“Tiny thing,” he said. I could barely hear him over the screams of the three guys losing their minds. “Tiny, insolent, inebriated creature.”

“I know,” I said. He began to carry me away from them, back toward the boardwalk. “I’m sorry, it was stupid for me to get myself into that situation…”

“It was,” he said. I could see him now up close, and unless I was losing my mind too, I knew it wasn’t the alcohol—his green eyes were definitely glowing.

“It is clear to me now that I cannot leave you alone,” he said. “You will only hurt yourself!”

“Riley, I—” I felt wretched. Twice now I had needed him to rescue me from situations that I had brought upon myself through my own miserable stupidity. “I’m sorry!”

“I cannot allow you to hurt yourself,” his voice broke as he said the words, as though the mere idea pained him. I looked into his glowing, verdant eyes, hoping in them I would see answers.

Instead, I only saw pain.

“I cannot allow it…”

And then everything faded to black

Chapter Nine: Captivated

I had been dreaming.

Dreaming of Riley once again.

Dreaming of being in his impossibly strong arms as he carried me to a safe, dark place. The dream had already begun to fade, but I clung to it with all my inconsiderable might. I did not want to let that beauty go…

I didn’t know how long I’d been out, but as I came back to consciousness, I turned my head—left and right, up and down. My breath caught in alarm. I could not see! All was darkness, even though I could swear my eyes were open. I raised my trembling fingers to my face and discovered that it was covered with a delicately soft, silken blindfold. It reminded me of an expensive necktie.

As my fingers ghosted over the strange fabric, I discovered a second unnerving circumstance: my wrists were bound. I explored the binding awkwardly with my nose and mouth; it felt like a rope woven from the same silky material. Despite the bewildering context, the texture of it wasn’t altogether unpleasant.

I took a moment to digest my discoveries. Obviously, I was in the process of being (or had already completed the process of being) kidnapped. How long had I been unconscious? I felt like I’d been out for hours, though my head was still spinning somewhat from the four wine coolers I’d had, and the hideous chain of events that transpired afterward.

Oh god, I thought, have I been kidnapped by those creeps from the alley?