Page 77 of Knot Innocent

Another scream coming from the barn turns all our heads. “That one was human.”

I take off, jumping back over the fence with Knot in my ear. “Work with your head, Laurent, not your heart.”

The others form up as I approach the barn soundlessly. The rolling doors are closed, and the track looks rusty. These will make a hell of a racket when I open them. “Spread out,” I order the team. “See if you can find another way in.”

“Suck it,” I hear growled from inside.

Birdie’s refusal is tearful but firm, followed by the slap of leather and more screams.

Knot’s plea is desperate. “Go, Laurent! Now!”

Birdie

The minute Dolion leaves, I’m on my bare feet searching the barn as far as my chain will reach. I can’t see well enough to look for weaknesses in the walls, so I focus on finding something useful to get this chain off me.

The small cabinet in the bathroom area holds only towels and toiletries. I move on from there quickly, but the radius afforded to me by the chain doesn’t let me get close to anything else. One side of the room contains a long table. Maybe it’s covered with tools. I can’t tell. It doesn’t matter anyway if I can’t reach it.

I scream in frustration and then do it again in case someone can hear me. The answering screams coming from outside the barn confuse me. “Is there someone else out there?”

The screams start up again, giving me pause, especially as they move closer to my prison. The sound mingles with bleating, and an involuntary sob rattles my chest. It’s just animals. I’m alone here.

The noise of the chain echoes loudly in the cavernous room as I finish my small circuit around the room. There’s nothing useful here.

I return to the bed, sitting heavily. The newer mattress, soft bedding, and protective cover are out of place in this dusty barn. The bed frame and bath setup have obviously been here a while. He’s brought many girls here over the years. Wherever here is.

Despite the excellent condition of the mattress, the old spring support still creaks and groans with every movement. That gives me an idea. I jump up and shove the mattress off the bed, inspecting the springs for any that I could pry loose. Finding them all about the same, I try pushing on one of the hooked ends, but it hurts my fingers.

I run to the bath and grab the bottle of shampoo. Maybe I can push the spring hook out using the hard plastic cap. Returning to the bed, I drop to my knees and place the lid at the spring’s hook. I shove hard, and the bottle slides off the metal, carrying my arm forward with the momentum.

The metal slices across my hand, but I quickly reset it to try again. This time, I center up the cap, holding it with both hands, and push as hard as I can. The bottle lid cracks, but I move the spring far enough that the hook clears the loop and hangs free from its other side.

The shampoo gets put back so Dolion won’t see anything out of place. Next, I remove the spring and attach one end to the footboard and the other to the chain. Pulling as hard as I can, I stretch the spring out to about eight inches. I straighten the hook by placing it in a crevice in the footboard and pushing against the curve.

It’s not much of a weapon, but it’s better than nothing. I can easily take out an eyeball. Maybe stab Dolion through the throat. Now I have to find a place to hide it. Inside my clothes is out of the question since I’m not wearing anything underneath. I consider hiding the shiv in the bath area, but that would be stupid. The place I’ll need it is the bed.

I tuck the improvised weapon under the left side of the mattress near the head and lie down to practice drawing it. It takes several tries to achieve a smooth retrieval, but I feel good about my ability to wield the stiff wire. My only worry is the cut on my hand revealing to Dolion that I’ve been up to something.

Thankfully, the cut has stopped bleeding. I walk to the sink with the chain thunking behind me to clean off the blood, careful not to irritate the cut again. All that’s left to do now is wait. Whether it’s waiting for the right time to strike, waiting to die, or waiting for a miracle, I don’t know. I guess we’ll see.

Thinking I’m as prepared as possible, I wander back to the only place to sit and try not to let my nerves get the best of me.

A short while later, I apologize to Spatch in my head because I’m losing the battle. It’s impossible to keep a level head, knowing that when Dolion returns, I’ll suffer the same end that Amelia faced.

I’m not ready to die. I just found someone who gets me. And despite what Bastien thinks of himself, he’s no monster. He’s a good man, and I love him. I hate that I missed my chance to tell him.

My breath catches as the creak of a barn door announces Dolion’s return. The smell of butter wafts from the bag he’s carrying, making my stomach rumble. Besides the few sips of water I took from the sink, I haven’t had anything to eat or drink since lunch yesterday.

Dolion approaches with a sick grin and sits on the bed. He unpacks the bag, handing me a cup of fruit and a bottle of orange juice. He gets coffee and a pastry. “Is this drugged?” I ask, secretly hoping it is. I don’t want to be awake for what comes next.

“No. That would take all the fun out of it.”

The excitement in his voice nearly makes me vomit. Taking my fruit, I walk as far away as I can get, sitting on the edge of the tub to eat. I take my time, stalling the only way I can, by chewing every bite until it’s mush before swallowing.

The rustle of fabric a short while later lets me know my time is up. I keep my eyes down, but chain links clinking together precede a tug at my ankle.

I reluctantly open my eyes to see Dolion standing beside the bed, holding the chain. He’s undressed down to his pants, which are open at the fly. “Come here, Birdie.”

A tear tracks down my cheek, and I shake my head. Dolion pulls that thick belt free and winds it around his hand again. I reach up to rub the place on my arm that received a strike earlier. The welt has gone down, but the spot is still red.

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