His hand flew before she could raise her arms to protect her face. Pain slashed deep, and she cried out as her hands flew to her face.
The throbbing in her head kept her from hearing what he said, but she wouldn’t ask him to repeat himself. Asking for clarification just led to more pain for her.
“He knows now. I had a handle on it, and then he was about to figure it out. Jesus, how could we have been so stupid?”
She hated how he included her in his failures. It wasn’t like she had any say in whatever it was he did. She wasn’t allowed out of the house. She saw him driving one of those refrigerator trucks back to the barn and unloading something, but she didn’t know what he did or how he made money. She knew nothing outside the walls of this house, and even then, she didn’t know everything inside the house.
If she could get outside, she sure as hell wouldn’t run back to the barn and take a look. She didn’t need to know what he was doing. All she needed was the opportunity to escape.
He threw up his hands as he stalked around the room. “Shit, this is terrible. I don’t want to leave here. Maybe he doesn’t know where we are. I never shared my location. He was too trusting. Dumb shit deserved to die.”
Calla wasn’t sure who he was talking about, but she hoped he was okay. Brent was mean, devious in a demented way. His twisted soul was why their parents were buried in the far field with nothing marking their graves. They’d thought they could handle Brent, but no one could handle his twisted ways.
He turned to her, his eyes narrowing. “Make me breakfast. I’m hungry.”
She ducked her head as she stood, following him to the kitchen. All the knives were in locked drawers. She guessed she could smash him in the head with the frying pan, but he was stronger than she was, and if she didn’t take him out with the first blow, he would probably kill her.
Maybe he would make a mistake, and she would be able to escape, eventually. If she could just get something to open the door with, or maybe one of the windows without bars on them, then she could figure a way out.
But Brent never left the keys where she had access, and anything she could pick the lock with had been removed from the kitchen. There wasn’t anything useful in the laundry room, or she would have taken it by now.
She fixed him eggs, bacon, and biscuits, sneaking bites while he wasn’t looking. Before she plated the biscuits, she was able to put one into her pocket.
After she served him food, she went to the bathroom. This bathroom didn’t have a window, so he didn’t make her keep the door open. She wolfed down the biscuit, almost moaning out loud at the first bite. The number of calories she consumed each day wasn’t enough. She needed more food, but Brent wasn’t going to give it to her.
Maybe he knew she took his food. He’d never said anything about it. Or maybe he was just ignorant and didn’t pay attention. But she would be dead if she didn’t take bites while she cooked.
Once she finished eating the biscuit, she rinsed her mouth out, removing the evidence of the food.
Brent was still eating breakfast when she stepped from the bathroom. He didn’t even look up when she started cleaning the dishes.
Desperation slid through her. She closed her eyes, trying to force away the emotions. Brent hated it when she showed any emotion. He got very angry at her "displays" as he called them.
If she could just hold on a little longer, she could make it out of this. She just had to keep her head down, and then she could figure out a way to escape. Once she was free, she could live on the streets. Being homeless was better than being here. At least she would have freedom even if she had no money or food.
Chapter 6
Thario agreedto go to the hospital after they dropped by the veterinarian's office and got Frog medical treatment. The vet promised to call Sharp as soon as he had any information on what had been given to Frog.
At the hospital, Thario didn’t argue about the tests the doctors wanted to perform, and he didn’t balk at getting the CT scan. He was sure he had a concussion based on how he felt.
The nurse came in, his smile wide. “So we’ve hooked you up with fluid so you will be well hydrated, but are you hungry? The doctor said you could eat something since it doesn’t seem like you need surgery.”
He nodded, unsure if he really wanted to eat anything. The headache made him feel nauseous. Eating a big meal was the last thing he wanted.
“How about some crackers for starters? Then we can go from there? I grabbed two different trays when they came around with food, so you’ll have options.”
“Thank you.”
"You're welcome. Now then, let me check some numbers, and then I'll get you those crackers."
By the time he got the crackers, he was a little hungry. Then Sharp and Griz came into his room.
“I spoke to the police. They want to talk to you, eventually. They are wondering how someone ended up dead in your house.”
Thario let out a heavy sigh. It was all so stupid and overly complicated. “I don’t really know.”
“I told them what you told us,” Griz said. “They still need to talk to you.”
