“You want to discuss room color while we’re hanging around here waiting to die.”
“No, damn it, Heather, but I need something to distract me and keep my mind off the fact it’s gonna take me another few hours to just get my fucking boot off. If I can even do it. Then it’s back to trying to pick up that piece of metal. I don’t even know if it’s the right size to fit in the locks forthese things.”
He rattled the chains holding his hands. “It’s the only chance we have unless you’ve got some trick up your sleeve to get these cuffs off I don’t know about.”
“No, no tricks. So, um, I was thinking of maybe a sage green in the kitchen.”
Getting the knot out of his shoe wasn’t the easiest thing, though he felt a bit more successful each time the lace shifted. As Heather rattled on about her new house and he kept pulling out the knot little by little, he gave some serious thought to dying. It wasn’t anything new. When he’d been in Afghanistan he’d thought about it a lot. Like every time they lost one of their guys or even when someone was injured. Certainly, when he’d been in the rubble of the bombed-out building.
Closing his eyes and breathing deeply, he tried to keep the oppressive space from moving in on him. Ever since he’d been trapped for a few days, he had this thing about tight spaces. The room they were in wasn’t all that small but the darkness somehow made it feel smaller and more cramped. And the fact he couldn’t move or free himself exacerbated the claustrophobia more.
Resting for a few moments, he checked his watch again. Another few hours had passed. Holy shit, seriously, this was useless. Then Heather sighed a few feet from him and he knew he’d spend every last second they had in here trying to get her out and safe.
“So I told my mom I wasn’t going to this latest party. To say she wasn’t happy would be an understatement. I know she only wants to see me happily married and taken care of but I can’t stand all the fakeness and snobbery. I want to puke on halfthese people.”
Scott listened as she rattled on. She wasn’t expecting any response from him, which was good, since he was using his teeth to untie the lace. But as she spoke, he got a better sense of who she was. Less the socialite and more the woman he’d fallen in love with. He could admit it now. It made perfect sense when he thought about his reactions to her. Maybe now wasn’t the time to tell her. He’d keep an eye on the countdown, though. She deserved to know before it was too late.
“That’s why I’ve been working so hard with my business and why I wanted this renovation project to be successful. If I can show my parents, especially my father, that I can earn money and take care of myself, then they might not push the whole marriage-to-a-billionaire thing.”
“But your mom is the one who keeps pushing you to get married.”
“Yeah, but my dad’s opinion carries a lot of weight with her. She’d listen if he told her to stop.”
Time after time, he lifted his boot to his face and attempted to loosen the tie. Monotonous and slow, it was frying his nerves, but the alternative wasn’t acceptable. Finally, after what had to be a million times, his teeth grabbed the end of the shoe lace and it actually pulled all the way out. Fuck. About time.
Taking a few minutes to rest, he focused in on Heather. She was still talking though he hadn’t been paying real close attention for a while. The sound of her voice had been soothing and helped keep him going. It didn’t matter what she was saying. Something about volunteering at a veterans hospital and going with Charlotte to walk dogs at the pound. She was a good person. Why had he ever thought she was like those uptight snobs? Now she was back to the subject of her new house. The one he hoped he’d be able tobuild for her.
“I’m not sure about the two extra bedrooms upstairs. For now, I’ll use one as an office but not sure what to do with the other. If I paint it a neutral color, will I have to repaint whenI have a baby?”
A baby? Whoa, maybe he should have been listening a bit closer.
“Um, princess, is there something I need to know about? You said you’d been taking your pills.”
“Nothing for you to worry about. If I’m going to daydream then I want to go all the way.” Her little chuckle sounded whimsical. “I hadn’t really thought about having kids, at least not yet. But someday. And now that I might not”—her voice had grown thick with tears—“I realize I want them. A little boy like Jonathan, or a little girl to dress up and fix her hair. Or one of each ora few of each.”
The image of Heather all full and round with his child, his little boy or girl, slammed into his gut and shook him to his soul. Shit. He wanted that too.
Sticking the toe of one work boot against the back of the one with the loosened laces, he twisted his foot, pushing. The laces were still tight, but after a few minutes of wiggling and kicking at it, his foot slipped out of the boot. Immediately, he scraped his now-stockinged foot over the metal piece then slid it toward his other foot. Manipulating it with his toes, he was able to get it wedged between his feet. Now to lift and get itnear his hand.
“Here’s where I need your flexibility, princess.”
Heather clicked the light back on and focused near the action. “This might help.”
“Thanks.” Grabbing the bolt in a secure grip, he slowly raised his legs, his ab muscles screaming at the continued torture. He wouldn’t listen to them, though. If this fell and moved too far away, they were screwed. There wasn’t any other way out of this that he could tell. Time was running out.
The muscles in his arms tightened and pulled as his legs got closer and closer. Another few inches. So close. A cramp in his thigh throbbed, almost making him drop his legs. No, damn it. He needed to do this. He wanted to look at Heather and get support from her but he didn’t dare take his eyes off the piece of metal barely hanging on.
“You can do it, Scott. Iknow you can.”
She believed in him. Glad someone did. He was having doubts personally. But his feet were getting closer, only another inch or so. Stretching his hand out as far as the manacle would let him he reached for the object. Almost. The tips of his fingers touched it.Don’t lose it now, Holland. You’re almost there.
Yes. He closed his hand around the metal and held tight. Dropping his legs to the floor he sagged against the wall and let out a huge sigh, his breathing rough.
“You did it. You did it.”
His sweet little cheerleader.
“I’m going to need a minute to recover from that. Save thelight for now.”
