10:07 p.m.

DeShawn wasn’t buying this.

These fools had scared the good sense out of him last night. He glared at the four men seated around the table, their complete attention focused on Nina. Anger twisted around in his gut. He didn’t like the way they looked at her. He damned sure didn’t like the way they had busted into the motel room and dragged them out like hostages in a bad drug movie.

DeShawn glanced around the room. He’d had a bag over his head, so he wasn’t exactly sure where they were. An old run-down house with beat-up furnishings. He hadn’t heard any traffic noise outside when they arrived, so he was guessing they were somewhere out of the city. After they’d been dragged into the van last night the ride was a long one. At least it had felt long.

Nina laughed and he watched her. The ten o’clock news was on and something had obviously captured their attention. She said these guys were her friends. But he wasn’t so sure. More gangbangers. MS-13 for sure. Why did she call them friends if it was that life she was trying to get away from?

He could just imagine how scared his grandmother was. His grandfather, too. It made him sick to his stomach to think about it. But what could he do? If he tried to contact them, that could put them in danger. Besides, his cell phone had died two days ago.

He’d begged Nina to go to the police. But she kept saying the police couldn’t protect them. The man who wanted her dead would stop at nothing.

How was he supposed to help her? If the police couldn’t, how could he? He was just a fry cook at Captain D’s who was supposed to go to college next month.

Why were they still in Birmingham? If she wanted to escape, why weren’t they getting out of here? “What’re we doing?” he said out loud. DeShawn didn’t care what these fools thought.

After a pointed look from her, the four men, all Latinos, got up from the table and left the room. Nina settled her attention on DeShawn.

“Com’ere, baby, I got something I want you to see.” She gestured for him to come sit with her.

As he moved toward her, she dragged a chair closer so they could sit side by side at the table. She hugged him tight and kissed him hard on the mouth.

“You gotta see this.” She picked up the TV remote and hit the button to go back to the broadcast.

These guys might live in a dump but they had a serious electronic setup. This just got weirder and weirder. It wasn’t right. He knew it wasn’t. Deep in his belly he had a bad feeling.

Nina hit play and the Channel 6 reporter was giving an update on his case.

DeShawn’s stomach twisted into more knots. He felt like he needed to hurl. His grandparents and friends were seeing this. The reporter was talking about how unlikely it was that he was even still alive.

He looked away. “I don’t wanna see this.”

“Wait.” She tugged at his arm. “You’re gonna miss the important part.”

He didn’t want to but he looked anyway. Just because she asked. A photo of a blond woman flashed on the screen. The woman was chief somebody. DeShawn had never seen her before. Wait… maybe he’d seen her on the news when all those white girls went missing a week or two back.

“See that?” Nina enthused. “They got Deputy Chief Jess Harris looking for you.”

DeShawn shrugged. “So?” Right now the only thing he wanted to do was go home but he couldn’t tell her that. Nina would think he was a coward.

“She’s that FBI woman who found all those missing girls. She’s really important.” Nina tugged his face to hers and pressed her forehead against his. “She can help us. She can stop him.”

“How can she help us?” Just because the cop was important didn’t mean she would bother with their problems.

“You have to keep trusting me, Shawney. She can help us. Then we can have our lives back without running from him until the day we die.”

He hitched his head toward the door. “Did those guys tell you that?”

Fury flashed in her eyes. “No one had to tell me anything,” she snapped. “I know things. The only thing they’re going to do is help us.”

Now he’d made her mad. “Maybe you don’t need me anymore.” Maybe that was the problem. She had allies now. She was no longer by herself. Maybe she didn’t need DeShawn Simmons to protect her or to love her.

She pulled his mouth to hers. Kissed him until he gasped for air.

“I need you more than I have ever needed anyone,” she whispered against his panting lips. “I can’t do this without you.” She looked into his eyes. “Without you, I’ll never be free.”

She ripped open his jeans and went down on him right there with those other guys right outside. He groaned her name. Clawed at the table.

They were going to make it… together. Just like Nina promised.