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Now my problem was waiting for the perfect opportunity. My guards had stopped leaving the door at the top of the stairs open ever since Jacob’s last visit when he had chastised them for it.
I had not dared try to make my escape yet. Once I did, I wouldn’t have a second chance. The grille would be fully bent out of shape by my climbing through it and they would see it. So if the door at the top was locked and my chance failed, then all my hard work would be wasted.
And I was scared of the punishment. Whenever the sleazy dirty cop was on duty, he had started pausing outside my door whenever he came to bang on it to check I was alive.
I could almost hear him breathing out there, waiting, listening. Thinking.
It was like he wanted me to give him an excuse to come in. The thought of him in here and what he wanted to do sickened me.
At nights, I huddled into my mattress afraid to sleep. Too cold to sleep. Wishing Marco would come.
I wanted him to see me here and know I was innocent and be sorry.
Sorry for calling me a whore. Sorry for being such a cold bastard.
But most of all, sorry for throwing me out of his heart.
If I had ever been in it to begin with.
That tormented me too, the idea that maybe he’d never cared for me at all. That maybe I had made it all up in my head.
If Dolly had been alive, she’d have warned me off immediately. I could hear her voice in my head. “He’s playing you, Beth. Don’t fall for it. Men aren’t worth it.”
And Dolly was always right. So why did my heart hurt so badly?
The daylight coming in from my narrow strip of window began fading. Evening was here. I could work on pulling out more of the nails from the grille, but there was little point. I had done enough. And my fingers screamed in protest at the mere thought.
I had already checked the upper door earlier and saw it was closed.
I sat on my mattress munching some chocolate coated peanuts and a bag of bacon flavour crisps, and keeping my ears open. The faint noise of a TV programme came from above. The guards liked to occupy themselves by watching stuff on their phones.
I was sick to death of junk food, but Jacob had only brought a couple of sandwiches on one of his visits after I had begged for real food. Thankfully, he’d brought me a toothbrush too.
I was waiting for my guard to come for his next life-check, hoping he would leave the upper door open on his way out. It wasn’t the dirty cop tonight. So I had decided to risk talking to him, maybe begging him for a diet coke. Something to distract him, maybe get him to forget locking up as usual.
I vaguely remembered the layout of the house from when Jacob had brought me to the basement that first day. At the top of the cellar stairs, there were two doors on either side. I didn’t know what was through them. But I had to turn right, go down the corridor past the kitchen, then the room I’d been in when I awoke from the drugs. Then I would reach the front door and freedom.
I could creep past while the guard was busy watching his program. It would be at least an hour before he realised I was gone. And surely this house had to be in London somewhere? I had often heard the distant rumble of London Underground trains passing somewhere not too far from here, even if there seemed little road traffic outside.
Help had to be somewhere nearby. Freedom was so close. Maybe even tonight.
I leaned my head against the wall and listened, waiting.
Then I sat up in alarm when I heard the distant thump of the front door of the house opening. This was new. There was never a change of guard in the evenings. Guard changes always happened in the mornings.
I strained to hear. Voices came from above. I could make out a cadence that I was sure was Jacob. And another. Someone else.
Darn it. What was happening?
Footsteps came stumping down the stairs. To my surprise, the sleazy guard came in. I stood with my back to the wall, glaring at him defiantly.
He tossed a carrier bag of toiletries and clothing at me. “Get upstairs,” he barked. “Boss wants you to shower and get dressed.”
Chapter 35
BETH
“Get changed? Why?” I asked the creep, half timid, half defiant.
