“Sharp?”

“Like scissors?”

“Oh, you think those two bozos dumped us here and left us with scissors?” I retorted, and looked around, suddenly wishing I were here by myself after all.

“Look for anything sharp, like a rock or a tree stump—anything that might help us saw through the rope.”

“All I can see is the ocean.” I paused. “Or the sea. Or whatever this body of water is that I’m facing.” I could hear the shrill of terror emanating from my voice as I stumbled over my words.

“Calm down, Bianca.”

“How am I supposed to keep calm?” I shouted, and tried to move.

I could feel my body starting to shake. I wanted to be away from him. His body pressed against mine was no longer comforting. It was ominous and foreboding, and I needed my space.

“Stop.” His voice was strong. “You need to look for something sharp.”

“Why don’t you look?”

“I can’t see right now.”

“What?” I stilled. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I can’t see.”

“Oh my God, did they do something to your eyes? Are you blind?” My heart started racing as I realized that things would be a lot harder if Jakob couldn’t see. I felt guilty for feeling slightly relieved as well. If he couldn’t see, it would be a lot harder for him to do something to me.

“They blindfolded me,” he said patiently, and I felt like a bit of a fool for jumping to conclusions.

“Oh, okay.” I turned my head as much as I could. “We’re going to have to try to stand up.”

“We’ll have to lean back into each other and use each other as support,” he agreed, and I felt him push his back into mine. He felt hot against me, and I yelped as I felt a slight shock at the added pressure of his body against mine.

“Are you going to act like this all day?”

“Are you going to annoy me all day?”

“Bianca, what do you want me to do?”

“Have you tried wiggling your nose and forehead?” I asked softly, slightly embarrassed at my tip.

“Sorry, what?”

“Wiggle your nose around. It might shift the blindfold on your face.”

“And you know this how?”

“Just do it!”

“I knew you were a closet freak.” He laughed, and his body moved up and down against mine.

“What are you doing?” I snapped, way too aware of how close we were.

My mind ran back to the third line in the note. What had the writer meant by saying our bodies were now one? Had they known how annoying and exhilarating it would be to be tied to someone? Or were they trying to warn me about Jakob? My thoughts were running through my mind a million miles a minute, and I knew that the note on the beach was related to the letter that I’d received. They were both too cryptic to not have been related. My mind flashed to the note I’d received in my apartment and the man who had been looking through my father’s box. For a brief second, I wondered if Jakob had been the same man, but then I remembered they looked nothing alike.

“Jakob.” My voice was light. “What’s going on?” I spoke again, trying to ignore my thoughts as he bounced around behind me.

“I’m wiggling my nose like you said.”

“And you need to move your whole body to do that?” I snapped, unable to hide my tension any more.

“My God, you are a bitch, aren’t you?”

“You’re not exactly Prince Charming.”

“It seems to me that you’d be happier with the Marquis de Sade,” he snapped back, but then he laughed and confused me.

“What’s so funny?”

“I was just laughing because really I should be flattered.”

“Flattered about what? Being kidnapped?” My voice rose, and I was incredulous about his words. Was he a psycho? I had dismissed that thought earlier, but now I wasn’t quite sure. Maybe this was part of the plan. Maybe I had trusted the wrong person.

“No, silly. I’m flattered that I turn you on.”

“Excuse me?” I squeaked out as he continued to wiggle against me.

“That’s the only reason I can think of for you acting so tense and irritable.”

“Really? That’s the only reason you can think of?” I banged back against him hard, hoping to wind him but really only hurting myself. I could feel anger building up in my stomach, joined by a certain and sudden irrepressible thrill. “Just wiggle your nose, your eyebrows, and your cheeks, and try to get that thing off.” I sighed in exasperation. My body was on high alert, and my mind was already working overtime.

There had to be a reason why we were here together. We couldn’t have been randomly kidnapped. Maybe the man that had been following me thought Jakob was some sort of contact of mine. Maybe my kidnappers thought he knew something about my investigations. Or maybe not. Maybe he had his own story. If I could figure out his story and background, maybe I could figure out why we were both here. There was, of course, the possibility that he had more sinister aspirations, but I couldn’t allow my mind to focus on that.

“Yes, ma’am,” he responded, and continued his erratic body movements against me for the next few minutes.

“So, can I ask you a few questions?” I said, and then took a deep breath and waited for him to respond.

“Yes, my name is Jakob; yes, I’m single; yes, I like sex; no, I’m not a freak; and no, I don’t do drugs; though I do like a drink every now and then.” He spoke matter-of-factly, and I giggled.