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whispered. “It is…”
    He put the phone to her ear.  She heard the low sound of a ring. One. Two…
    Maybe Blake wouldn’t even pick up. Maybe he wouldn’t answer her call at all.
    Three rings.
    If he didn’t pick up, then she didn’t have to make a choice.
    His life.
    “Hello?” Blake’s voice—slightly annoyed and rasping—drifted over the line.
    Jess squeezed her eyes shut.  
    His life. Or mine. 
    There was no reason for them both to die.
    Jess forced herself to speak. “Blake, I-it’s me.” Oh, crap. He probably didn’t even remember her. Like he was going to recognize that strangled whisper. “It’s Jess.”
    The blade pressed harder against her throat.
    Her eyes flew open.
    The blond glared down at her.  “Tell him to meet you.”
    “Jess?” Shock was clear in Blake’s voice. “Where are you?”
    The blond’s glare vanished. He’d obviously heard Blake’s words.  The blond pulled the phone from her ear, only to bend and put his mouth in its place. When the jerk spoke, his lips pressed against the shell of her ear. “Tell him to come and meet you at the old motel just past Wicked Ink. Your lover knows the tat shop.”
    Wicked Ink.
She knew that tattoo shop, too—most people did. If she’d been braver, Jess would have even gone in and gotten herself inked during her
I’m-Wild-And-in-Vegas
trip.
    But she’d been too afraid of a little pain.
    His mouth was gone. The phone was back at her ear.
    “
Jess?” 
Blake’s snarl. “Answer me!”
    “I wanted a tattoo,” she heard herself say. “Something sexy. Maybe right on my ass.”
    “What?”
    And the blond was back to glaring at her.
    “I wanted one, but I was scared of the pain.  A needle doesn’t seem so scary now, not when it’s compared to a knife.”
    And that knife sliced across her throat.
    Jess cried out.
    “
Jess!”
 Her name wasn’t a snarl anymore. It was a roar.
    But the psycho hadn’t cut her so deeply that she couldn’t talk. He’d just given her a little slice. A taste of the pain to come. He probably thought that move would scare her into complying with him.
    Jess lowered her lashes. Tried to look beaten and afraid.
    She’d made her choice.
    “I’m supposed to tell you…meet me at the old motel near the tat shop, past Wicked Ink, but…
”
She sucked in a deep breath. “
But don’t come here, Blake. The crazy jerk who tried to shoot you has me. If you come, he’ll kill—”
    The crazy jerk snatched the phone from her. He threw it against the wall and it shattered.  “Bad fucking move.”
    No, it hadn’t been.
    He lifted the knife. She could already see her blood on the blade.
    Okay, so maybe it wasn’t my smartest move.
    But it had been her bravest.  There wouldn’t be much more bravery from her.  The knife lowered, and Jess started screaming. 
    ***
    “Jess?”
    He’d heard her scream. That last, pain-filled cry. Then…silence.
    Blake immediately tried to call her back, hitting the number that had appeared on his screen. But the line just rang and rang.
    I’m supposed to tell you…meet me at the old motel near the tat shop, past Wicked Ink.
    She was
supposed
to tell him?
    But don’t come here, Blake. The crazy jerk who tried to shoot you has me. If you come, he’ll kill—
    Jess hadn’t been able to say more.
    And the line was still fucking ringing.
    He forced his hold to loosen around the phone. Fury beat inside of him, threatening to break free.  But he held tight—so tight—to his control. Blake turned and walked out of his suite. Every muscle in his body was tight as he entered the elevator.
    The damn elevator moved too slowly.
    I can smell strawberries.
    On his skin. On him. Her scent seemed to cover him.
    The elevator’s doors opened. He headed straight for the hotel’s lobby.
    “Sir!” It was Carson’s voice, and Blake saw Carson hurrying toward him. “I wanted to report on the…” Carson’s dark gaze cut around the lobby, “the
situation
at the Landon