Page 56

“I have no intention of murdering you tonight, Genesis.”

“Un-zip-tie me then.”

“No, but I can’t let you know where I live.” I smirk. “It’s a secret.” Before she can stop me, I curl my hand around her head, holding her in place, and drop the blindfold over her eyes. “This is only for safety precautions.”

“Fucking asshole,” she says, struggling against the restraints. “This isn’t funny. Get your weird kinks off somewhere else.”

“When we’re there, I’ll take it off.” I pull out onto the street. “You keep fighting, I’ll drop you off on the side of the road. I’ll make sure it’s a dark, deserted one too.”

Maybe this will be a lesson for her not to trust men like me.

“Right,” she whispers when I make my first turn.

“Left,” she says when I make another.

I slam on the brakes, and she jolts forward. Her head nearly collides with the dashboard.

“You’d better not be doing what I think you’re doing,” I say in warning.

“What are you talking about?” she asks, doing a terrible job at playing coy.

“You’re counting my turns.”

It’s smart—I’ll give her that.

“You threatened to drop me off in the middle of nowhere. Of course I’m counting your turns.”

“Words of wisdom: Next time, don’t give yourself up like that.”

I make a sudden U-turn.

Then another.

And another.

I drive through a parking lot.

Then a gas station.

Doing everything I can to confuse her.

Her body bumps forward, then to the side, then forward at my swerves.

“Game over,” she finally says. “Get this shit off me, Julian.” She attempts to wiggle her wrists to break free but can’t.

“Oh, Gen, you agreed to play this game. It’s not over untilIsay it’s over.”

She wrinkles her nose. “Who said you make the rules?”

“Considering I’m the one who can easily strangle you, I’d say I do.”

I tune out her blabbering about what’s fair and unfair.

About how the entire city will investigate her disappearance if I kill her.

She’s starting to give me a headache.

Fortunately, we reach our destination not long after.