Chapter 20
Twenty
Luca
The accommodations for a prison are better than one might expect. Instead of being detained in a basement like my father’s holding cell, we’re locked in an interior bedroom. There are no windows, no means of escape, but at least it’s roomy, comfortable, and contains a bed.
There’s no sign of a bathroom, which means either they’re expecting us to use a piss pot, or more likely, they’ll let us out, one at a time, to use the bathroom. Which is probably our one chance at escape.
Harper is the one who should try to get away.
Not only because she’s my wife, but because she’s pregnant.
She’s resting her head on the pillow, lying above the blankets on the plush mattress after being practically electrocuted by the device around her neck.
I’ll need to find a way to disarm it.
“Luca.” Her voice is soft, and she mumbles as she pats the bed beside her. She’s only been resting for a few short minutes.
I’m still surveying every inch of our new prison, trying to determine what I might use as a weapon, an escape tool, or even a way to disarm the necklace Harper wears.
If she’s going to escape, we need to get that off of her or, at the very least, make it nothing more than a glorified fashion piece.
“Rest,” I say and glance up at the camera. There is only one in the room, nestled in the corner. I slip out of my shoe and remove my sock, tossing it over the lens, bathing the camera in darkness.
That should work for a while, until one of the guards removes it.
When Harper is feeling better, I’ll have her help me destroy it, but for now, it buys us a little time and privacy.
I scout every inch of the room, including the closet. There’s no paneling, nothing to pry through, or an opening to sneak from one room to the next. I was hoping there might be access to an attic and then a window we might escape from.
Wishful thinking.
While the bulletproof vest and weapons have been taken from me, I’m still wearing the dark ensemble gifted to me by the guard downstairs.
I tap the camera that I’m still wearing, hoping it didn’t get damaged. “Guys, anytime you want to rescue us, I’d be happy to get out of here. We both are ready to go home.”
Harper slowly pushes herself to sit up.
“Who are you talking to?” she asks.
“Just myself,” I say and glance at the covered surveillance camera. If there’s audio attached, I don’t want anyone discovering the hidden camera on me.
The guards only patted me down for weapons, my phone, that sort of thing before locking us inside on the second floor. They were careless, or maybe they believe I was stupid enough to come alone.
I did, after all, get caught.
“Right,” Harper says and fully sits up on the mattress, pushing her legs to the edge of the bed. She glances at the mattress, a slight look of disgust filling her features.
Harper doesn’t have to say a word about what happened because I know, I witnessed it.
Approaching the bed, I bring my hand to her cheek, grazing the skin, forcing her to look at me. “How long have you known?” I ask.
Her brow pinches.
My voice is soft, careful, not wanting to startle her. I caress her cheek, my legs gently nudging hers as I stand in front of her. “About the baby,” I say, clarifying my question, because she’s staring at me, awestruck.
Her face drains of all color, and she exhales a heavy breath. “How did you—never mind.” She grimaces and holds up a hand. There are tears in her eyes, unshed, and she rapidly blinks them away. “Now is not the time for that discussion.”
She’s right, if Livia can hear us, the last thing in the world I want is to give her any information that could be used to hurt Harper or anyone else I care about.
“Why do you think she brought us up here?” I ask.
The whole situation leaves me feeling more than just a little unsettled. She could have paraded us through the compound, back behind the locked metal gates. My gut tells me something’s amiss.
“To torture me all over again, or maybe torment you? She made it clear she wants my baby,” Harper whispers, casting her gaze down to her abdomen, and she rests a protective hand over her stomach. “She thinks it’s owed to her because of what happened to her husband.”
“She’s fucking wrong.” My jaw tightens, and I have to forcibly open my lips and breathe through my mouth to keep from grinding my teeth and cracking a tooth. “I won’t let them hurt you or our baby.”
“They—” Her voice goes quiet, barely above a whisper. She shuts her eyes, her bottom lip tugging between her teeth.
“You’re safe now,” I whisper, pressing a chaste kiss to her forehead. “No one will touch you again.”
“You know—about the doctor?” Harper asks, slowly, carefully, glancing up at me.
Sighing, I nod.
Her brow is tight, filled with confusion, and then she glances up at the covered camera in the room. “How?”
“We’ll talk about it later,” I assure her. I press one more kiss to her forehead and squeeze her hand before stepping away. The room is cold and empty without her in my reach.
I need to find us a way out of this room before one of the guards or Livia returns. I survey the room, checking every possible detail, latch, anything that might be useful to us.
“What are you looking for?” Harper asks, and I nod toward the cameras. While I’ve blinded the video, I don’t know what can be heard. “Margaret told me that it’s video surveillance only.”
“Just in case, we should be cautious of what’s being said.”
Harper shrugs and forces herself to her feet. She expels a sigh and tilts her head, staring up at me. “Can you lift me up? I can try to disable it.”
Making sure she’s steady, I help Harper up onto my shoulders, and she removes the sock, dropping it onto my head while she yanks the wires forcibly out of the camera.
“It’s disconnected,” she says, her tone matter of fact.
“Can you rip it off the wall?” I ask. I don’t want one of the guards trying to reassemble the device.
She wraps her fist around the camera, uses two hands and pulls with a steady force that sends me reeling as I grip my arms around her hips.
The camera pops off the wall, along with a good bit of plaster.
“Like this?” she asks, showing me the device, letting it dangle from her fingertips before dropping it to the floor with a loud smash.
I breathe with a sense of relief, knowing we’re at least alone, minus the camera that I’m wearing.
I opt to keep it a secret, just in case there are any other hidden cameras in this place.
“Nice job,” I tell her, helping Harper back down to the floor.
“Thanks. So, what’s your plan, Einstein?” She glances me over, “because you getting caught and the two of us locked up in here doesn’t seem like it was well thought out.” Harper folds her arms across her chest.
The sassiness in her attitude is back, and I feel a sense of relief.
We’ll get through this together.
“That obvious?” I ask, nose crinkling as I lean in and kiss her. “All I could think about was getting to you.”
“Next time, rescue me. Don’t join me in being held hostage. Okay?”
I’m glad she’s still got her sense of humor. I steal another kiss; my fingers graze her cheek before they inadvertently touch the contraption around her neck.
“We need to work to get this off of you, or disarm it.”
She laughs under her breath. “That would be great. It doesn’t exactly go with my wardrobe.”
There’s sarcasm in her tone, and I brush a stray hair behind her ear, finding myself unable to stop touching her.
She’s alive.
She’s here with me.
While neither of us is out of harm’s way—yet—for now, she’s safe.
And I intend to keep her that way, protected.
Letting go of her feels wrong, but I back away, heading for the closet, searching the empty space, not finding anything I can use. There is a dresser and desk, both of which are also empty; the drawers contain not even a hint of dust.
“What are you looking for?” Harper asks.
“A screwdriver, knife, something I might be able to use to pry that contraption off without hurting you.”
I make sure that the camera hidden on my shirt gets a good view of the device. I want Rhys and the others to see it, to know that it needs to come off when we escape.
I’m not foolish enough to think there won’t be a bloodbath in this place, but I won’t let anything happen to Harper.
“I don’t remember them putting it on me, I was unconscious—drugged,” she whispers and grimaces. “It’s been a hell of a day—two days, is it?”
I stride across the room, my hand instantly on her cheek, caressing her as she stares up at me with a worried gaze.
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” I say.
It’s a promise.
A vow.
She nods into my touch, her eyelids flutter closed for a fraction of a second, and her warm arms envelop my body, crushing me.
“Please tell me you didn’t come alone,” she whispers against my ear.
I want to tell her that our friends are just outside, planning and helping aid in our escape. But I can’t help but worry the room is bugged and we have no privacy.
Even without the cameras, I can’t know without a doubt that no one can eavesdrop on our conversation. And while I want to reassure her that Rhys, Ashton, and the others are devising a plan, I can’t say the words aloud.
There’s no pen or paper within the confines of the room.
No way for me to pass notes to her.
I smile wordlessly, hoping she understands. I press a finger to my lips to warn her that I don’t trust that we’re alone.
Technically, Rhys and the others are watching us, but that isn’t what gives me reason to pause. It’s that Livia and her men likely have hidden surveillance equipment tucked into the room. If there was one camera, there’s likely to be more.
“Well, that sucks,” she mutters, her eyes twinkling with mirth.
Harper understands to play along.
Good girl.
The bedroom door swings open without warning, and Livia stands with two guards at her side at the entrance to the bedroom door. “Bring the girl to me,” she commands.
I shove Harper behind me, doing everything possible to protect her.
“Take me instead.” I step forward, blocking the door and Harper from being dragged out of the room.
Livia laughs, the sound making my stomach plummet as she tilts her head, sizing me up. “Sweet offer, but you can’t give us what we need.”
The guard on the left steps forward, shoving me aside and stands, blocking my way as the other guard grabs Harper’s arm, forcing her to come with him.
“Leave my wife alone!” I shout at the guard, grabbing the weapon he’s holding slung across his chest and reaching for the gun trigger.
I’m too slow.
Harper’s scream echoes through the room as Livia holds the small black remote in her hands, pushing the button, watching mercilessly as my wife collapses to the floor.
The necklace makes a crackling sound as Harper’s screams rip through my heart. The guard bends down, putting Harper over his shoulder as he carries her out of the room.
“No!” I shout, lunging for the guard carrying my wife, when the other guard blocking me coldcocks me with his gun, knocking me backward, the pain rippling across my face, throbbing.
The guard slams the door in my face with a laugh.
I curse, my fists banging furiously on the door to be let out. “Take me with you!” I scream into the void.