AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I wince as the tip of the screw nicks my skin again.
Alright. So I messed up. Maybe I should have listened to my boss and let someone else play this charade. Maybe for once, I shouldn’t have charged into danger and tried to play hero. But thanks to my training, I know not to panic. I know I can get out of this. And then I’ll expose Bruno Zane for the savage son of a bitch he is and put him behind bars where the true animals like him belong.
The thought steels my resolve and spurs me on. I keep working with the screw and the sticky fibers of the duct tape finally begin to unravel. A few more pokes of the screw and it loosens. One powerful tug of my wrists and it rips. A sigh of relief leaves my lips.
Thank goodness.
I don’t have time to do a victory dance, though. Not that I can. I proceed with pulling the coils of rope over my head to free my arms. Then I rip the duct tape off my lips. Ouch. That hurts just as much as when Bruno pulled off my fake mustache. I untie my ankles next. Finally, I’m out of the chair. Now, I just have to get out of this stinky basement and this maniac’s mansion.
I start to pick the lock of the door with the pin I keep in my shoe. I heard keys earlier, so this door should be locked, not bolted.
I’m right. The lock pops. The door opens. I climb up the stairs quietly and turn left, opposite the way I remember I was brought in.
There’s no way I can leave through the front door. That’s heavily guarded and I don’t have a weapon. My best bet is to sneak out through the back, maybe a service entrance. Maybe I can even find a maid and borrow her uniform as a disguise.
The first thing I find, though, is a guard patrolling the corridor. Bad luck. Or maybe not.
I hide behind a shelf until he comes close. Then I pounce on him from behind and wrap my belt firmly around his neck. He struggles, but I have the advantage and he eventually grows limp. I drag him into the nearest room, take his gun and then his phone. I send just one important message, then continue with my escape.
I go out the window and make my way through the grounds, staying in the shadows and keeping an eye out for cameras and guards. My heart pounds in my chest, skipping a beat at the slightest suspicion of getting caught.
Please don’t let them catch me.
When I see a small black gate, my heart races even more, almost as if it’s trying to propel me outside. I run towards it, casting caution to the wind. A few feet away, I stop as I hear the click of a gun behind me. Fear freezes me in place.
“Did you really think you were going to get away?” I hear Bruno’s snide voice behind me.
I tilt my eyes up. God, I hate him. It’s monsters like him that make the world a miserable, sometimes unbearable place, and too often, the world just lets them. I won’t. I’m not going to let him get away.
“I won’t think that if you won’t,” I answer as I put my hands up and turn around slowly.
The glare of a flashlight meets my gaze and I squint before turning my head to the side. What the hell?
He chuckles. “What exactly do you think you can do, huh? You think you can bring me down? You’re just one person.”
“So are you.”
“But I’m not alone. I have friends you don’t want to mess with.”
“I know. Don’t worry. They’ll be with you soon.”
Another chuckle. Then he strokes his chin. “You know what? You’ve already wasted enough of my time.”
He glances over his shoulder at one of his men. “Just sh – ”
Suddenly, a scream pierces the air. I take advantage of the distraction and grab Bruno. I wrap my arm around him, draw the gun I took from the guard, and press the muzzle against his temple.
“Don’t move,” I tell him.
He swallows and falls silent.
“Boss.” A man comes running. “The animals. They’ve escaped. Their cages just suddenly opened and – ”
He stops as he realizes what’s going on.
“Stay right where you are,” I tell him before turning to the other man who has his gun pointed at me. “You, drop your gun.”
He doesn’t.
“Drop it or I’ll shoot him,” I threaten.
“Will you?” Bruno taunts me. “Aren’t you supposed to bring me in?”
“Shut up,” I tell him.
His every breath insults me.
“You think the situation has changed,” he goes on to my dismay. “That you’ve won. But you haven’t. You’re still all alone.”
Just then, a siren starts to wail, the sound getting louder. Others follow. In the distance, I hear the whirring of helicopter blades.
