The thing was, the window was sealed shut from years of disuse and the only way out was to break the glass. Not only were we risking getting cut, but it would make a noise.
“Okay. Look. Down there is Dad’s car. See that? We can take one of the curtains, smash the window, and then climb out and down that tree, and run to the car.”
Bailey and I knew full well how to climb down trees and sneak out, but what about Lily? “Do you think you can do it?”
She nodded yes, so I went into the main room and yanked down a thick curtain from the rod and dragged it into the bathroom. The place had been stripped of anything else like towels or sheets, so this was all we had to work with.
“We have to be ready to scramble out the window the second we get the opening big enough, Okay?”
The girls nodded. I held the curtain up over the window
“Okay. One…two…three!”
I kicked the window as hard as I could to break it, but nothing happened except it made a really loud sound.
So, I kicked again and heard a small crack. So much for my Charlie’s Angels moves. “Help me!”
All three of us started kicking the shit out of the window until finally it shattered.
“Bailey. You go first. Lily, watch how she does it.”
I wrapped Bailey up in the curtain until she was safely through the opening and then took it back in when she reached the tree. Bailey slid down the tree like a fire pole. It probably hurt like hell, but at least she was free.
Lily was next and I was surprised at how quickly she moved. She was out and down the tree in less than a minute.
Now it was my turn. At twenty five it had been a long time since I’d snuck out any windows. It took me a couple minutes longer, but also because I was wrestling with the damn curtain. Finally, I got out, but I could feel blood dripping somewhere. Whatever, I didn’t have time to look.
Shimmying down the tree was no small feat, either, and I made a note to get to the gym more often.
As soon as my feet touched the ground, I was ready to run to the car.
Except for one little problem. I was staring down the end of a gun, being held by a guy standing two feet from me. Where the hell did he come from? Behind him, two other guys were holding Bailey and Lily.
Dammit! We were so close.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” This must be that Diablo guy, because his voice sounded the same. “You think you are going to steal from me? Those girls represent twenty thousand dollars.” He took a step forward and said, “You, on the other hand, are a worthless puta. I should fucking kill you right now.”
I started hyperventilating and felt sheer panic. This was how I was going to die?
“Diablo, man. Come on. You said I could have her.” That was the other voice from the room. I looked at him and he was a greasy fat guy who looked to be about forty.
Diablo stood holding the gun in my face, and then took a step backward.
“Fine. Get the bitch out of my face then. I don’t want to see her.”
At that command, the guy came over and grabbed my arm as the girls were wrestled into the same SUV that they were probably brought here in. “Come on girls. We have a plane to catch.”
Forty-One
Ryder
The first thing I noticed was a ringing in my ears. It was loud and high-pitched, like feedback between a microphone and a speaker. The next thing, of course, was a cracking headache and the awareness that my face was in the dirt.
Where was I? What had happened? I had to strain my brain to put the pieces together. I was outside laying in dirt. Why? That’s right. I rode out to the desert. I came here to find Lily. I found her and…I must have been hit over the head and dragged somewhere.
I tried opening my eyes, but all I saw was darkness. Was I blind? No. It was just night and pitch black.
Night! Dammit. I need to get to the water tower before that plane comes. I assumed that whoever hit me over the head had already moved the girls and Paige by now. I needed to get up and find my bike.
