Page 24 of Savage Little Secret

Why should I still care about her?

I leave the room, hearing her soft cries from down the hallway. Pain radiates through me as I head to the couch to lay down, feeling torturously alone in this situation.

There’s no clean way out now.

Only blood.

9

Cara

I’ve pushed Dmitri past his limit. If I want to survive, I have to get out.

But how the hell do I do that?

I pull my wrist against the zip tie, trying to snap the material with force, but it doesn’t break. It bites into my skin, leaving another angry welt.

My father isn’t coming.

No one is coming to save me.

I twist toward the headboard and study the zip tie. There has to be a weakness in it.

If the Council is breathing down Dmitri’s neck, I’m already dead.

I really don’t have a choice now. Escape or die.

I inspect the little box on the tie, seeing a tab pressing down on the tie, then try to wedge my fingernail between the tab and the tail of the zip tie, pressure building under my nail bed. If I break this nail, I have four more I can use.

My nail slips under the tab.

Don’t shake. Don’t slip.

I push. Pull.

And eventually, the plastic slides free.

“Holy shit,” I breathe.

I let the unraveled plastic fall onto the pillow as I crawl away from the headboard that’s been my prison for too long. Getting out of the zip tie is only part one of my escape plan, though. I’ll still need to rush past Dmitri and whatever guards are outside or fight them off.

One step at a time, though.

I rub my wrist, soothing the ache of the red marks in my skin. As I approach the bedroom door, I stop and listen for a few minutes. I didn’t hear Dmitri leave earlier, but I also don’t hear him at all right now.

My heartbeat pounds in my ears as I quietly open the unlocked door and step out into the hallway, wincing every time a floorboard creaks under my weight. When I make it to the end of the hallway, I carefully peek around the corner. My eyes fall on Dmitri asleep on the couch.

My gaze lingers on his pinched face for a second. Even asleep, he looks haunted.

I tear my eyes away, focusing on my plan.

Maybe once I’m safe, I can tell him everything.

Maybe he’ll listen.

Or maybe I’m delusional.

With one bare foot in front of the other, I creep out of the hallway and through the living room toward the foyer, my eyes flicking back and forth between the front door and Dmitri to make sure that he’s still asleep. So far, so good.