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“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Some guys wouldn’t want their friends to make fun of them.”

He laughed. “You know my boys. We make fun of each other about everything. But that’s how we are.” He held up the charm. “I’ll keep it in my wallet.”

“Really? I wish I’d bought it sooner because it could’ve prevented—”

“It brought me luck. Arrow wasn’t supposed to be in Texas, but something came up for work and placed him here to help us. Also, a murder of crows got a neighbor’s attention, so he went to the window, saw your abduction, and called the police.” He rubbed the willow charm. “The intention you had when you bought it for me is powerful too.”

Smiling, I held the circular charm to my heart. “We make magic and miracles happen.”

He opened his wallet and placed it inside. “You should keep yours in your purse.”

“I will.” Curiosity piqued. “How many women have given you a protective charm?”

He grinned. “One.”

My lips curled into a pout. “Who was she?”

“My grandma.” His smile widened, and he wrapped his arms around me. “But I don’t know where I placed her bag of crystals.” He placed a finger over my lips. “Shhh. Don’t tell her. It’s our secret.”

“Okay.” I smiled and tucked my charm in my purse.

“Do you have energy to pack?” He got up from the couch and headed toward the kitchen island. “Want anything to drink?”

“Just water, thanks.” I followed him to the kitchen. “Right now I have the energy to lift an elephant.”

Those sexy green eyes gleamed as he opened a bottle of Pellegrino and offered it to me. “Use that energy to pack your essentials because I’m taking you on vacation. You don’t have any projects lined up for the next week, do you?”

“No, but I’d planned on helping my mom resolve some medical bill issues.” I sipped the water, letting the chill coat my throat, and placed the bottle on the marble counter.

He held up a hand. “I’ll fill you in on that as soon as I have some news. Your mom’s condition is stable right now. No need to worry, and don’t ask me any more questions. I’ll tell you everything later. Your mind shouldn’t be too active right now. You need to rest and relax.”

“Maybe take your own advice here?”

“I’m a doctor, so I know what I’m doing.”

“Says all the doctors addicted to something they don’t even know until it’s too late.”

“I’m addicted to you, but I don’t care.”

My anxiety lowered several notches knowing he’d reviewed my mom’s medical history.

I slapped his chest playfully. “Don’t you have a million better things to do than take me on vacation? Where are we going, anyway? Shouldn’t we wait to hear if the authorities caught those criminals? They were selling women! Wehaveto catch them.”

He placed a hand on each side of my shoulders. “Iwillcatch them. That’s a promise. Those who tried to hurt you will pay for it.” His eyes flashed with a deadly calm I wasn’t used to seeing.

There was another man inside this gorgeous face staring at me. Who was he?

“You don’t have to worry about Bo and Deon. They were taken care of.” He released me, walked over to his bar, and poured himself two fingers of Scotch. “They won’t abduct women anymore.”

How did he know their names? I knew the answer, but I was afraid to ask.

While he sipped his Scotch, he kept his eyes on me, and my body burned.

I swallowed as my mind read the message between the words. “What do you mean?”

“You don’t have to worry about them.” He placed the glass down and walked over to stand in front of me. “Kiera, there’s something you need to know about me.”

Oh God. What now? I wasn’t sure if I was ready to hear this.