Page 114 of Silver Linings

How was this the same shy, quiet Sloane she’d gotten to know over the past few weeks?

“Are you watching? You need to tighten the ties, okay? As much as you can.”

Lily put the end of the tie in her mouth and pulled so hard she thought they were about to rip into her skin.

“Okay, they’re super tight.”

“Good, now watch what I do.”

Sloane lifted her hands above her head and slammed them down across her legs. Lily thought for sure Sloane’s wrists were broken, but a sly smile on her friend’s face and two free hands waving triumphantly in the air told a different story.

“Your turn. Don’t hesitate, and just make sure you follow through.”

“Yeah, no big deal.” Lily lifted her arms and froze. Would she be able to withstand the pain if she failed to break free? There was no other choice. Toughen up, Lil. You’ve got this.

She counted down from three before bringing her arms down to her legs. A blistering sting stretched across her skin as the ties broke and blood flow returned to her hands.

“Great job! Okay, now we need to work on a weapon.”

Lily looked around. The basement was empty. There wasn’t even a bucket for them to use as a bathroom or a place for them to wash their hands. There was nothing but metal poles supporting the floor above them, and messing with those would cause too much noise. Someone would come to investigate what they were doing.

“Do you have an underwire in your bra?” Sloane asked as she turned from Lily, undoing the clasp on her own bra.

“It’s a nursing bra. There’s no underwire,” Lily panicked. Had she messed up by wearing something comfortable? God, she’d always wear a bra with an underwire if they made it out of this alive.

“No, it’s okay. I need to take mine off for a minute and get the wires out. You can have one and I’ll take one.”

Lily watched as Sloane ripped at the fabric seams of her bra. The floor above them creaked and groaned as someone walked over them. Her heart was beating so loud in her ears she felt faint, but she wouldn’t let her nerves win.

Sheer desperation to see Gunner and Sage again fueled her determination as Sloane handed the first wire to her.

“You need to sharpen the metal on the rough edges of the concrete blocks, okay?” Lily looked at the wall Sloane was pointing to.

“I can do that.” Her movements started out slow as she tried to see in the dim light if the motion was actually sharpening the metal or not. When the floorboards moved again, Lily’s hands started shaking. Her movements became frantic as she attempted to make the end sharp enough to pierce someone’s skin.

After another minute, Sloane joined her at the wall, her metal-less bra now back in place. Lily looked at her point, now sharp enough to test. She pressed the end into her finger, wincing as the tip pierced her skin and a drop of blood bubbled to the surface.

“Good, Lily. Now try to bend the other end so you have a bit of a handle. I’m not sure how much damage these will do, but I’m thinking if we can figure out how to both attack him at the same time, we might have a fighting chance to get out of the cabin and run away. Even a tiny weapon is better than nothing.”

Lily put her back to the wall and slid down until the cold concrete met her bottom and she shivered. She stayed there while Sloane finished sharpening her own weapon. The idea of using her friend’s bra to survive was so laughable, Lily nearly burst out with inappropriate giggles as Sloane slid down next to her, holding her very own under-boob shaped weapon.

The footsteps above them walked closer to the door at the top of the stairs.

“I think he’s coming down to get us, Lily. You need to put your hands back in front of you and hide the weapon in your palm. If we pretend like we are still bound, maybe he won’t notice.”

Sloane moved quickly back into her corner and nodded for Lily to do the same. Her knees scraped across the floor as she hurried back to her spot.

“Stand up, Lily. Don’t let him see you’re scared.”

Lily forced herself to stand just as the door ripped open and light flooded down the steps. A set of heavy boots stomped down the stairs.

Bile rose in Lily’s throat as she fought back a scream.

Thirty-Six

It was going to take them an hour to drive to the remote location Gage had picked up from Sloane’s tracker. Thank fuck that whatever reason she had for wanting to be tracked was helping them now, because Gunner was a second away from falling apart and forgetting the entire plan. Stone took a sharp corner a little too fast, and the guys jostled around.

“Are you hanging in there?” Nash asked as Gunner bounced his leg up and down. All he could do was nod.

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