Page 59 of The Pakhan's Secret Baby

19

EMORY

I'm startled awake in the middle of the night, when it's so dark and consuming I can't see my hand in front of my face.

Everything is quiet now, so it might've been a dream, but my heart is pounding like it was real. I haven't gotten more than twenty minutes of sleep at a time because every time I doze off I dream of Gusev's men hurting my father.

I'm soaked in sweat, trembling where I lie. I don't know what Rashid did to my father or where he's keeping him.

And I'm not foolish enough to believe a man like him will keep his word and not harm him.

Rashid might be good at making my body come alive to sing his sexual praises, but he is the villain of this story.

My body aches and my mind won't shut off. If I could just get Lex away from here I could alert the authorities to what's going on with Batya.

Then maybe someone could help us, and get him out of these evil men's hands.

It's late, and the house is sleeping. If I get Lex now and sneak out, maybe there's a chance this could all be over before dawn.

I slip out of bed quietly, very aware that there's a guard in the hallway if I try to leave my bedroom. I walk over to the connecting door to the nursery, which opens without a sound. Marta is sleeping in the rocking chair beside the window with her head tipped back, snoring deeply. The small lamp on the dresser provides just enough light to see the crib. Lex is lying on his back with his arms above his head and his mouth open.

Rashid had this whole place set up so quickly you'd think he was expecting the boy for nine months. It's all brand new furniture too—the crib, a changing table, tons of toys, and even a baby monitor. Not at all like the shabby used pieces I've been able to afford with my waitressing tips. I feel ashamed at what I’ve been able provide, but I was determined to do it myself.

I scoop Lex out of the bed gently, wrapping his blanket around him as he softly mewls in his sleep.

It's so quiet that whoever is listening on the baby monitor probably just thinks he's turning over in his sleep, but Marta shifts. Her head turns and a long breath escapes her mouth, but her eyes stay shut.

I pause for a moment, waiting to make sure things settle before I start toward the door, which stands open still.

This is too easy.

It feels like I'm just going to walk out the door, though I know the window is the only option.

But for a woman attempting escape from her captor, my hands are strangely calm.

"I'm getting you out of here, baby, okay?" I whisper, kissing Lex's forehead as I tiptoe to the window. It's not a far drop, being on the first story, and if I'm careful I can do this quietly.

My eyes sweep over the landscape outside the window. There's a row of hedges that I can see but no fence, and in the distance I see the lights of the city, maybe six or seven blocks out. I can run for it, and hopefully no one will even hear me.

Hope blooms in my chest, making adrenaline surge as I unlock the window and pull it open. It squeaks on the hinges quietly, but not so loudly to even wake the sleeping baby, let alone alert guards. When I fling one leg out and straddle the windowsill I can almost taste freedom.

Until I drop to the ground and Lex lets out a loud wail. "Shhh, baby, not now," I whisper against his hair, but there's no time to stop. The jarring landing shoots pain into my leg, but the row of hedges beckons me as I take off, racing for it. My ankle throbs with every stride but the adrenaline pushes through it until my feet find the frozen grass, and I'm within a few strides of my goal.

But the floodlights flare before I reach the hedge, and the whole yard turns white as boots pound the gravel behind me.

Voices start shouting as I'm running, but Lex's screaming drowns them out.

My feet slide on a patch of ice, and a hand catches the back of my shirt and yanks me backward so hard my body spins and I almost drop him.

Air bursts out of my lungs, and for a second all I can see is the black sky wheeling above me before the guards close in on either side.

One of them reaches for Lex, prying him from my grasp as I fight them, kicking and clawing, but they're so strong.

"Don't touch him," I scream, twisting away from his hand. "Get your hands off my son!”

"Ma'am, come back inside," the taller one says. His grip tightens on my arm when I try to pull free. "Nobody's going to hurt you. Come back inside."

"Let go of me," I snarl, "I'm not going back in there."