Out of Mind (Out of Line #3)(51)
Author: Jen McLaughlin

I didn’t know what he meant by that, but I tried to push it aside so I could focus on what needed to be done. As I walked over to Riley, I bent down and picked up the note Finn had written for me as I walked. I could feel Finn’s eyes on me. “Riley, I’m—”

“I know. I can see it. There’s nothing to say. No explanations or apologies needed. I knew I was the underdog in this match.” He shrugged. “I guess I just hoped you had a thing for the underdog. Or that I’d have a sweeping win, Rocky style.”

I held his hands, squeezing them. “I’m so sorry. I think I could love you eventually. It would be so much easier. So much…just more everything.”

He offered me a small smile. “A wise man once said that the heart wants what the heart wants.”

“That wise man was you.”

“Was it?” He cocked his head. “I should write that down. It’s good advice.”

I laughed a little bit. “It is.”

“I guess I’m taking my hat back, huh? It’s a good thing I look so hot in a hat.”

“Yes,” I whispered. “I believe love like this, as disastrous as it can be, only happens to a person once in a lifetime. You deserve to find someone who feels that way about you.”

Riley cupped my cheek. “If you were mine, I’d never let you go. You deserve a guy who will stand by you, no matter what.”

“Thank you.” I smiled and dropped back down to my normal height. “Your girl is out there. You’ll find her soon. I know it.”

He smiled sadly. “We’ll see about that.”

“Want to say hi to Finn?” I looked over my shoulder. “He really does…like…you.” I spun in a circle, searching the crowd. “Wait. Where did he go?”

Riley frowned. “He was just there, watching us.”

“Finn?” I called out, rising on tiptoe. I spun in a circle. “Something’s wrong. I know it.”

Riley scratched his head. “What could possibly be wrong? We’re in a crowded mall.”

“You don’t understand.” I grabbed his hand. “I know him, and he wouldn’t leave me alone. He’d never leave me unguarded like this.”

“Calm down. You’re with me. Maybe that’s why he left.” Riley started leading me to the exit. “Let’s get to my car and we’ll call him. Maybe he’s already on his bike, waiting to follow us back to the college. Okay?”

I looked over my shoulder. “No. I know something’s wrong.”

“Then we’ll find him.” He squeezed my hand. “Try calling him.”

We started for the exit, me fumbling for my phone in my pocket, but someone stepped in our path. He wore a hoodie that covered his face, and he reeked of smoke. I couldn’t see his face, but his dirty hand held what looked like an equally filthy blade. “We have your boyfriend, and he’s unconscious. You want him to live? You’ll both come with us, Ms. Wallington.”

My heart stopped. “What did you do with him?”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t get walking,” the guy said, showing the blade in his hand even more fully to us, “’cause he’ll be dead.”

Riley stiffened. “We’re in a crowded mall. You can’t abduct us here.”

Another guy came behind us, pressing a knife against my lower back. “Do what he says, princess.”

I tried to look over my shoulder. The guy in front of us snarled. “Don’t turn around. Don’t fight. Just walk.”

“No,” I said, surprised at how steady my voice sounded.

“Carrie,” Riley said, his voice cracking. “Do what they say. He has a knife to your back.”

The guy in front of us slashed out at Riley. Riley hissed and jerked back, his hand to his arm. Blood soaked the white shirt, and he glared at the criminal with fury in his eyes. “You ass**le. I’ll kill—”

“Okay, we’re going!” I said, my heart racing. “Riley. Look at me.”

Riley whirled my way, still looking as if he was ready to fight both these men all on his own. He’d lose. Two to one. “We can take them.”

“We have her boyfriend,” the guy behind me hissed. “How will you save him, too?”

The guy in front of us smirked. “You’ll never find him.”

“We’re coming.” I swallowed hard. “Who put you up to this?”

“A friend of a friend. We were only supposed to scare you, and make this one look like a fool,” he said, tipping his head to Riley. “But then we realized you’re both worth more money than the other kid offered us. Now, out to the parking lot, real easy like, and no one gets hurt.”

Riley’s hand tightened on mine. The blood had spread over his forearm, soaking the whole lower half of his sleeve. “Let’s go. Do what they say.”

I walked with him, my eyes straight ahead the whole time. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Riley’s hand tightened on mine. The guy behind me pressed the knife deeper against my back. “Pissed, but fine.”

I nodded. I was terrified, so much so that my legs shook. But we’d be okay. These guys would ransom us off, and this nightmare would be over. Finn would be okay, too. Things could go back to normal. Oh, who was I kidding? This was my freaking life. Two kidnapping attempts in one lifetime meant my life would never be normal.

We reached a shady van with dark windows. Of course. This kidnapper didn’t have an original bone in his body. For some reason, I wanted to laugh at this whole scenario. Maybe it was paranoia, maybe it was me going crazy.

All I knew was that this seemed extremely funny.

The guy in front of us opened the back door of the blue van and said, “Get in. Quickly.”

Before Riley could move, the guy behind us hit the ground twitching. I whirled, my eyes wide as the dude struggled to breathe, his face turning blue. Riley leapt on him, twisting his arms behind his back, forcing the guy onto his knees. Finn leapt around us, attacking the other kidnapper before he could even react. He hit the ground, too, and Finn knelt behind him, choking the dude out and breathing heavily, his eyes narrowed as he searched the rest of the parking lot.

His hard muscles flexed as he gripped the guy tight. I watched as the kidnapper lost all color to his face and finally passed out. Finn hadn’t even broken a freaking sweat. “I already took out the driver. Were they with anyone else?”