AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The sound of the key in the door made my heart thud loudly in my chest. "Remember your promise last night?" I asked her, unable to keep the panic from my voice. She nodded enthusiastically, her eyes wide. "I need you to pretend to cry, okay? We need to get him inside the room."
She glanced towards the bed again, as if she wanted to get back under the covers, but instead, she nodded, her face tight with fear. "Okay."
"What's going on here?" A guard I didn't recognize stood in the doorway, dressed in jeans and a white tank top. To my luck, a gun was slung on his hip.
"She's sick," Honey blurted out, pointing at the vomit all over the ground.
The guard gave me a dubious look, until his gaze caught sight of the chunks of veal and broccoli. His doubt was quickly overtaken by repugnance. "Oh, gross, ese."
Honey started bawling. "She needs help getting up!" Big tears trailed down her cheeks, her eyes wide and imploring. I tried to appear as meek and pitiful as possible, impressed by her showmanship.
Despite this, the guard still looked hesitant and Honey's cries grew more intense. "What if she gets sick and dies?"
"Fine, fine," he grumbled, coming towards us. I didn't have to pretend to shake as he lifted me up surprisingly carefully and guided me towards the bed. As soon as I reached it, I grabbed a pillow, then his gun, yelling out, "Behind me, Honey!"
She dove for my legs. In two swift moves I had his gun pointed at him, the pillow muffling the sound.
I didn't hesitate to shoot him. Then I aimed for the camera on the opposite wall. It exploded with my second shot.
"Don't look down," I pulled Honey to her feet. She was squeezing her eyes shut. "We need to hurry," I muttered.
I guided her towards the other side of the bed. Placing my hands under her arms, I heaved her into the air. "Do you think you can get into that air vent?"
"I can try!" she squeaked.
I got her onto my shoulders and she managed to reach the large industrial vent. "You have to hide in there. Don't come out until you hear either me, or Knight's voice, okay?"
"Okay," she said with a panicked tone, struggling to open it.
"Hurry!" I urged her. It felt like a lifetime before it finally gave way.
I barely had enough time to push the panel back in place before running back over to the dead body when Antonio appeared in the doorway.
I held the gun towards him. "Don't move."
He held his hands up but he took in the other guard, face down in a pool of blood. "Tatiana," he tsked, giving me a disappointed look. "You can't go around killing the guards. Now what am I going to tell Louisa?"
"You can tell her," I came towards him, "that he was an asshole keeping a woman and a kid locked up against their will."
"Where is the girl?" he demanded.
"She escaped. Now move."
Antonio glared at me but took a step backwards. "You won't get out of here."
"Move slowly," I instructed him, then followed quickly, keeping him in my sight as I left the room.
I swallowed down my fear and allowed the rage inside me to surge to the surface. "Take me to him." I wasn't trying to escape. No, I had other plans.
Antonio turned his back, leading me through the hallway. "You know he won't care if you kill me."
"Well, let's just hope your little buddies care whether you live or die, then."
Antonio led me down a maze of hallways and I committed them to memory so I could go back for Honey.
We came to a wooden door painted red, and I knew this was Manuel's. He was obsessed with the color; every single door in our house had been painted red.
"Go inside," I directed, "And don't even think about giving him any kind of warning."
