Jake snorted, folding his arms over his chest. “Easy thing for him to say. He’s got a privileged future ahead of him, no matter what he does.”

Erica held a hand up. “Shh.”

Kian continued, “My future would have meant nothing if I had done nothing. She wouldn’t have had a future. I believe that. She wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t stepped in. I know everyone is asking where she is, but it doesn’t matter. She’s safe. Her life is as important as mine, and honestly, I think her future is more important than mine. Who am I? I grew up rich. I grew up spoiled. I was given all the blessings in the world—looks, charisma, personality, intelligence. Everything.”

Jake rolled his eyes. “What a douche. Girls fall for this shit?”

Erica fixed him with a glare and paused the recording again. “Do you mind? I need to get all this information before Susan realizes it’s gone.”

I gritted my teeth. Press Play. Press Play, Erica. I needed to hear what he had to say.

Jake stood, raking a hand through his hair. His shirt lifted from the movement. Seven months ago, I would’ve salivated at the little peek, but now, I was transfixed by the screen.

Even when Kian was paused, his eyes were mesmerizing. He wasn’t looking at whoever had asked him the questions. He was gazing right into the camera. There was a somberness in his eyes, and it was like he was speaking to me. I knew millions of other girls would feel the same way as I did. That look from him dug deep into my chest. It was like he was burrowing a place for himself right inside my chest.

“This is unreal. Females are dumb.”

“Dude.” Erica smacked his arm. “Shove it. This is journalistic gold. He’s right. The only reason his story got national attention is because of his face and his family’s wealth. That’s it. There are a lot of murders that happen, but none get the accolade he’s received. And so what?” She shrugged again. “Who cares if he’s feeding us bullshit? For what it’s worth, I do think he meant what he said. He cares for that girl.”

“Then, where the hell is she?”

“That’s the point of our story. He’s opened up about her, and he’s never done that before. That’s the big question. Where is Jordan Emory? He’s not really the story anymore. It’s her. People want to know about this chick, and she’s missing.”

“Can you blame her?” Jake threw me a frown as he said to Erica, “I’d hide, too, if I had to deal with this guy.”

“Well.” Erica lifted the remote again. “And the media. I mean, seriously, the girl’s going to get her ass ripped apart whenever they find her.”

“You think she went into Witness Protection?” Jake was still studying me.

“Who knows? It’ll all come out eventually.” She pressed Play. “It always does.”

Kian continued, “I couldn’t have survived what she did. She persevered…”

Jake moved closer to me, tugging me further from the television. He lowered his voice, bending close to me. “Hey, you okay?”

Erica was right. It was going to come out. I had to stop hiding and face it. My jaw was trembling. I felt wetness on my cheeks, and I raised a hand, feeling the tears there.

“Hey, hey.” Jake caught my face and lifted it. He was peering down at me. “What’s wrong? Talk to me. Wait, aren’t you supposed to be at work? I was going to come and take your break with you.”

Erica glanced over, but she was distracted by the interview. A small frown marred her face before she resumed taking notes.

I sucked in a hasty breath. If Erica noticed something was wrong, she’d dig into me and demand to know what it was.

Turning my back so that she couldn’t see my face, I looked toward the floor, keeping my voice low. “I’m fine. I…wait, if you were going to come to my work, what are you doing here?”

Jake straightened abruptly and jerked back a step. “I came here to look for you.”

“No, he didn’t,” Erica called over. “He’s not telling the truth. He was at the paper to see Susan. I made him feel like shit for that, so I asked him to bring the DVD here.”

“Why?” I frowned. “They don’t frisk you, do they?”

She snorted. “Susan would love it if they did. Nope. I incriminated your boyfriend for two reasons. One, he owes me, and two, when Susan asks me if I took the DVD home for any reason, I can honestly say that I didn’t.”

“Are you serious?” I couldn’t tell sometimes with her.

She grunted, turning back to the television. “As a heart attack. I need as much extra advantage over Susan as possible. I’m in the battle of my career…before my career has really started.”

There was a break in the conversation as Kian’s voice carried over. “She didn’t persuade me to do it. She didn’t brainwash me to do it. She didn’t blackmail me. She didn’t even ask me. She did nothing.”

A lump sat at the back of my throat. It was permanently lodged there.

“She did nothing.”

Erica’s voice added to his. “The girl’s going to get her ass ripped apart whenever they find her. It’ll all come out eventually.”

An image of Kian holding me flashed in my mind.

“They’re going to crucify me, aren’t they?”

He had pulled me tighter to him. “Not if I can help it.”