Chapter 19 #2
So she’d tried to pick a room somewhat in the middle.
Not too close to the bedroom, but not as far away as she could get from it either.
Maybe she was overthinking the whole thing, but she’d rather be safe than sorry when her daughter’s life was on the line.
After all, she didn't know where Leo and the others were being held, didn't know how long it might take Rose to find them, so she didn't know how long it would be until they all came looking for her.
If she had to hide out for hours, then she absolutely wanted to make sure she had overthought things rather than underthought them.
“Mom, I'm sore,” Ariella whispered, her voice, quiet as it was, sounding far too loud in the cramped space they were huddled in.
“I know, sweetie. I'm sorry, I wish I could find us someplace more comfortable, but I can't. Remember, Rose said we have to hide until Daddy comes for us.”
“If we help her look for Daddy, then we can find him quicker,” Ariella suggested.
“That’s true, sweetie, but we’re not as good at being quiet and staying unseen as Rose is. This is what we need to do right now.”
“I'm bored.”
“I know that too, but unfortunately, complaining about it isn’t going to make it any better.
How about if we play a word game? Twenty questions?
” As long as they kept their voices quiet, they shouldn’t be overheard if anyone was nearby.
And if she kept an ear out, she should know that someone was close enough to hear them, and then she could stop the game if they needed to.
“Yeah, I guess. I’ll go first.”
“Okay, are you thinking of a person?”
“Nope, not a person.”
“Are you thinking of an animal?”
“No, not an animal.”
“Are you thinking of a plant?”
“Yes,” Ariella exclaimed, a little louder than Kate would have liked, but she couldn’t hear anyone out there, so it was probably okay.
“A tree?”
“Nope.”
“A flower?” She was pretty sure she knew which flower her daughter was thinking about, since Ariella had a favorite flower.
it was hydrangeas, because her Nanna and Poppy had hydrangeas planted all along the front of their house.
They’d been there for as long as Kate could remember, even when she was a little girl, younger than her daughter was now, and she’d loved them as a kid, too.
The pinks, purples, blues, and whites provided a gorgeous array of colors in the spring, and Ariella waited every year for them to bloom.
Still, even though she thought she knew the answer, she’d drag the game out a bit, anything to keep her daughter’s mind occupied.
“Daisy?”
“No.”
“Lily?”
“Nope.”
“Tulip?”
“No again, Mom.”
Because her daughter was smart and would catch on if she didn't suggest what they both knew was Ariella’s favorite, Kate opened her mouth to say hydrangea, but froze before the word could come out.
A sound.
She’d just heard something, only it wasn't footsteps.
It wasn't Leo and the others, because they wouldn't make a sound as they moved, and they wouldn't look for her until they had contained all threats. That meant that once they’d done that, they’d be able to call out to her and Ariella so they’d know who it was.
Since no one called her name, Kate remained where she was.
“Hush,” she murmured to her daughter, wishing she had Leo’s ability to talk without the sound carrying.
“Do you hear something, Mom?” Ariella whispered back.
“Yeah. So not a sound. Not a movement. And, Ariella, if I need to go out there, you don’t move at all. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Grabbing her daughter’s shoulders, she turned her so that their eyes met. Even though it was dark, it wasn't pitch black, and she could see the fear in her child’s eyes. Hated it. Wished she could erase it right down to the memories of fear.
“I mean it, Ariella. You are to stay here. Not to move, not to make a sound, until your dad or I, or someone else you know and trust tells you it’s safe. Even if you have to pee, you do it in your clothes. We can clean clothes, but some things we can't undo.”
“Are you going to leave me, Mom?”
“Not if I don’t have to. But I will do whatever I need to in order to keep you safe.
” Including sacrificing herself. Kate would trade her life for her daughter’s in a heartbeat and never regret it.
Ariella came first. Always. “I love you, sweetie-pie. You will always be my very favorite piece of pie.”
“Love you too, Mommy.”
Hugging her daughter hard, Kate then shifted their position slightly so Ariella was right in the very back corner of the old wardrobe.
There had been some clothes hanging in there, and she arranged them to obscure her daughter.
Unless you were specifically looking for the child, you’d never see that she was there.
At least that’s what she prayed.
The sound she’d heard stopped, and she hoped that meant whoever it was had moved on throughout the house.
Hopefully, no one even knew she, Ariella, and Rose were no longer in their rooms. But just because she hadn't heard shouts and alarms and the sounds of people rushing about, it didn't mean they thought the three of them were still safely tucked away.
Then she heard the words she was dreading.
“Ma’am, we went to deliver food to our guests, and they’re gone,” a male voice spoke.
“Gone?” River Gardner echoed, sounding furious. “What do you mean, gone? I thought you had them locked in?”
“We did,” the man assured her.
“Obviously not well enough.”
“They haven’t left the property. The fences are all electrified, and the gate is manned, we’d know if they tried to get out.”
“Then they’re here somewhere, and I want them found. Now,” River ordered.
“Yes, ma’am. We’ll start looking for them, but after the incident, our team is halved, so it might take a while to search a property this big and find them.”
“Then you’d better stop wasting time and get started,” River growled.
“Of course, ma’am.”
Footsteps sounded, and Kate assumed it was the man moving away to gather the team and start hunting for her.
She had no idea what incident he was referring to, but she liked hearing that the team was half of what it was supposed to be.
That evened the odds out a little in her favor.
Likely Leo and the guys had killed some of the men sent after them before they'd been captured, assuming they were in fact there somewhere.
If there weren't many security guards, and if the man who had been speaking to River had gone off to assemble them and start looking for her, Ariella, and Rose, then it meant River was currently unattended.
Could she kill the woman herself?
One glance at her daughter’s hidden form, knowing the added trauma her small, young, sick body had endured the last few days because of River Gardner, and the tests and experiments the older woman intended to run on her, and Kate knew she could do it.
With River dead, they’d all be free.
Leaning in, she pressed a kiss to her daughter’s forehead, knowing it could be the last time she ever kissed her, then she peeked out of the wardrobe, and when she saw the room was clear she eased open the door and climbed out.
Slipping off her shoes because her bare feet would make less sound, Kate padded across the floor and peered out into the hall.
Several doors down, she saw River’s wheelchair turn a corner. There was no one else out there, so she stepped out into the hall and followed.
Making it to the corner where she’d seen River go, Kate spotted the old woman turning another corner. Kate waited a moment and then hurried after her.
They turned another corner.
And then another.
River finally stopped outside a door, opened it, and rolled inside.
The door closed behind her, and Kate rushed down the hall, making as little noise as possible, then paused, pressing her ear against the door, listening for any signs that someone else was in there with the old woman.
Maybe she could take out River, but there was no way she could take down an armed guard.
But it didn't sound like anyone else was in there.
Dragging in a deep breath, she forced her nerves to settle, reached out a shaking hand, and prayed that no matter what happened to her, Leo would find Ariella, protect her, save her life, and raise her to become the amazing woman she knew the girl was destined to be.
Then she acted.
Clutching the lampstand in her hand, she swung the door open and didn't stop to hesitate, to worry about what could go wrong, to assess threats and dangers, to think about the implications of taking a life.
Instead, she just ran.
Right toward the desk where River Gardner was sitting.
The old woman’s eyes widened in surprise, her mouth opened as though to scream for help, but it was too late.
Kate swung the lampstand at the old lady’s head.
It connected with a sickening crunch.
And River’s body went limp.