God, I want her to say yes. Because maybe…that means she’ll stay with me. But West leans forward expectantly, and I force out a deep breath. “I knew every guard by sound and smell. I could tell if it was morning or night based on their scent. And when they brought us down into the caves the first time, I memorized every turn. Every step. How the ground felt under my feet. How sounds echoed off the walls. I had a mental map of the way out the minute they threw me in that hole. Every time they moved me. A couple of times, I was unconscious. As soon as I’d wake up, though, I could figure out where I was by the smells, the sounds, and the feel of the rocks or walls around me.”
I swallow hard and stifle my shudder as I turn to Wren. “How long have you known Dax?”
Her brow furrows a little. “Almost four years.”
“Ever wonder why he’s so damn good at getting around?”
She huffs. “All the time. He’s scary. I swear he doesn’t need that cane.”
“We spent maybe half our time in Hell unable to see. There were times they’d leave us tied up and blindfolded for days. If we could see, we’d be in near darkness or with bright lights shining directly in our faces.”
“You never saw a damn thing outside of the cells?” West asks, shock infusing his tone.
I shake my head. “Not until the day I escaped.”
With a long, low whistle, West leans back, lacing his fingers behind his neck. “Fuck, Ry. The guys in my unit…we had recon and logistics exercises every week. And we were never anywhere near that good. Those damn caves were like an Escher drawing. When you led us back there…I kept expecting you to pull a map out of your kit.”
“Sorry. I probably owe you a hundred bucks.”
“Try two.” Running a hand through his hair, West snorts. “Why didn’t you ever tell anyone?”
“Didn’t think anyone would believe me.” I shrug. “And after Dax…I didn’t ever want to think about those fifteen months again.” Silence fills the room, West and Inara looking a bit dazed.
“So my password…” Wren’s gaze holds a mix of awe and humor as she intertwines our fingers.
“Piece of cake, sweetheart. Had it memorized before we left Boston.”
34
Wren
Athud from the basement sends West and Inara to check on Semyon. Ryker’s so tense, I’m worried he’s going to implode. He hasn’t let go of my hand, and my fingers throb from his tight grip, but last night’s words ring in my ears.
“You find something real. Something to hold on to.”
Ryker is real. Real and flawed and perfect. And he loves me. Meeting his gaze, I cup his cheek with my free hand. “Are you okay?”
West’s footsteps interrupt any reply as he stalks into the kitchen muttering, “Fucker expects to eat. Should I tell him the Geneva convention doesn’t apply here?”
“We need him.” Inara brushes her hands off on her black pants as she returns to the living room to study one of the laptops on West’s table. “He’s the only one who knows the hotel layout. And we can use him. I hope. The old plan probably would have worked.”
I touch Ryker’s arm. “Was…there actually a plan?”
His eye roll speaks volumes. Yes, there was a plan. No, he didn’t like it. But he couldn’t figure out a better option.
“We took everything into account.” Ryker snorts softly. “Except you, baby.”
As his words sink in, I start to tremble. “You couldn’t rescue Elena because I escaped. What if Kolya kills her before we—you—can get her out?”
“Stop.” Ryker’s growl reassures and frightens at the same time. “You will not blame yourself, Wren. There was no way inhellI was going to lose you. The second I saw you, we dumped the plan.”
Elena’s desperate blue eyes are all I can see. “Can you just…use the same plan?”
With a shake of his head, Ryker sighs. “Between Semyon’s information and the blueprints Cam found online, West had the whole thing mapped out for us. We were going to breach the hotel through the roof. West approached from the north, and I came from the south. Inara was five hundred yards away on the old clock tower.”
Ryker pauses for a sip of coffee, and his eyes darken. “That roof hatch leads to an attic crawl space. It’s hard to tell on the blueprints, but I think it opens up to that bathroom you were in. You were my first priority. If you hadn’t jumped off the balcony, I would have been there less than ten minutes later.”
“Oh.” I stifle my shudder. “You would have been too late.” I can’t force my voice above a whisper, and Inara leans forward as Ryker cups my chin and urges my head up to meet his gaze. “Kolya was done waiting. He was going to rape me—without drugging me—so I’d be so desperate to…forget…I’d do anything he wanted…just so he’d take the pain away.”
