Maybe it was something about being so much older now that even though she was worried about how she was going to get Sammy out of this, she wasn’tscared. Because she wasn’t desperate. Soon enough, she’d have backup.
And she’d done this before, and on a much bigger scale. This was, as JJ would have said all those years ago, small-time. The bottom rung of something much, much bigger no doubt, but in the here and now? Nothing compared to what she’d brought down before.
When she’d hadno one. Now? She had too many people on her side, in her corner. And so did Sammy.
“So, how’d you get here?” Bruiser asked, his arm brushing against hers. “We didn’t hear any cars pull up.”
Lia considered pointing out they hadn’t even heard her knock, but it was probably smarter not to correct him. She tried to stay close to the truth without telling all of it, in case he tried to verify her story.
“My boyfriend wrecked my car a while back, so I don’t have any transportation. I had to walk all the way out here. When I said I was desperate, I wasn’t exaggerating. My boyfriend kicked me out and I don’t have a damn thing or person to turn to.” She pretended to take a deep gulp of the drink. She was pretty sure he’d put something in it, so she was going to have to find a way to pour some of it out when he wasn’t looking.
She also needed to find a way to get his attention elsewhere so she could get to Sammy and get her out of there.
Bruiser was watching her intently, so Lia kept on with the story. Pretending like she couldn’t help but overshare.
“We were living over in Wilde, so it wasn’t too long of a walk. I…didn’t really have anywhere else to go. My family doesn’t want anything to do with me. Dani was like, my only friend. I haven’t seen her in a while though. Does she still work for you guys?”
“Oh, yeah. One of our top workers,” Bruiser said, his eyes on her drink so Lia had to pretend to take another sip. When she put the cup back down, she tried to casually rest her hand over the top so he couldn’t tell she hadn’t actually drunk any.
“Um, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but uh…” Lia leaned forward, going for conspiratorial. She pointed in Sammy’s direction. “Why is that girl tied up?”
“Oh. Don’t worry about that. Nothing criminal.” He laughed, far too loud in her ear. He leaned closer, so she could feel his breath on her cheek and allowed the shudder to move through her. He could interpret it however he liked, and she knew he wouldn’t see it for the revulsion it was.
“She likes it.”
Lia wanted to vomit, but she managed not to grimace at the horrifying words.
“Um, well.” She laughed nervously, because it fit the character she was playing. And she used this as an excuse to try to make her first escape. If she could convince him she was too skittish, grab Sammy before he went back into the living room… It was worth a shot.
“I’m not… I don’t think…” She put her hands on the table and shoved herself up to her feet. She pretended to sway a little so he thought she was affected by whatever he put in the drink. So he didn’t see her as a threat. “Maybe I should go.”
His hand clamped on her wrist. “Where ya’ going, Eddy? If you’re desperate, you can’t be too good for a job, can you?” His grip was hard, the light in his eyes mean. But he kept his mouth curved, like that sharp, predatory smile would be some kind of comfort.
Whether he meant to or not, he was working both sides of it—trying toappearfriendly and helpful, but also a little threatening. So she’d be lost, confused, off-balance.
Yeah, he meant to.
Lia blinked, trying to work on getting a tear to slip over so he didn’t see the flash of rage that moved through her. She was almost certain she could knock him over—just one well-placed elbow to the throat.
But that didn’t get her and Sammy out of here. And he wasn’t going to let her go easy, so she had to adjust. How to get Sammy out without Lia grabbing her and pulling her out? “No, I’m not too good, but…”
A shout sounded out in the living room, and Lia could see two guys pushing and shoving each other. There were some shouts, some cheers.
Bruiser sighed irritably. “Just stay here. Enjoy your drink. There’s still a little interview process to go once I take care of this.” He made no bones about staring down her shirt as he got up, but Lia pretended not to notice. She pretended to be shocked by the fighting going on out in the living room.
So Bruiser swaggered over to where the two men were fighting. He gave one a hard push away from the other. The not-pushed guy started laughing while the other was clearly trying to get the crowd of people on his side. Bruiser must have been the decider of who won, because they both appealed to him.
While he handled that, Lia got up out of her chair. Casually, or at least she hoped casually, she ambled into the living room. Like she was interested in the fight and what Bruiser’s decision would be.
But instead of heading toward Bruiser, she moved to Sammy, resting a hip against the table Sammy was sitting on. Lia held the cup up to her mouth, her eyes on the fighters, so no one would immediately notice she was even speaking to Sammy.
Because the fight gave her just the idea she needed.
“I’m going to create a diversion,” Lia said quietly. “When I do, you’re not going to run. You’re just going to get up and walk out the front door. Calm. Easy. Don’t look back.”
“Lia.” Sammy’s voice was hoarse. Terrified.
Lia kept her gaze on Bruiser, swallowed down any emotional response to Sammy’s fear. “That’s all you have to do. Walk outthe front door, down the drive. Gard or a police officer will be waiting for you. We’ve got your mom. You just need to get out.”
