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“You said it yourself. They’re not good people, Connor.”

“That doesn’t make themnot my parents.” I keep pulling at the cuffs. My wrists are bleeding but I can barely feel it.

“I can’t lose you,” she says.

“So you thought you’d kidnap me?”

“Boyfriend-nap.” She shrugs. “Better than being a widow.”

My brows draw down. “Pretty sure you gotta be married to be classed as a widow.”

“I have a plan,” she says.

“Oh, great,she has a plan. I can’t fucking wait to hear what craziness you’ve cooked up.” I laugh.

“I might be crazy, but guess what? You love me, so some would say you’re crazier.”

She’s so sure that I’m still in love with her. I don’t have it in me to tell her I’m not. It would be a lie. I could try to get her to believe me, but at this point, I don’t think it’d make a difference. She’s clearly made up her mind about us.

“What’s the plan here, Aurora? You gonna keep me tied up for the rest of our lives?”

“No. Just until I know you’re not going to do something stupid like go back to the city,” she says.

Back to the city? Where the fuck are we?

“What if it were me? What lengths would you go to if you overheard that your family was coming to attack mine?”

“I made sure you weren’t anywhere near where the attack was happening, Aurora. I didn’t fucking kidnap you,” I grunt.

“Last night,” she says. “You knew they were going to take the container?”

“I didn’t just know. I helped them.”

“Why would you steal from my family?” she asks.

“Why would you kill my cousin?” I throw back at her.

“I didn’t do that on purpose. It was an accident. I wasn’t myself,” she says.

“I know. I’m sorry. Aurora, unlock the cuffs,” I reply more calmly. “Let’s talk.” Maybe if she thinks I’m onboard with her insanity, she’ll free me. “Tell me what the plan is.”

“We’re going to lie low here for a few days, and then we can move. Find someplace no one will go looking for us. Just you and me,” she says. “I have passports, credit cards. We can go anywhere.”

I blink.How long has she been planning this? She has passports?“Aurora, we can’t just leave. You can’t leave your family.”

“I can’t leave you.” She shakes her head. “I’m not crazy, Connor. I know you feel it too.”

She’s prepared to leave her family for me?

“Okay.” I nod. “Let’s do it. Just you and me,” I agree, because she’s not going to free me if I don’t. “On one condition.”

“What?”

“Never drug me again.”

“What if…?”

“Never,” I interrupt her.