“But if I hadn’t gone to that awful club . . .” she choked out.
“If the asswipe who took you hadn’t accepted that job, if someone with cash and a nefarious purpose hadn’t contracted your abduction . . . Mystery, it’s really not your fault. Don’t beat yourself up.”
“Do we have any way of knowing whether the guy you killed outside the shack is the same one who took me?”
Axel nodded. “Yeah. That’s him. I pulled off his ski mask and saw the same prince charming who appeared on the traffic cams. I got a good look at his face on some footage from a gas station where he stopped to fuel up.”
That was a terrible relief, to know that the bastard who’d forced her into the van and taken her away couldn’t do that to anyone else ever again. But that presented another problem. “Do we have any idea who hired him?”
Axel looked reluctant to answer. “No. It will take a little longer to identify this guy and comb through his finances, see if we can track the mastermind that way. Your captor was a pro, though. Whoever hired him wasn’t an idiot. I’m not expecting to find anything but a dead trail.”
Anxiety seized her. “So that means whoever wanted me kidnapped in the first place could do it again. He could hire someone else to—”
“Maybe. But you’re more aware now. You know better than to have your head in your purse while you’re walking through a dark parking lot. When I get you home, you need to take self-defense classes. When you go out, observe some basic safety precautions—go out in groups, always be aware of where you are and who’s around you.”
“My dad will hire a bodyguard, I’m sure.” The idea depressed her a bit. This whole incident smacked her again. It represented the end of childhood, freedom, and in an odd way, innocence.
She’d grown used to the idea of her father being so public and everyone wanting to talk to him. Mystery had always regarded herself as a mere curiosity in the white-hot realm of his spotlight. But the paparazzi had never focused on her as an individual. Axel had warned her the abduction would change that. He was probably right.
“I know it’s inconvenient, but it’s not a bad idea. I’d rather have you safe and slightly annoyed than fighting for your life again.”
He was right about that, too. She nodded. “Do you have any idea why all this happened? I’d thought it was to extract money from my dad, but the fact that he never received a ransom note makes me wonder.”
Axel shook his head, directing a concerned gaze down at her. “Sorry. You might find out as the investigation continues. But if you don’t learn who engineered your kidnapping, you may never know.”
That would be a bitter pill to swallow. And she had to believe that if her father had managed to pull the right strings to find her, then he’d find out this madman’s reason for taking her in the first place.
The wind picked up, whistled past her as if singing an eerie tune. In the distance, a coyote howled. Mystery curled her arms around her knees and froze.
Axel slung his arm around her. “It’s okay. The wind is normal. The coyote sounds miles away.”
“Everything makes me jumpy right now, I guess.”
His face softened. “That’s normal, too. Close your eyes and try to relax.”
Their faces were so close. His body was plastered against hers from shoulder to knee. Her heart thumped. Desire was probably the wrong response to this situation, but she couldn’t deny it existed as she blinked up into his face.
“Go on,” he urged.
She was still wearing Alvarez’s jacket to ward off the cold, so she had no pillow. Axel made up for that by cradling the side of her face in one of his large hands and leading her cheek down to the slab of his chest. Mystery went willingly, her eyes sliding shut. His heart beat a steady rhythm in her ear.
He wrapped her tighter in his arms. “You’re safe, princess.”
Yes, she felt that. “I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done.”
“You don’t have to thank me. Just close your eyes and rest.”
She was never going to sleep on a rock, against an unfamiliar man, with the wind whipping around her. She wasn’t comfortable and wasn’t sure she could get tired enough to stop the terrible abduction from playing in her head over and over like a bad horror film. The drugs her captor had given her left her in a groggy waking state for the most part. She hadn’t really slept, just been out of it. When she had drifted off, nightmares had plagued her. Terror crept in and disturbed her. She wouldn’t sleep tonight, but Axel had done so much. She would humor him.
“Sure,” she murmured and closed her eyes to play along. “I’ll try not to hog the bed.”
He chuckled in her ear. “If you do, that’s all right. I’m just happy you’re safe.”
* * *
HEAT overwhelmed her. Suddenly, Mystery felt sweltering. Sweat broke out along her hairline, between her breasts, along her back. Sleep dragged her back down, but the need for cooler air and a bathroom brought her back.
She cracked her eyes open. Sunlight sliced at them like a pickaxe. She gasped. Where was she? What time was it?
The last few days came rushing back to her, then she realized that the rock at her back was moving gently, a rise and fall that emulated breathing.
“Hold still,” he muttered in her ear.
Axel—beside her with his arm around her waist, holding her against a body that felt hard everywhere. But something in his voice warned her.
“What’s wrong?”
“I heard a helicopter fly overhead. It could be one of the good guys or nothing to do with us at all, but . . .”
It could also be whoever had paid for her kidnapping wondering where his investment had escaped to. She swallowed. “What do we do?”
“We wait. When daylight wanes, looking for us on the desert floor will be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Whoever it is seems to be flying pretty low, which tells me it’s either a search-and-rescue mission or someone determined not to let you get away. The less we move now, the more we look like part of the scenery. The more likely they simply fly over us and away.”
That made sense, but her heart beat a hundred miles an hour. The distant sound of chopper blades seemed to get closer, closer. Axel tensed.
“Son of a bitch,” he breathed. “That’s the third time I’ve heard them fly overhead. I’d hoped the wind would blow away some of our tracks in the sand, but I’m guessing not enough.”
What if the helicopter landed? What if someone got out with guns and hunted them down? Axel was good, but he was still one man with one gun against people who would be better rested and prepared . . . It sounded like a recipe for death.
To her right, the helicopter swerved and headed straight toward them.
Chapter Four
WHAT are we going to do?” she asked. “Tell me how I can help.”
Axel pulled the desert camo blanket over their heads and tightened his hold around her waist. “Right now, we’re just laying low and hoping they go away. It’s about noon, maybe a little after. We might be hanging here for a while. It depends on how determined they are.”
That wasn’t good news. She wasn’t sure she could lie in this same position for the next five hours and wait for night to fall. For starters, her bladder was full. Worse, fear spiked her bloodstream. She wasn’t ready to face danger again. She certainly didn’t want to die.
And somehow, above all that, being pressed up against Axel aroused her.
Beside him, she breathed hard, trying to steady herself.
“You’re shaking,” he murmured. “Slow your breathing down. I’m going to do everything in my power to keep you safe.”