Page 101 of Scorched

Chapter 18

Rain pelted the windows. Maggie sat tied up in the wooden rocker and watched Cole string det cord from a bomb made of gasoline cans in the center of the room to the doors and windows. Once Declan returned with her dad, her chances of escape would dwindle drastically. She had to do something. Now.

“I’m sorry.”

He paused and looked at her. “Huh? Why?”

“For my dad. I’m sorry. I’ve been thinking about what you said. You’re right. He should have let you go. He’s always been a bit of a stickler for what’s proper. I’m kind of amazed he never disowned Tara and Thomas. They were hellions growing up.”

A corner of his mouth ticked up. “I remember.”

“They got in lots of trouble with him, though. They even spent some time in jail. They stole one of the ranch vehicles. Dad made sure they sat in the county jail.” For only a few hours until he could get there, but he didn’t need to know that.

“Seriously?” He shook his head. “What kind of man calls the cops on his own kids?”

“Oh, I agree. I might live on the ranch, but he and I don’t see eye-to-eye. I’ve been saving up to move away.”

“Really?” Skepticism dripped off the word. “Didn’t you just open your law practice? With daddy’s help?”

Damn. He was more informed than she thought. She did some fast thinking.

“I needed some experience before I tried to set up in a larger city, and I didn’t want to work for anyone else. He offered the capital, so I took him up on it. But trust me, I’m going to hightail it out of here one day soon and never look back.”

“Good for you. This place is a hole. Sucks the life right out of you.”

She nodded. “Absolutely.” She shifted in her seat. “Um, I don’t suppose I could use the bathroom, could I? I drank about a gallon of coffee earlier.”

He studied her for a moment. Maggie did her best to keep any emotion off her face except for the desire to pee. Finally, he nodded and untied her, but left the handcuffs on. She raised her hands. He shook his head.

“Those stay on. I’m not dumb.”

She let them fall into her lap. “I’m not trying to fool you. I feel for you. I’d happily drive away from here and never tell a soul anything. Dad can face the consequences of his actions on his own,” she said, perpetuating the injured princess thing she was going for. He needed to think she was on his side if she was going to get the jump on him. She stood up and crossed to the bathroom, shutting herself inside.

Maggie’s eyes roved the small space, looking for anything to aid her in escape. The window was much too small for her to fit through, so that was out. The room was rather sparse. There wasn’t even a toothbrush on the sink.

Her gaze stopped on the toilet. As quietly as she could with her bound hands, she lifted the lid off the tank and peered inside. “Yes!” she hissed. She set the lid down, then reached in and pulled out the pin holding the chain on the plunger. She worked it into the keyhole on her cuffs, trying to pop the lock. The cuff gave a soft click and loosened. She quickly pulled it off and doubled it up on her other wrist to keep it out of the way. She’d worry about getting them completely off later.

Standing, she shoved the pin in her dress pocket, then flushed the toilet by pulling up on the arm. She flipped on the faucet, to keep up the appearance that all was well, and counted to twenty. After she shut it off, she counted to ten, then took a deep breath. Things were about to get real.

She opened the door, covering her free hand with the cuffed one as she walked out. Instead of going back to her chair, though, she wandered to the window.

“Hey. Where are you going? Sit back in the chair.”

Maggie stayed where she was. She needed him to come to her.

His boots clomped over the wooden floor. “Are you deaf? I said sit down.” He touched her shoulder.

Maggie whirled, knocking his arm away. She brought her other hand up to slam the heel into his nose. Blood spurted, immediate and bright. He staggered back, covering his face. She didn’t wait for him to recover, advancing instead. She grabbed his head, pulling it down as she brought her knee up, smashing his nose again. She kicked him in the balls, then delivered a roundhouse kick to the side of his head. He dropped like a sack of potatoes.

Breathing hard, more from the adrenaline than the exertion, she nudged him to make sure he was out, then retrieved the handcuff key from his pocket and unlocked her cuffs. They fell to the floor with a thunk.

Headlights flashed through the window. She ran forward and peeked outside to see Declan’s pickup pull in. Dammit, she wasn’t ready yet!

She grabbed Cole by the ankles and pulled him across the floor toward the bathroom. Jesus, he’s heavy. Maggie prayed she could get him out of sight before Michael walked in.

Car doors slammed, spurring her to move faster. She got him in the miniscule room, but realized he was too tall to lie prone and still close the door.

“Fucking men and their fucking height,” she muttered as she scrambled over him. “Why do they have to be so damn tall?” She grabbed his shirt at the shoulders and lifted his upper body, leaning him against the sink cabinet just as boots sounded on the porch. She shut the door and flew to the rocker, sitting down as the door creaked open.

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