“Whatever. Man! Woman! Does it really matter? This isn’t some sort of escape room, Capri! It’s a sick, twisted game that ourhostfinds funny, and I’m not playing.” Lexi leans against the wall and crosses her arms over her chest, causing the green sequins on her dress to glitter in the muted light like the rage boiling inside me.
Defiant as always when she doesn’t get her way. Usually, I find this trait of hers endearing, but right now I want to punch her square in the face, especially when my husband’s life might be on the line.
We are alone in a foreign country. We don’t know a single soul here. Even worse, nobody knows precisely where we are because the travel plans didn’t have an official address. All it said was that we’d be collected at the airport in Glasgow.
This might just be a game, but it also might be real.
I ignore the panic clawing up my throat and start searching the walls surrounding us. What am I looking for? I’m not even sure. But I know that there has to be a way out of here, and I’ll stop at nothing to get back to Lee and make sure he’s okay. I’m pushing and pulling on every inch of the stone walls as Teagan reappears on the staircase.
“Holy hell, T!” Lexi shouts. “I didn’t hear you coming down the stairs!”
Teagan’s face comes to life in the red lights above us, and a small kernel of hope blooms when I see that she looks excited.
“Sorry, I took my heels off,” she explains. “But look! This was hiding on one of the steps!”
She hands me a glass bottle. As soon as I bring it to my face, I realize that it’s the same bottle of liquor that Lochlan was holding when we ran into him. I also notice the bottle is empty, but when I shake it, I hear something moving inside.
“So that creepy man with the lizard shoes is in on this?” Lexi scoffs. “I freaking knew it. Nobody trustworthy wears hideously disgusting shoes like that.”
“Shut up, Lexi!” Teagan snaps.
My jaw drops open in surprise as I look at her.
Teagan’s never talked to Lexi that way. The two of them have always been closer and shared a much closer bond than I have with either of them. I’ve always tried my best not to let that closeness flare up that small kernel of jealousy that resides in my heart over it. But hearing the venom in Teagan’s voice and seeing the anger radiating from her eyes toward Lexi shocks me to my core—it almost feels like she’s choosing me this time.
I glance at Lexi and see a flash of hurt and possibly regret in her expression.
As much as I want to ease the tension between us, I also know we don’t have time to waste, so I return my attention to the bottle.
The red light above us doesn’t do much for me as I try to peek through the glass. “I think it might be a piece of paper.”
Teagan reaches out and gently takes the bottle from my shaking hands. The room is freezing, and my dress is made up of useless scraps of fabric, letting the bone-chilling air seep through my skin.
“I know this is about to sound so stupid, but does anyone have a wine opener?” Teagan asks. “I don’t want to break it unless I have to.”
Lexi steps away from her spot on the wall and pulls her necklace off. “It’s not a wine opener, but maybe we can use it to pry the cork out?” Teagan brings the necklace to her face and inspects it. It’s gold and features a relatively large dragonfly pendant. I’m surprised I didn’t notice it right away, but Lexi’s natural beauty tends to distract from the minute details of her fashion choices.
“The tail is thick and long and curved just enough that it might actually work,” Teagan says in a rush before she turns and sets the bottle on the steps behind us. “Here, you two hold the bottle still while I work on prying the cork out.”
Lexi shrugs and sits next to me on the steps. Her hands are above mine on the bottle as we work to keep it steady so Teagan can do her part.
It’s a slow, agonizing task. The only sounds in the room are the sounds of us breathing and the dragonfly pendant hitting the glass lip of the bottle while Teagan uses it to break the cork apart. After what feels like hours, she gets the cork shredded enough and uses her thumb to push the rest of the broken cork into the bottle.
“There! We did it!” Teagan’s eyes are alight with excitement as we all stand. She flips the bottle upside down and gives it a good shake.
Lexi puts her hands under the bottle as Teagan tries to shake out whatever is waiting for us inside.
I glance up at the clock. My stomach turns leaden. “Guys, we only have six minutes left. We need to hurry this up!”
“We got it!” Lexi shouts. She unrolls the paper, and we all squint to see the words.
TRUTH OR DARE?
“What is this?” Lexi says incredulously. “Truth or dare? Are you serious?” She walks over to the door and bangs on it several times with her fist. “Let us out of here, you damn psychopath!”
The speaker crackles above us again, and the distorted voice greets us. “Truth or dare? Clock’s ticking, ladies.”
“This is bullshit! Let us out!” Lexi screams again.
