“Still mouthing off? You little—”
My body lurches forward despite the binds, vomit spraying out of my mouth and onto the floor and the dickhead in front of me.
Now I feel better.
I can see the shock and disgust on his face as the vomit splatters everywhere—a small victory in this nightmare. The taste of bile still lingers in my mouth, but seeing his face contort in disgust makes it all worth it.
“Woops.”
The two short arses leave the room in a hurry; it doesn’t help that one of them was in the middle of eating a chicken fillet roll when my body decided to reenact that bed scene from the exorcist.
My captor, soon-to-be executioner, is far from impressed.
It turns out blood is ok, but puke is a no go for him.
He’s the last one to leave Ciara and me alone in the room while he cleans himself off.
With tears still staining my cheeks, I remember what Aiden drilled into my head about cable ties—if only I could get to my shoelaces at this angle.
I glance at Ciara, who is eyeballing my shoes for all their worth. She’s thinking the same thing. Our hands are bound behind our backs, but our feet are now thankfully free since they tied our arses to these rickety kitchen chairs.
“I’m coming to you,” I grunt, bouncing on my heels to inch closer to Ciara. The chair legs scrape against the linoleum floor as I shuffle towards her, each movement causing a loud creak that echoes in the small room. It takes a few tries and a near miss that almost plants me face first on the ground, but I manage to turn enough so I can raise my feet enough to meet her hands.
Ciara’s fingers fumble with the knots, her face a mask of concentration. With a final tug, the laces come undone. “Now what?” She whispers.
“Listen to me very carefully,” I grunt. “You want to tie themaround your ties.”
She obediently follows my instructions, ensuring that the laces remain connected to my shoes, allowing me to pedal against the restraints. Despite her fumbling, she ties a knot that secures my shoes to her ties.
Despite the resistance, I pedal as quickly as I can, pushing myself to go faster and experiencing a burning sensation in my muscles. The ties snap under the pressure, and Ciara lets out a gasp of surprise. “You did it!”
“Help me get out of these!” I hiss, fighting against the restraints that hold my hands behind my back. Ciara mirrors what I did for her, securing a knot with her laces to keep them from coming loose. As she works to free me, I can feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins. Those arseholes will be back any minute.
I feel the ties snap, and finally, I am free.
“Thank fuck for that.” After securing our laces, we make our way to the door and peek out.
Shit.
Three of them are in the next room. I’m leaving a trail behind me thanks to my missing piggy.
I close the door as quietly as possible and turn to my sister. “Look at me…”I’m going to pass the fuck out.
“I’m not leaving you!” She hisses before I can finish the sentence.
“I’ll be right behind you. You’re shorter, quicker, and,” I hold up my hand. “Not leaving a trail.” I look into her tear filled eyes, trying to steady myself. “Aiden will be looking for us. I guarantee he’s out there. He’ll need to know where to go. If I get caught, you keep running; do you hear me? Keep running until you’re free of here, or we’re both dead.”
“I’m not leaving you!”
“You could have saved yourself when we were kids. Instead, you chose to stay for me. Do not make the same mistake now. Promise me you’ll keep going.”
She hesitates for a long moment, then nods, tears trickling down her cheeks.
As I gently open the door, I steal a final glance at my sister before guiding her into the dimly lit hallway, aware that this could potentially be the last time we see each other.
The men don’t notice a thing as Ciara slips past them, staying in the shadows and creeping towards what we hope is the exit.
I pause for a beat, waiting for the arsehole that stole my engagement ring to turn his back to the door, and then I make my move, slipping out behind him and following Ciara into the unknown.
