hoping a new bulb was all that was needed to fix the light. A moment later, the engine turned over, and the light came on. My flash of excitement over the repaired light was quickly dashed as the vehicle pulled forward and away from me.

Beckett was stealing my SUV.

My heart thundered against my ribcage and I sprinted after him. How could I have been so stupid?

He stopped at the road, then pulled out, driving toward the gas station at the corner. I watched in shock as he pulled into the gas station. Parking outside the little store, he hurried inside, only pausing to shake the keys at me and grin.

I raced down the sidewalk. If he hadn't distracted me with his gorgeous body, I wouldn't have been such an idiot. I should've known he'd try to escape, but I hadn't thought he'd take my vehicle!

Jogging into the gas station, I looked around for him, but Beckett was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, did a tall guy just come in here?" I asked the attendant, who nodded and gestured toward the bathroom.

I rushed over. He had my keys, so if there was a window in there, he could take my SUV and disappear forever.

"He hasn't come out yet?" I asked, and the attendant shook his head, his brows furrowing like I'd lost my mind.

Maybe I had. But who could blame me under the circumstances?

To my surprise, Beckett did not climb out the bathroom window. I glanced at him as he walked beside me out of the gas station. Reaching the SUV, he held up the keys, and I snatched them out of his hand in a swift motion. The corners of his mouth twitched as though he were trying to keep from laughing, but I ignored him and made my way to the driver's seat.

I eyed him warily, waiting to see what he would do. Like a good captive, he walked around and climbed into the passenger side. This had to be the most upside-down kidnapping ever if my captive was climbing into my vehicle of his own free will.

It made no sense. I tried to hang onto my anger over him ditching me at the parts store, but it was an effort in futility. After all, when you had to go, you had to go, right?

Beckett hadn't run off when he'd had the chance, so if escaping was his plan, he'd failed spectacularly. And he definitely should've been trying to get away from me, yet he wasn't.

In fact, he almost seemed delighted to be my captive, which made this whole situation even weirder. Maybe he knew his pack was already tracking us and that was where Beckett's unbothered attitude was coming from.

Clearing my thoughts, I focused on the one thing I knew for sure: I needed to get my head back in the game. Beckett had me all twisted up inside, and that could be a problem.

After all, I wasn't doing this for me. There were too many lives at stake for me to get distracted.

Once inside, our gazes met over the center console and I cleared my throat. "Are you hungry?"

"All right. Fess up." Beckett's eyes sparkled. "This has to be your first time kidnapping someone, right?"

I shoved the keys into the ignition before crossing my arms. "It's your first time being kidnapped and you've only seen this stuff on TV. So maybe this is how real kidnappers handle things! Besides, I don't want you to starve to death… or worse, get hangry."

He arched a dark eyebrow at me. "Getting hangry is worse than dying? Noted."

I fought the urge to laugh, but the next words from his lips had all humor fading like the air had been let out of a balloon.

"So will kidnapping me be worth it when it comes time for you to face the music? Let's be real. The cops, my pack, and the world aren't going to look kindly on you once this gets out." His voice was soft, almost pitying. "What could you possibly hope to gain from this?"

I froze, unable to form a response. In my mind's eye, I remembered writing out long lists in my journal, detailing the plan and how I hoped it would conclude, relying heavily on my movie research. I'd known my hopes were unrealistic, and I'd carefully avoided thinking about the uncomfortable truth of how this would end for me.

Kidnapping anyone was bad, but I'd spent way too much of my life working long hours, just to lose all the progress I'd made. I was in a darned if I did, and darned if I didn't situation.

All because life wasn't fair, and it definitely wasn't kind.

My throat tightened, and I blinked hard against the sting of tears.

I'm not going to cry in front of Beckett, I repeated like a mantra in my mind, refusing to be vulnerable.

Opening my mouth, I tried to come up with the right words on the fly. "It sounds like you're already getting hangry. We definitely need to stop for food."

I was more than a little relieved that I sounded composed, as though unbothered by his words. Meanwhile, my guts were tying themselves in knots—and not in the warm and fuzzy way they had earlier.

In the blink of an eye, he'd reminded me there would be no happy ending for me when this was over. Pushing aside my depressing thoughts, I focused my attention on driving.

"I didn't mean to upset you," Beckett whispered, no doubt picking up on my dark mood.

But I barely heard him. In my mind, I was a million miles away, thinking about the possibility of being arrested. I was doing this because I felt it was justified, since it was for the greater good. Besides, what was more justifiable than saving countless lives?

However, that excuse wasn't likely to save my bacon when I was arrested. Unfortunately, I didn't have the luxury of time, which was needed when things went through the proper channels. The only upside was that I wouldn't be alive long enough to go through the stress of a trial.

"I remember you, you know."

Like magic, Beckett's words snapped me out of my faraway thoughts.

"No you don't." My response sounded defensive even to my own ears.

There was no way he remembered me. We'd crossed paths so long ago and I was a different person now, in every possible way.

"Lilou. You were best friends with…" I heard his sharp intake of breath and understood it immediately.

Saying her name brought him the same pain it brought me.

He does remember me.

Clenching my teeth, I gripped the steering wheel tighter. I'd hoped he'd forgotten me. After all, I'd played such an insignificant role in his life and I'd only known him through her. And she'd been gone for so many years now.

I'd assumed I was forgettable enough that Beckett would've long since forgotten who I was and that I existed. Maybe it had been foolish thinking on my part since I'd been best friends with the most important person in his life.

"How about here?" I pulled into the parking lot of a chicken place I didn't frequent, but had heard good things about.

My stomach churned, and I no longer cared in the least about eating. But I desperately wanted to shut him up before he said something that broke the dam and I burst into tears.

Beckett studied me. "Sure, I guess."

"What do you want to eat?" I asked, rolling down my window in front of the drive-thru speaker.

"I've never eaten here, so I don't know what to order." He leaned over the console, peering out my window to see the menu board.

His shoulder brushed against me, causing butterflies to beat around inside my already quivering stomach. If this was a date, I would've leaned forward to steal a quick kiss from the gorgeous wolf.

But it wasn't a date, and I turned my attention to the board, and the chicken noodle soup caught my eye. Maybe I could eat that without upsetting my stomach.

"I'm getting soup."

"That sounds good. I'll eat that too."

"Surely you eat more than soup." I shot him a quizzical glance.

His eyebrows lifted. "Are you commenting on my weight or my physique?"

"No, of course not." I blushed. "You're a wolf, and you have a higher caloric need. That's just science."

Wolves needed a minimum of five thousand calories per day thanks to their insanely fast metabolism. A bowl of soup wasn't going to keep him full very long.

He chuckled, letting me know he'd been joking.

I blew out a weak laugh. "Sorry. I need to loosen up, huh?"

As someone who'd been teased and told I needed to eat a burger because of my slim frame, I was a bit sensitive when it came to body shaming. I'd never want to hurt anyone, unintentionally or otherwise.

"Maybe a little." Beckett grinned at me.

Breaking eye contact, I pulled forward and ordered the two soups and a couple extra sandwiches to make sure he'd have ample snacks.

After taking my order and being directed to pull forward, I took a breath. "When we get where we're going?—"

"Which is where?" he asked, interrupting me with an expectant expression.

Did he think I was born yesterday? "I'm not going to tell you that. Not yet."

I rummaged around in my purse, searching for my credit card. Locating it, I passed the card to the person at the window and took the two containers they'd handed to me. With my hands full, I wasn't sure where to sit the soups so I could get the rest of the food.

I handed Beckett one of the Styrofoam soup containers and turned to grab the takeout bag from the window. It was as I held out the bag toward Beckett that I felt it slipping from my right hand and tightened my grip.

Reflexively, my left hand copied the movement, and I squeezed the soup container too. The Styrofoam container broke, sloshing hot soup over my hand and pouring into his lap.

"Ahh!" I yelped.

Beckett tried to push himself off the seat as if that would help him escape the hot food that had already soaked his lap. Grabbing a handful of napkins from the bag, I stammered my apologies and began rubbing at his wrecked pants with the napkins.

"Oh, crap! I'm so sorry! I have no idea how that happened."

Alternating between blotting and then rubbing at the soup, I sent bits of noodles, chicken, and carrots onto the floor. I didn't immediately notice the odd glance he was giving me, and then it took another second to realize what I was rubbing.

Um… him.

His, uh, yeah.

That part.

Heat seared my cheeks, and a flush traveled from my head to toes.

"Oh, uh… sorry?" I squeaked, wishing I could pretend that hadn't just happened.

My heart slammed hard against my chest wall, and blood pounded in my ears as the world began to go dark at the edges. Was it possible to pass out from embarrassment? Or had I simply pushed my body's limits too far that day, both physically and emotionally?

How could I ever look him in the eye again?

"I'll, uh… get you a new soup." The person at the window coughed, and I realized they'd witnessed everything.

Me spilling the soup.

Me rubbing Beckett… down there.

I doubted the moment could get any worse.

Beckett turned to stare out his window, avoiding even looking in my general direction. What was he thinking right now?

Hopefully he didn't think it had been a ploy to get my hands on his…

"Wiener?"

"What?" I half-shouted, half-wheezed, and clutched my chest. My eyes shot to the window where the worker blinked at me, holding up a brown paper bag.

"I'm waiting for soup," I croaked, wondering if the entire universe was laughing at me right now.

"Oh! Wrong order. Must be for the car behind you." The person gestured to the vehicle behind me, and I fought the urge to shrink down in my seat.

I swear that if I wasn't already dying, I'd be dying from embarrassment.