I leaned close enough to taste her lips, and the steady racket of voices receded. Only Alex and I existed in that moment, standing on the precipice of simmering hell. I think we both knew it was coming. Unable to resist, I pressed my mouth to hers and breathed her in.

“Before you know it, we’ll be in my truck driving to God knows where. Maybe we won’t fucking stop, but at least it’ll be you and me together.” I inched back and stared into her eyes. “I meant what I said at your house.”

“What was that?”

“About marrying you. Eventually, we’ll make it there. We’ll find a space that’s ours where the only struggle we’ll face is keeping our hands off each other.” I couldn’t help but smile. “Though I think that’s a fight we’ll never win.”

Her worried eyes veered to that locked door again. “I don’t wanna lose you,” she whispered. “Zach can torture me every day for the rest of my life, and it won’t break me like losing you will.”

“I’m not going anywhere. Everything’s gonna be okay. Do you trust me?”

“Of course I do, but…” She drew in a jittery breath.

“What is it?”

“Please don’t hate me.”

A heavy sense of dread took root in my stomach. “What happened in there?”

“Something you’re not going to like.” She lifted her head just as Shelton and Nate approached the door, keys jingling. “Get me out of these cuffs!” she said with an alarming note of urgency.

Fuck. This did not sound good.

As they went through the various keys on that ring, I unbuckled Alex’s wrists, and we stepped down from the platform. They kicked the door wide open, and obscenities filled the air. I pushed Alex behind me as they marched in our direction.

“Where is he?” Shelton demanded, his mouth a thin, dangerous line. This was the most pissed off I’d seen him.

Acting fast, and on pure instinct, I grabbed Alex, one hand clamped around her chin, the other gouging her shoulder, and forced her to her knees. My hand slid from her chin and wrapped around her neck. “What the fuck did you do?”

The crowd spoke in hushed, excited whispers. Maybe, just fucking maybe, if I could give them a show and convince Shelton I’d had nothing to do with Zach’s disappearance—which was too fucking true to be funny—we could get out of here in one piece.

“I asked you a question!”

“I let him go!” she said.

Shelton punched a crate, and everyone within ten feet of him jumped. Including me.