My Ex’s Moon Returns, I kidn*pped the Heir

Chapter 3

The next afternoon, Miles asked me to meet him at a coffee shop near Stanton Villa.

I thought he was going to force me to tell him where Blake was.

Instead, he slid a black card across the table.

"It's Blake's spare credit card. His monthly allowance hasn't hit your account yet, so use this for now."

I curled my fingers around the card, and my palm went damp.

'Is he testing me?'

'Is this a trap?'

Miles stirred his coffee with the kind of indifference that made him impossible to read.

"You know Blake's temper. Things usually don't end well for people who cross him."

He paused for a moment.

"But I've known him for twenty years, and I've never seen anyone truly get the better of him."

He stopped there, then added,

"Unless he wants someone to get the better of him."

The cup almost slipped out of my hand.

Miles acted as if he had not noticed that. He took a sip of his coffee and stood.

"I'm needed elsewhere. Take your time."

He had almost reached the door when he stopped, turned back, slipped a small object into the card sleeve, and gave it to me.

"One more thing," he said. "Just in case."

I looked down and saw a small stainless-steel restraint cuff. It was compact and polished, far too precise for comfort.

I did not understand what he meant, but I took it anyway.

When I returned to the hotel, I stood outside the bathroom door for a while.

There was no sound inside.

When I pushed the door open, Blake had his eyes closed as if he were asleep.

I crouched down and checked his wrist first.

The silk tie had been cinched too tightly around his wrist, leaving the skin beneath it red and raw.

I took petroleum jelly from my bag, dipped a cotton swab into it, and applied it carefully.

When I reached the inside of his wrist, I felt his pulse jump beneath my fingers.

It was beating too fast.

He was awake. I knew he was awake.

But I did not stop.

After I finished, I took out the new silk scarf I had bought and began loosening the old tie.

Only then did Blake open his eyes.

He looked at me without saying a word.

I had just pulled the old tie free when he suddenly spoke.

"That was a terrible knot."

My hand paused.

"A knot like that? I could undo it with my teeth."

'Is he coaching me?'

I looked up at him.

He turned his face away and said nothing else, but the tips of his ears were red.

That night, I tied the new knot exactly as he instructed.

It was tighter than the one from the night before, but it no longer bit into his skin.

Before I left, I put the bottled water and bread where he could reach them.

At the door, I could not help looking back one more time.

He was leaning against the tub with his eyes closed.

His mouth twitched, as if he were fighting back a smile.

I stared for a few seconds and wondered if I had imagined it.