Chapter 36
Thirty-Six
I need a ball .
Asher shifted, his restless energy seeking a way out. It didn’t matter that his muscles were on fire from the taser or that the drumline was back in his head. His brain worked just fine and it wanted desperately to come up with an escape plan.
At home, he ran. Sometimes he bounced a tennis ball off the wall in his lair while he puzzled out smaller problems.
This was a big problem, but running wasn’t an option.
He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to force his mind onto other things.
Esther’s face popped into his head. An ache formed in his chest. He missed her so damn much. She’d invaded his dreams a lot over the last few days. He’d run the gamut of emotions; from joy at seeing her bright smile and the laugh lines that formed at the corners of her beautiful blue eyes, to a passion so intense he ached with it. He missed her laugh. Missed seeing her roll her eyes at him when he said something ridiculous. He even missed her soft snore when she was deep asleep.
He missed her . Full stop.
After the third or fourth dream, where he’d awakened happy, only to have his heart ripped out of his chest when he realized he was still in this dank hole in the ground, the true reason hit him like an axe to the skull.
He loved her.
That thought had rattled around in his head for several minutes, continuing to flummox him, until it finally settled. The warmth from the feeling banished everything else, and he’d clung to it since. He would get out of here so he could tell her how he felt. Dying without her knowing wasn’t an option.
He also hoped he’d get to do more than tell her. He wanted what his friends had. The happy marriages; the babies on the way. It didn’t take much to envision that life with Esther. Asher would be damned if he’d let some psycho take that away from him.
A high-pitched beeping permeated the floorboards over his head. He glanced up, wincing as his sore muscles protested the movement.
“What’s that noise?” Leah sat up next to him.
“I’m not sure.” It was one they hadn’t heard before.
A moment later, heavy footsteps sounded overhead. Something had their captor’s attention.
The footsteps paused for several seconds, then started again, faster. He was running.
Asher pushed to his feet when a door banged closed.
“Did he leave?” Leah asked.
“I think so.” Asher walked up the steps to listen at the door. They’d heard him come and go before, but never so quickly.
He went back down the stairs. “Something’s happening.”
Angling his head as he thought, he weighed their options. They could play it safe. He could sit back down, and they could wait. Or he could risk the taser—or worse—again and attempt to make something that would get them out of here or defend them when he came back.
His gaze connected with Leah’s. She’d complained of a scratchy throat this morning.
They were out of time. He needed to get Leah out of here.
“Okay, sweetie, here’s what we’re going to do. I think I can make something to aid in our escape.”
“With what? There’s nothing here.”
“There’s enough. Can you get my unicorn suit? I want you to rip out the fan and the wires.”
She got up while he crossed to his mattress on the floor. Getting to the springs wouldn’t be easy without a knife. Neither would removing them. But he couldn’t let it stop him. It was time to leave.
Asher heard the rip of fabric and glanced back. Leah had the costume’s fan in her hand and was hurriedly yanking the wires free from the suit. It gave him an idea. “Bring me the fan when you’re done.”
She gave the wires one last yank and pulled the entire unit free. Climbing off the bed, she walked over to him. “What are you going to do with it?”
“Right now, I’m going to use the plastic like a knife.” Palming the fan, he slammed it down. His knuckles scraped the floor, but the fan stayed stubbornly intact, so he did it again. This time, it cracked. Pulling on the pieces, he separated a chunk, giving him a nice point he could use to dig into the heavy mattress fabric.
“What do you plan to do once you dig into the mattress?”
“Use the springs. I noticed when he unlocked the door the other day it’s bolted. I don’t think it’s locked. I might be able to twist the springs into a long wire we can slip under the door to open the bolts.” It was a long shot, but it was better than sitting around waiting. “I can twist more together to make a shiv.”
“What’s a shiv?”
“Basically a knife, but it’s more for stabbing than cutting.”
“Oh. What happens if he has a gun this time?”
Asher’s movements faltered for a fraction of a second. He didn’t want to think about that. “Let’s not borrow trouble.