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“No food, though,” I comment. Although I’m fairly certain I wouldn’t risk eating anything they gave us. I consider the food we ordered and my stomach growls in anger.
“We could make shivs out of the toothbrushes,” Shayna suggests, hopefully.
I nod, even though I doubt they’d make much of a difference. Maxim took my phone, so no help there. Hex knows Maxim has me, but I don’t know if he’s aware Maxim has the girls, too. Fear courses through me as I consider Maxim’s intentions for them and me. I don’t see any cameras in the room, but I can’t shake the feeling someone’s watching us. Rising, I go into the bathroom and fill my empty belly with water from the tap.
“Hex will find us,” Sasha’s telling Shayna when I step back into the room. “He won’t stop looking until he does.”
I nod in agreement, because she is right about her brother. Hex won’t stop looking for us. But New Orleans is a big city and I don’t know for certain that we’re still in The Big Easy. All three of us were unconscious. They could have taken us to another city, into the bayou, or even into another state. I cross the room and try the other door, even though I know it’s locked. I’m right. However, seeing the hinges on the door, I consider the possibilities. Going back into the bathroom, I grab a toothbrush package. Opening it, I step up to the door and dig at the pins holding up the door.
Sasha and Shayna gather around me and watch me work. “Do you think that will work?” Shayna asks.
“No, but I’m not sitting around waiting for that bastard to get back.” We each take turns, but calling the attempt slow-going would be too optimistic. However, we keep at it. We’re all three so engrossed in the activity that we don’t notice the door opening until it hits Sasha on the arm.
A young man glances inside and stares at us with surprise. I recognize him as a guard who was with Maxim. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to escape,” Sasha snaps at him. “What does it look like?”
He shakes his head at her before beckoning us to follow him. “I’m helping you escape, but we better hurry.”
“Who are you and why should we trust you?” Sasha asks.
“My name is Levi. Let’s go. We have little time. I can’t waste any trying to explain,” Levi implores us. When we don’t move, he lets out a long sigh. “Shit, you’re going to get us caught. Okay, real quick. I owe Delphine, and this is how I’m repaying her. She saved the life of the only person I’ve ever loved and the only one who’s ever loved me. Can we go now?”
I study the man’s face and realize I recognize him. I can’t place him. But he’s right, we don’t have time. Once we’re away from here, we can pry more information out of our rescuer.
“He’s telling the truth,” Sasha says, which is enough for me.
“Let’s go.”
We step into the hallway. I close and lock the door, taking the key with me. At least this way, if someone comes to check on us, they’ll have a harder time getting in. Not being able to open the door will slow them down. Hopefully, long enough for us to get clear.
Levi leads the way down the hallway. When we reach the end, he turns and leads us down a set of stairs.
“We’re going into the basement?” Shayna asks, doubtfully.
“Not the basement,” Levi says.
When Shayna opens her mouth, I shush her. “Do you hear that?”
Because while they’re talking, I hear water sloshing against something solid. I can also smell the tangy odor of salt water. When we reach the bottom, I see we’re standing on a dock. Two speedboats rock in the gentle ebb and flow of the water. Levi helps the girls into one before coming back to assist me.
“What about the other boat? Should we disable it?” I ask him.
He glances over at the other boat and then back at me. Nodding, he jogs over to the other boat and jumps inside. He reaches under the wheel and yanks on the wires. Not satisfied with this attempt, he turns his focus on the engine.
“Remove the spark plugs,” I suggest. He nods before leaning over and yanking out two of them.
He runs back to me and helps me into the boat before taking hold of the wheel. I study his posture and realize that he seems unsure of his next move.
“Here, let me,” I tell him, nudging him back toward the girls who are sitting in the middle seats. He takes his spot behind Shayna while I fire up the engine.
CHAPTER FIVE: DIXIE
Before we leave the cafe, I confirm with Pirate that the trackers are working.
“I’ve got four on the move, one’s still at your location,” Pirate informs me. He directs us to the stationary tracker and Zip finds it on the ground. He turns it off before pocketing it.
“May have been mine,” he says. “I put it in the guy’s pant cuff. It might have fallen out.”
