"Calling for reinforcements?" Alex wrenched my arm. "Keep dreaming."
He dragged me toward the elevator. Behind us, Layla smiled sweetly at the dispersing onlookers.
"Don't worry, we'll make sure this kidnapper learns her lesson."
"You should all get going, though. When the police arrive, you don't want to be caught up in it."
She tilted her head, voice dripping with false sympathy. "After all, hitting someone is wrong, no matter the reason."
The moment the words left her mouth, the crowd scattered like startled birds. A few people even called Alex and Layla heroes on their way out.
Amid the cheering, Irene and I were shoved into the hotel's walk-in freezer.
The cold hit like a wall of knives. My body seized, trembling violently before the door even shut behind us.
Years ago, when a group of men had cornered Alex in an alley, I hadn't thought twice. I threw myself in front of him and took a blade meant for his back. The wound cut deep enough to scrape bone. I nearly bled out. Six months in a hospital bed before I could stand on my own two feet again.
Ever since, cold weather turned my body into a map of pain. Every old wound screamed at the first hint of a chill.