And then I took a deep breath, stopped trying to find the right words and just said how I felt. “The first time I met her, I thought the color of her eyes was like something you’d see on a butterfly’s wing. So delicate. She was just this adorable little thing. I wanted to take care of her….” I shook my head at JD, helpless. “I know you want to protect her, mate, but you don’t have to protect her from me because I feel the same way.”

JD stared at me silently. If he was softening at all, he wasn’t showing it.

“She’s just this little thing,” I said, “but God, she’s brave. And she’s special, JD. She’s different to you and me. Her mind, all that electronics stuff…she’s on a whole different level. She makes me want to learn stuff. She’s got me reading this fantasy book and I’m loving it! And I know we’re different: sometimes I wonder what she sees in an idiot like me but we work together, JD. I like fixing things and she likes fixing things and when we talk, it’s like I’ve known her for years. I’m going to this electronics show with her and we’re going to go camping in Scotland and she’s going to take me running around twatting people with a rubber sword….”

I’d never heard myself sound like this before. I was breathless, just talking about her. I glanced up and saw Gina staring at me, her scowl gone for once. Then she quickly looked away. I turned back to JD…and saw the hardness in his eyes flicker.

I took a deep breath. “I need her in my life. I love you, mate, but I love her, too.” I leaned forward even more. “And if we’re going to save her, you and me better get our shit together.”

JD’s big, soulful blue eyes looked right into my soul. I gazed steadily back at him, letting him know I had nothing to hide. At last, he looked away. He didn’t exactly hug me and give me his blessing, but his tone softened a little and that was a start. “First thing we’ve got to do is get out of this goddamn truck,” he rumbled.

The world suddenly shot sideways. The metal wall behind me slammed into my back. Meanwhile, everyone on the far side of the truck shot out of their seats and would have wound up in our laps if their handcuffs hadn’t been bolted to the wall. Then the wall behind me became the ceiling and I was dangling from my cuffs, the metal cutting painfully into my wrists. The truck twisted and shook and there was a metal scraping that made my teeth hurt.