“Scott, what happened?”

“Just shut your mouth and trust me.”

Scott carried Ciara as they ran for about a kilometer. Once he was sure no one could catch up to them, he set her down in the middle of the woods and said, “Stay here.” Then he looked at her with doubt. Who could guarantee that she would stay here and wait for him to return?

She could easily run away again.

Scott sighed and roughly rubbed his face, trying to dispel the worries now clouding his mind. He needed to stay calm to find a way out of this situation.

“Can you tell me what happened?” she asked. When...