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“Teagan and I shared a room and bathroom. She was the only person I needed to be careful around.” My explanation was calm and collected, and I knew that a part of me had mentally checked out as I retold the horror that Peter had inflicted. Thank God the fucker was dead, but I had bigger problems to deal with.
Voices floated down the hall and I froze for a second. Realizing the rope had dropped to the floor, I leaned down and scooped it up. Quickly, I wrapped the bloodied rope around one of my wrists, then put my arms behind me. “Does it look like I’m still tied up?”
Jag leaned back, eyeing my shitty job. “I think it will work.”
“Let’s hope so.”
Silence hung in the air between us as we waited to see if the door would open. My heart pounded so hard in my ears that I had trouble listening.
Several minutes later, the men’s footsteps faded, and I blew out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
“Hang on.” My ropes landed with a thud, then I leaned over and worked on the ones that bound my ankles to the chair. I glanced at Jagger, who was paying attention to my every move. “Pissing Peter off beat the hell out of being a Girl Scout. They don’t teach you how to get out of certain knots. After the first time the bastard tied me up, I googled and watched YouTube videos on survival and how to get free.” I left the ankle ropes near my seat in case I needed to secure myself again.
“Holy crap. My legs.” I went to work, furiously rubbing my calves and encouraging the blood flow. “As soon as I can walk. I’ll untie you.”
“Do you have any clue what to do?” Jagger looked at me expectantly.
“What, you don’t? My badass boyfriend is scrambling?”
He jerked back as if I’d slapped him. “I’ve got one, but you might not like it.”
“Maybe it’s the same idea.” I placed my palms on the sides of the seat and slowly pushed myself up, managing to get my feet steady beneath me. I took a tentative step and, seconds later, another. Pins and needles pricked my skin, and I fisted my hands, forcing myself to walk to the back of Jagger’s chair. Kneeling, I frowned. “It will take me a minute. The knots are tighter on yours.”
“Probably because you have tiny wrists and I don’t.” Jagger glanced over his shoulder, trying to watch.
“Got it.” I held one of his arms and placed it in his lap, massaging it awake.
“Fuck. They’re so numb.” He wiggled his fingers.
“I know. Wait until you stand. It doesn’t feel very good. Fortunately, we’ve both had enough crappy experiences that it’s made us strong.” I looked at my boyfriend, adoration in his gaze. “You’re incredible.”
I hurried to the other side and worked on his right arm. “How’s your shoulder?”
“No idea.” A smart-ass grin slipped into place. “I can barely feel my arms and hands, but I bet it’s going to be pissed at me when I have feeling in my body again.”
“Probably.” I knelt before him, working on the ropes that bound his ankles. “What’s your idea?” I needed to hear what he had to say first. Rubbing his legs, I gave him my undivided attention.
He lifted his arm and pointed to the ceiling where several wood beams crisscrossed. “I’ll get up there, and when the fuckers come in and see us gone, I’ll shoot them.”
“See if you can stand up.” I reached out to him and rooted my feet to the floor, leaning back as I helped pull him from the chair. I placed his palms on my shoulders and walked backward several steps. “I know you’re capable of walking, but if you eat it, then we’re risking your shoulder and I need you intact.”
“I know. It’s why I didn’t refuse the help.” He winced. “Fuck. You’re right. Walking doesn’t feel too good.”
Once Jagger could lift his feet like a normal human being, he walked over to the tray of tools. He handed me a pair of rusty wire cutters. “Hide these on you in case we need them.”
Jagger grabbed his gun, slid back the slide-lock, and peered inside before he removed the clip and counted the bullets. “If we’re smart about firing shots, we should have enough to get the fuck out of here.”
I looked up at the beams on the ceiling. “One of us needs to be up there, the other down here.”
Jagger shook his head. “No. We both go up. The second they spot the empty chairs, they’re going to run out searching for us. We’ll save our bullets, hurry across the hall, and out the exit door.”
My eyes widened. “Why didn’t you tell me you saw it? I couldn’t see shit from my angle.”
“Sorry. I thought you would have said something.”
“It’s fine.” We didn’t have time to argue anyway.
Muffled voices grew nearer and we scrambled to our chairs. I quickly tied his arms behind his back and his feet to the chair.
