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He swallowed.
This is what you want. Now, tuck your tail and act as if you’ve lost.
“No one will vote for you over me,” he said.
“But they will,” Tura said. “Because you’ve done nothing but prove my point, Deimos. You’re a lost cause, and everyone knows it. It’s best if you leave now before your ego takes an even bigger hit.”
He looked around, seeing everyone staring at him. Even the guy running the bar was watching, nodding along with Tura.
Tuck your tail.
He grabbed his beer, taking another drink before he turned and started for the door. He could hear everyone laughing as he walked. Tura took the victory.
He stepped outside, taking a deep breath of fresh air. He looked around, and he glanced at Thyone standing across the street at the corner. He looked like a normal person just standing outside enjoying the air.
He turned on his heel and headed for the alleyway. He needed to look like a wandering fool.
He could hear footsteps behind him and knew Tura had taken the bait.
He stopped for a second, and in that moment, a bag was thrown over his head. Someone hit him behind his knees, making him drop. He caught himself before slamming his head onto the ground.
“Put him in the vehicle,” someone yelled, and he frowned, hating that he couldn’t see.
Deimos’s men would see what was going on and follow them. So he just needed to stay in character and act drunk.
“Let go,” he said, being sure to continue to slur his words.
“Get him moving,” someone yelled, and they pulled him up.
He was pushed backward, and he felt them shove him into a vehicle. He tried to fight, or at least he fought just like anyone who was drunk would.
He heard the slam of a door, and he lay on the floor. They were taking him. This was good. They were going to take him to where Hope was. This was all part of his plan. He just hoped that Hope was okay.
TWENTY-THREE
HOPE
Hope looked around the space while she twisted her hands. Running her fingers over the knots on the rope, she tried to remember which way they twisted it. Carefully, she worked her fingers through the loops, loosening the strands as she worked her way down.
By the time the rope fell away, her fingers had started to feel numb, and she sighed in relief as the blood came rushing back. Glancing down at her wrists, she was relieved to see that there wasn’t any real damage. She had red marks, but she wasn’t bleeding.
She looked down at her legs, undoing the rope on each of her legs. Her feet slipped free, and Hope hurried to the small, narrow window set high on the wall. She peered out, realizing she was being held in a partially underground room.
To her dismay, she wouldn’t be able to fit through the window, so she scanned the area once again, trying to figure a way out. She needed to remain calm and keep a clear head if she was going to get herself free.
If she wanted to get out, she needed to think through each of her steps. She couldn’t make a mistake. If she did, she was sure everything would go south quickly. She walked forward, running her hands along the wall until the tip of her shoe hit something. She bent down and ran her hands along the floor and felt a step.
Hope took them up, holding onto the wall as she climbed. After several steps, cool metal bit into her palm. It was a doorknob. She grabbed it and frowned, finding it locked.
“Damn it.”
Did you honestly expect them to leave it unlocked? They kidnapped you. They aren’t going to leave you in an unlocked room.
She took a deep breath and crouched, peering underneath the door. She could see a hallway and some lights but nothing else. There were no doors, so even if she could get out, she had nowhere to run. She figured they probably had guards stationed at the end of the hallway, too far for her to see.
She heard footsteps and crouched lower, looking farther up the hallway. She noticed boots coming her way.
Quickly moving back down the stairs, she stepped out of the path of the door. She got to the bottom and quickly sat down, looking as if she was still tied up.
