Jearon paced back and forth in his office. How was he going to find Ezra? He had several people hacking into a lot of street cameras trying to find his location, but he wasn't having any success. He couldn't understand how he was able to take the girl that he wanted and go off the grid. He already tried to find the location of his phone, but it kept telling him the last location Ezra had been at his cabin.

Jearon liked to think of himself as the smarter one out of the two friends, but he was always proven wrong. Ezra was the smarter one. He was the more crafty one. He could think up a lie extremely quickly and figure out how to make anyone believe him. Exactly what he had done to Jearon at the cabin. He made him believe that Ezra was looking out for his well-being, but he wasn't. Ezra was only looking out for himself and what he wanted. 

Jearon angrily pushed the papers off his desk, making a huge mess on the floor. He ran his fingers over his buzzed hair. He was getting tired of this mess. He wanted the girl more than ever now and Ezra was not allowed to have her. He thought he had made that clear when he told Ezra the plan of her kidnapping. Ezra was going to pay dearly for his betrayal. He was already thinking of everything that he would do to Ezra once he got his hands on him. 

He sighed impatiently as he bent down to pick up the papers. Suddenly, he had an idea. Who was better at finding people than his gang? The police. He was going to use his connections with the police and have them accuse Ezra of kidnapping the girl, making sure that he had nothing to do with it. Everyone would be looking for him then. 

Jearon stood up quickly and ran out of the small office, not bothering to finish cleaning up the mess. He ran down the stairs and stopped at the tables where three men were eating their lunch. He stood up straight and proud. "I know how to find, Ezra." 

The men around the table looked up at him with tired eyes. He had kept them searching for Ezra during the night and early mornings since they had found out he was gone. "What is it, boss?" a man with a deep voice spoke up. Jearon tried to remember the man's name, but nothing came up. He wasn't good with names anyway, but he also didn't care to learn anyone's names. 

"We go to the police and give them Ezra's name and picture. We tell them that he has the girl and that he planned the kidnapping." Jearon stopped to take a breath, excited and proud of his idea. Maybe too proud. "The Strangle Gang will look like heroes, and I'll have the girl. Everyone wins! I'll make sure her old man understands to keep his mouth shut." There was an icy tone in his voice during the last sentence.

"Except Ezra," another man said under his breath.

Jearon huffed and crossed his arms as he gave an icy stare to the man who dared to speak up. The man lowered his head quickly. He knew that everyone was close to Ezra. They all liked him. They knew what he could do, but Ezra was always extremely nice and caring to every person that came into their gang. Jearon knew that and he was jealous of the fact that they liked Ezra more than they liked him. "That traitor will get what he deserves. I've saved his ass many times from the police and how does he repay me?" He slammed his fist against the table causing the three men to jump. "He kidnaps the girl that I wanted and takes her to who knows where!"

"When are we going to the police, boss?"

Jearon smiled at them. "Now."

-----

Ezra knew they needed to go to the store soon, but he wasn't going to go until they were desperate. He didn't want people to recognize his face or memorize it. He knew that Jearon was probably fuming by now and he was nervous about what he was going to do.

The store that was closest to the cabin was a smaller mom-and-pa grocery store. It would take a boat load of time before word of who Ezra was and what he had done to get to the store, but he still wasn't going to chance it. He couldn't afford to chance it. He still had to figure out how to get Aubrey back to her father without getting either of them killed by Jearon. 

Ezra was standing out on the front porch watching the sun slowly rise through the trees. Mist hung on the ground, creating a slightly spooky look at the forest. He had a coffee in one hand – black with no sugar. Just the way he liked it. The past two days have slowly been torturous for him. Sleeping next to Aubrey was strange for him. These past couple of days have tested his strength and patience. 

It was still strange to him that her father hasn't contacted Jearon or even sent him any money. The thought that maybe he didn't have the amount of money that Jearon thought he had ran through Ezra's head. That thought made him smile. Jearon would have been mad about that little setback as well. Although, there was something suspicious and strange that he hasn't paid him yet to get his daughter back. Ezra couldn't figure out what was taking so long. 

He heard the front door creak open, and he turned to see Aubrey walk through the door. She didn't have any makeup on, and Ezra loved it. She was beautiful. Her small frame looked even smaller in his hoodie. He had gotten her, her clothes, and yet she still decided to wear his hoodie. This morning she wore his hoodie and a pair of black leggings underneath. It was a little nippy outside and he was glad she wore more. She had just taken a shower as damp hair fell around her face. 

She smiled at him as she clutched her cup of coffee and stood next to him, looking out at the forest. "It's beautiful here."

Ezra tore his attention away from her and back to the trees. "Yes, it is." He took a deep breath and loved the smell of grass, moss, and trees. "I always loved coming out here with my dad." 

Aubrey sighed next to him. He saw her inch closer to him out of the corner of his eye. A smirk played on his lips. "Would you believe it if I told you my dad never took me to the forest? For anything."

"Not to be a prick, but yes." Aubrey giggled as she took another step closer to him. "I'm just saying," he continued. "The way you look around these woods, I knew your dad never brought you out here." Ezra looked down at Aubrey and smiled. "Are you cold?"

She nodded. "How'd you know?"

He shrugged. "You're trying not to shiver, and you keep stepping closer." He saw her blush and wrapped an arm around her waist, maneuvering her to stand in front of him. He set his coffee, which was now cold, on the railing and covered both of them in his jacket. She made a small squeak but leaned back against him to get warmer. "Are you wanting to go inside?" he asked in her ear. 

She shook her head as she sunk deeper into his jacket. She held her coffee cup up to her lips and took a sip. "Can we watch the sunrise?"

"Of course, Princess."

They stayed in that position until he couldn't stand feeling her shiver anymore. "We're going inside."

"What?" She started to turn around to look at him. "But the sun isn't all the way – hey!"

Ezra picked her up before she could finish and took her inside. He plopped her down on the bed and grabbed the comforter, wrapping it around her. He ran his hands up and down her arms quickly, trying to create enough friction to get the goosebumps to go away. 

She started to try to push him away, but he was stronger than her. "What are you doing? I was fine!"

Ezra snorted. "Fine? Aubrey, you were shivering."

"So?"

"So?" He looked up at her sharply. "I'm not going to have you getting frostbite on my watch."

She smiled at him. That smile looked more like a challenge to Ezra. "I'm not going to get frostbite. It's not cold enough outside for that."

He leaned closer to her as he sat on the bed in front of her. "If we stayed out there any longer you would have. Your hair is wet and it's fucking freezing outside. You could get sick."

She shrugged the comforter off of her shoulders. "No, I wouldn't."

He smirked. He loved that she fought against him. She constantly argued with him. "Are you trying to lose an argument, Princess?"

"You know I'm right."

"I know you're wrong."

She laughed as she shook her head. "You can't be wrong, can you?"

Ezra leaned back and crossed his arms. "Yes, I can. But I'm not wrong about this." 

She leaned forward and scooted closer to him. "It's okay to admit you're wrong." There was a look in her eyes that made Ezra nervous. She had been teasing him the past couple of days, but she never acted out on anything. He had thought that he was imagining those signs that she was giving, but now he knew his answer. 

Ezra took a deep breath trying to control himself. He snuck a look at her lips and wanted to touch her plump lips. Her lips smirked at him as he snapped his eyes back up to her. She reached up and brushed a stray hair from his forehead. She ran her fingers through his hair slowly. He could feel her fingernails lightly scraping his scalp. "Aubrey." Did his voice go down an octave?

"Ezra?" Her eyes darkened slightly.

He took a deep breath. "If we start, I won't be able to stop."

"What if I don't want you to stop?"