Snap.
The tie gave with a soft, satisfying break. I froze and listened carefully to see if the idiots outside the door had heard anything. There were no footsteps, shuffling, or shouting, so I was probably in the clear.
“Oh my goodness,” I whispered, flexing my hands, wincing at the angry red marks circling my wrists. “I am so talented.”
Wait.Focus! Priorities!
I scrambled up, legs a little unsteady but functional, and crossed the room quickly, scanning for anything—anything—useful. The empty table and chair were both useless unless I suddenly acquired the ability to throw objects heavier than myself around. Then I saw a small metal bracket, half-loose, where it had pulled away from the wall and allowed the biggest grin ever to bloom across my face. “Don’t mind if I do.”
I pried it free, wincing slightly at the faint scrape of metal on concrete, then turned back to the door. No movement yet. Thankfully. I crouched down, heart hammering now, adrenaline buzzing under my skin as I shoved the piece of metal into the lock.
Okay, okay. Lockpicking. Easy. Right? I watched a bajillion videos on it and had it down.
In theory.
In practice—
“Which one was it?” I muttered under my breath. “Lift, twist, swear a little—no, wait—” I paused to listen when it sounded like someone might be coming, my heart hammering like mad. Thevoices moved away and I let out a relieved breath. I went back to the lock, jaw tightening as I focused.
Click.
I sucked in a sharp breath, eyes going wide. “No way.” There was no freaking way that was actually supposed to work. Right? I turned the handle slowly and it gave! “Oh my god,” I whispered again, a little more hysterical this time. “I’m really freaking incredible.”
Then I paused, because two things hit me at once.
One: I had just successfully broken out of being kidnapped.
Two: I still really,reallyneeded to pee.
“Focus,” I told myself. “Escape first. Bathroom later. Unless there’s a bathroom out there, in which case—multitasking.”
Again, I cursed the fact that my phone was still in Crowe's truck and my damned towel in Buck’s. If only I hadn't needed to flounce away so dramatically, I might have had some way to contact someone for some kind of help. But instead, I only had myself to count on if I wanted to save face with Crowe and the bad guys.
I took a steadying breath, hand tightening on my makeshift lockpick as I eased the door open just a fraction, peering out into whatever fresh nightmare awaited me.
“Okay,” I murmured. “Let’s not die today.”
A beat.
“…Or at least not before I find a bathroom.”
Priorities.
15
Chapter 14
The warehouse looked deceptively dead from the outside.
I killed the headlights a quarter mile down the road and let the truck roll the rest of the way in darkness, gravel crunching softly beneath the tires.
My jaw tightened as I took in the building. This wasn't the kind of placeIenjoyed being. So it definitely wasn't the kind of place someone as bright and alive as Alfie should ever be. Never mind, held hostage at.
Behind me, Milo shifted in the back seat, the cuffs around his wrists rattling softly. “You know,” he drawled, voice still carrying entirely too much confidence for a man bleeding through his bandage, “I’m not exactly sure why we’re here, but this whole thing feels like a trap.”
“No shit," I spat out as I parked beneath the shadow of a collapsed loading awning and killed the engine. Silence swallowed us whole.
The fact that there weren't any visible guards should have reassured me; instead, every instinct I had started clawing at the inside of my skull.
