I sat up. My vision swam and my stomach rolled unpleasantly—perhaps an aftereffect of whatever he’d drugged me with. Through a small window above the counter, I could see tussock extending into the horizon with no other buildings in sight. But closer, right outside, was a four-wheeled motorcycle with a blond man sitting astride it. He had broad shoulders and tidy hair. Recognition set in an instant before he glanced around and made eye contact.

Tyler.

His mouth dropped open, and his frame went rigid. His mouth moved, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying.

I threw myself backward, trying to get out of sight because I instinctively knew that this wasn’t good. Tyler wasn’t part of any rescue party. He was the one who’d brought me here. His eyes, burning into mine, had been cold and assessing. No sign of his usual gentle, friendly demeanor. My back hit the wall and I curled into a ball. There was nothing nearby I could use to protect myself, and even if there had been, my hands and ankles were still bound. The door crashed open, and Tyler strode in, his expression dark.

“You weren’t supposed to see me.” His voice grumbled like a thundercloud. I generally thought of Tyler as a nice, levelheaded guy, but it seemed I didn’t know him at all.

“What do you want?” I asked, shakier than I’d have liked.

He rolled his eyes. “What every guy always wants. To get the girl.” He stalked closer, watching me the way I imagined a shark would a fish right before it became dinner. “I had everything planned perfectly. When Blair got free, it put a kink in my plans, but I had it figured out. I was going to find you and be the hero. You just had to ruin it.” He shook his head, but I didn’t care, I was too relieved about what he’d said about my brother.

“Blair is okay?”

He ignored my question. “Fuck, Kennedy. All you had to do was lie still and play the damsel in distress, and everything would have been fine.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Of course you don’t.” He huffed. “You never have. First, I thought it was because you’d known me as a kid and needed to see that I’d grown up and was ready to settle down, so I got a girlfriend and hoped that would do the trick. But you were still blind about what was right in front of you, and the bitch wasn’t as dumb as I’d hoped. She knew I wanted you, and she did everything she could to keep me away from you. I had to end it before she said anything to make you suspicious.”

“You broke up?” I asked, hoping he meant that and not that he’d hurt the poor girl.