5. Cian #2
A low, shuffling noise made me turn my head slightly.
Skylar slid past my door on her knees, stopping to peek in, making sure I was still asleep.
I feigned deep breaths, adding a small grunt for good measure while watching her through narrowed eyes.
Satisfied, she kept going. A few moments later, the front door opened and shut quickly.
Quietly. I slipped from bed, following, stopping to grab the extra fob to the car.
I peered outside, watching as she put on her shoes and jacket, then picked up her backpack and rushed toward the garage.
I followed behind her once I heard the car door shut, the sound quiet.
Casually, I strolled over, waiting, watching.
My eyes had adjusted to the darkness, so I could see her.
She looked around the dash, obviously trying to determine how to start the car.
She was pushing buttons, stepping on the pedals, finally succeeding.
I tried not to burst out laughing at her satisfied expression, thinking she had found the right way to complete her mission.
She was so busy, she never noticed me walking closer, standing beside the car on the passenger side.
She attempted to shift into drive, frowning as she was unable to do so.
She began to panic, knowing the longer she sat there in a running car, the greater the chances of being caught.
She grabbed the gearshift in both hands, attempting to use her strength. I heard her grunt of frustration and leaned down, tapping the window.
She startled, meeting my gaze. Instant alarm sprang into her eyes, and she locked the car to keep me out.
“Let me go!” she yelled.
“You need to engage the clutch,” I replied.
“The what?”
“The clutch.”
“Where the hell is that?”
I crouched down. “Kitten, do you know how to drive?”
“I’ll figure it out!”
I stood and crossed over the driver’s side, groaning as she did everything she could to drive away. The gears ground in displeasure, and the car lurched and stopped. I used the fob to unlock the door and hunched beside her.
“You can’t just ‘figure it out,’ Kitten. You need to know how to drive a standard. If you’d taken the SUV, you have had a chance.”
“Give me your keys, then!”
I couldn’t keep it in any longer. I began to laugh, and with a shout of frustration, she pushed me down and tore out of the car, running.
Where she thought she would go, I had no idea.
She even left her knapsack behind. I stood, brushing myself off as I observed her fall face first into the snow, almost screaming in her frustration.
I grabbed her knapsack, retrieved the car keys, and headed her way.
I stood over her, shaking my head. “Nice try, MacGyver. I’ll give you the door handle, but you really needed to think the car thing over a bit better. ”
I should have been furious. Yelling at her. But tears spilled over her cheeks, and she was cold and wet. I bent and scooped her up, feeling her defeat in the way she allowed me to hold her. The front light snapped on, and Sean stepped outside, looking confused.
“What the hell?” he yelled, seeing me coming toward him, carrying Skylar. “Is she all right?”
I went past him. “She’s fine, aside from her bruised ego. You might want to check the car, though. She put the gears through hell.”
“Can she even drive?” he roared.
“Nope.”
I settled her on the bed, sighing when she didn’t move.
I pulled off her jacket and shoes with a huff.
“Running,” I snorted. “It’s below zero outside.
You would freeze before you got too far.
” A dry chuckle burst from my throat. “And I would have caught you even if you’d managed to run for a while. ”
“I won’t say a word to anyone. Let me go,” she whispered. “Forget about me.”
Forget about her?
Somehow, I knew that was an impossibility.
I hunched in front of her again, lifting her chin. “Kitten. I can’t. You aren’t safe out there. I’m keeping you from harm. You have food. A bed. Books. Even someone to talk to if you want. Nothing will hurt you here. I swear to God.”
She didn’t respond, and I sighed. “Skylar, get some sleep. Let me get some.”
I walked to the door, pausing to bend down and take the small file she’d dropped on the floor. “There’s no place to go.”
“Why aren’t you yelling?” she asked as I began to close the door.
I shook my head. “You amaze me with your tenacity and ideas. I only wish you’d use them for good instead of evil,” I teased, not wanting to explain how fascinating I found her. How she captivated me. “Sean might have something to yell about if you damaged his car, though.”
“Whatever,” she muttered, but I saw the guilty look cross her face.
“Go to sleep,” I stated again, shutting the door.
In the kitchen, I tossed Sean’s keys onto the counter.
“She is fucking determined,” he muttered. “You are making this harder than it has to be.”
I shook my head. “She attempts another breakout, and I get blamed.”
“If she understood?—”
I held up my hand. “I can’t risk it. She needs to leave here without knowing all the gory details. Live her life free of me and my story.”
He lifted an eyebrow, pushing off the counter. “I can’t believe how much of an idiot you are.”
I let him go past, then headed back to my room. I checked on Skylar, grateful to find her tucked back in her bed, a blanket pulled around her, already dozing. Once again, she’d expended a lot of useless energy.
I fell onto my bed, rolling over and laughing into my pillow over her attempt before I let the serious thoughts take hold. Sean thought I was an idiot. Skylar thought I was a murdering asshole.
I thought she was brilliant.
We were all fucked.
Skylar
I slept in the bed in the night, the mattress more comfortable than the chair. In the morning, Sean had brought me breakfast, shaking his head at me and telling me I was being ridiculous. I knew he didn’t understand, and there was no way I could explain it to him.
“Is your car okay?” I asked, feeling guilty.
“It’s fine. How did you think you’d get away if you can’t drive?”
“I drove with my dad a long time ago,” I confessed. “It was the clutch thing.”
He pursed his lips. “Good thing. You need to settle down. Trust we are not going to hurt you. Listen to what Cian has told you.”
Everything Cian had said made sense. Somehow I knew I was safe. I wasn’t alone, hungry and scared. They did look after me. But how I felt about Cian was wrong on every level. How he made me feel was unexpected. I couldn’t fall for a criminal.
They fixed the door handle, making sure to flip the upper lock every time they left the room.
Neither of them made much of an effort to chat or come see me.
In fact, I barely saw Cian all day. I heard him, his voice talking low in another part of the house.
Speaking with Sean. On the phone with someone else.
The front door opened and shut a few times.
I heard the car leave and come back. I stayed in my room.
Ate the food they brought me and kept quiet. I felt sad. Unsure.
As the sun sank, I shivered as I sat reading in the chair.
It might be more private, but this corner of the room was certainly chilly.
I glanced up and noticed the curtain moving a little.
Frowning, I stood and held my hand in front of the window.
There was a definite breeze I hadn’t noticed before.
Glancing around nervously, I pulled the chair closer and stood on the top to study the air conditioner.
My eyes widened when I realized there was a small gap between the wood holding it in place and the unit itself.
I glanced behind me again, expecting Cian to burst into the room, but nothing happened.
Tentatively, I slipped my fingers into the small gap and pulled.
The wood gave way easily in my hand. I stifled my gasp and sat back down, yanking the curtains closed, my mind already forming a plan.
I slipped my fingers between the cushions and pulled out the broken piece of mug I had grabbed before Cian had yanked me off the floor last night.
I glanced back at the window, this time with the determination I had been lacking all day. I would only have the one chance, but this one would work. I knew it.
Cian
“Hey.” Something nudged my foot, and groggily, I opened my eyes. The light in the room was dim, so I knew it was early morning. Sean was standing at the foot of my bed, holding my coat.
“What?”
“A storm’s coming. I couldn’t sleep, so I got up to listen to the radio. I made a list of supplies.”
I frowned up at him. “Okay?”
He thrust my coat at me. “I decided to check on Skylar before I left.” He grinned. “MacGyver’s at it again.”
With a curse, I threw back the comforter and stood. “Where is she?”
He snickered. “Between a rock and a hard place right now.”
Shoving my feet into my sneakers, I followed him down the hall.
He held a finger to his lips and silently slid the key into the door, opening it soundlessly.
I followed him into the room, my first thought that the room was freezing cold.
I stopped, gaping at the sight in front of me.
On the floor sat the air conditioning unit.
Small pieces of wood were strewn around beside it.
In the window, where the unit used to be, hung Skylar—or, at least, part of Skylar.
Her lower back and legs hung inside the room, her little ass jutting out.
She was caught—wedged tight in the window.
From the movements and small sounds I could hear, I could tell she was desperately trying to get free.
She also had no idea she was being watched.