Page 30 of Scarred Redemption

Whatever that meant, I sensed our usefulness would be over. After that, I could only imagine what our fates would be. If our captors had wanted us dead, that would have occurred by now. The cat and mouse game was meant to inflict as much pain on Maxsim as possible, but they’d want their money’s worth for the trouble of keeping us watered and fed like animals.

Maybe our bodies and the fact we were female were worth something to them in slave trade. If anyone thought they could lay a hand on the sweet child, I’d cut it off. There was little left of me but hatred and anger, although every time I envisioned Maxsim’s face, it gave me hope.

“Okay, baby girl. I’m going to get us out of here. Just think about Shadow because we’re going home.”

Her audible shudder nearly broke my heart. How the hell could anyone do this to a child? Little men playing wars for the right to claim the throne. My pockets were laden with the few items I’d found. Thankfully, we’d been provided with different clothes. Nothing to write home about, but they would keep our bodies protected from the elements until we were rescued.

While I worked on the lock, I heard several sounds, the clanging of machinery and I could swear something like the rumble of an engine. Fear kept my fingers stiff, but I had to block out everything but the mission at hand. One try. Just one attempt and this had to work.

Seconds turned into minutes and beads of sweat rolled down the back of my neck. I had one screw to remove and it was being stubborn. Every little whimper slipping past Mina’s tight lips brought a deep ache into my system.

As soon as the screw was free, I almost pumped my fist, but the piece of metal fell from my hand, pinging against the floor. Shit. I had no idea if we were being monitored from anywhere closer. Another risk that I was willing to take.

There were no footsteps, no deep voices. Just silence. I took a deep breath and removed the plate, which provided a large enough hole I could just put a finger inside. I pulled the door, forced to use a little exertion to get it open.

With every inch, I stopped long enough to listen, finally realizing there was no one on the other side.

“Come on, baby girl. Let’s go.”

“I’m not a baby, Izzy. I’m six.”

I shuddered inwardly hearing her voice, and the moment of strength I hadn’t heard in at least a week. “That’s right. Almost an adult.” I kissed the top of her head and took her by the hand. Remaining against the wall, I crept toward the bathroom we’d used.

When we were close, I heard a couple of male voices. Not in panic or anger. A conversation. Only they were speaking a different language. If I only had the time to try to decipher which dialect I was hearing, but time was of the essence.

We moved into the shower room quietly, the light automatically coming on. That was the one aspect that could get us into trouble, but there was nothing I could do. I placed my finger across my lips and led her to the back of the room and to where the window was located inside one of the shower stalls. Obviously, rooms in the location had been converted, which was why I was hopeful no one even remembered the window was here.

There was a bench built into the tile. I stepped on it, reaching for the window. Shit. It was stuck. There was a chance I’d need to break the glass. Not what I wanted to do.

Breathe. Take a deep breath.

“Stay right here, my little adult.” I brushed hair from her face and when she gripped my arm, her breathing coming in short pants, I lifted her chin. “It’s okay. I’m not going anywhere. Just to grab a towel. But if anything happens, you stay right here. Right where you’re standing. Can you do that?”

“O-tay.” When I was just about to leave the space, her little voice and the words caught me off guard. “I love you.”

No. No. No! Anger boiled deep within.

“Oh, baby. I love you too.”

I left her standing in the shower and returned to the main room, thankful one perk of working there was that someone always left a stack of towels. As soon as I grabbed one, my heart began to race from hearing the whooshing of the door opening.

A man walked inside. At first, he wasn’t paying any attention, which allowed me to yank out my precious weapon. With the letter opener in my hand, I did nothing more than wait to see how he’d react.

With total shock at first, not even moving a muscle. I did a quick sweep of his body and it didn’t seem as if he was wearing a weapon. Given he was covered in dirt and grime, it would appear he was a worker ready to take a shower.

I stuck out the letter opener so he’d know I was armed. He appeared confused for a few seconds, his eyes narrowing.

“I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if necessary. Your boss has been holding me hostage for weeks. All I want to do is to get out of here. I’m with a child. Will you help me get out of here?”

Maybe I was a fool or simply as of yet to lose all sense of humanity. Then again, maybe I was hoping that he’d offer help.

I should have known better.

“Sure thing, lady.” His voice held an accent and once again, I couldn’t place it. He smiled and that was my first clue he was lying. The second was when he lunged toward me.

He did have a weapon, a huge hunting-style knife and was determined to use it. I’d been trained to watch the movements of an aggressor. They were always telling as to his next move.

I was thankful I fell into a rhythm and routine, my years of studying karate claiming the fear keeping me on edge. As soon as he lunged forward, I struck, kicking him in the stomach. He was huge and my strength had been compromised, which left his body barely registering the hit.