Page 130 of Lotus

Travis saunters over to the window, muttering under his breath as he continues to flick the metal wheel. “No witnesses, no fingerprints, no motive…”

His words fade out as I focus on Sydney.

Her tears spill hard and fast, collapsing into the fabric of the bandana, her eyes locked on mine. Sydney tips her head back, just marginally, and I drag my gaze to her wrists while Travis is distracted across the room, talking himself through his plan.

She’s chafing the rope along a piece of splintered wood, the bristles breaking, her restraints loosening. My breath catches as her eyes dance with frantic hope while she works the binds in a silent frenzy.

Sydney told me Alexis had been clawing at the bedposts in the recent weeks—her pesky misbehavior may now be our only chance of getting out of here alive.

Travis is still preoccupied as he peruses our burial grounds, casing the room, stepping from one end to the other. He starts humming a buoyant tune, the prospect of our painful deaths doing little to upset him.

Evil. Travis Wellington is pure evil.

And I realize in that moment that Bradford didn’t take me because I reminded him of his son.

Hesparedme because I reminded him of his son.

Bradford knew that Travis would stop at nothing to keep his secrets safe—my life would always be in jeopardy, I would forever be in danger, unless I was kept hidden… unlessIbecame the secret.

But I don’t have time to mull over this revelation because Travis is ambling back over to my side of the bed, and just before he reaches me, I hear a tiny snap to my right, a thread breaking.

It sounds like hope.

It sounds like a fighting chance.

Thank you, Alexis. You’re a wonderful sidekick.

Keeping my sights straight ahead to avoid giving us away, I inhale an emotion-laced breath as he approaches me. “You don’t have to do this,” I attempt in vain to reason. “You’ve frightened us enough—we won’t speak a word of this to anyone.”

“Loose ends, Oliver,” he breezes. “Don’t like them.”

“Please…”

“What, don’t you have superpowers or something?” Travis mocks, climbing over me on the bed, straddling my waist as he adds a second spool of rope to my wrists, securing me tighter to the bedpost. There’s a faint movement in my peripheral, but Travis doesn’t notice. “The Black Lotus, right? Scary….” He laughs. “Shouldn’t you be saving the damsel in distress?”

I swallow. “I’ve come to learn that Sydney isn’t the damsel I always envisioned.”

Sydney goes deadly still when Travis spares her a sneering glance. “I’ll agree with you there. She’s a firecracker, that one.”

“Yes… and I am not without superpowers, Travis.” Pulling his attention back to me, I lift my knees to his groin, causing him to buckle on top of me with a howl of pain.

“You stupid son-of-a-bitch,” he barks through gritted teeth. Long fingers slink around my throat, hindering my airflow. “What’s your superpower, Oliver? Huh? Unless it’s magically escaping from this rope, I’d say you’re in pretty deep shit right now.”

“I’m fairly…”Cough.“…good at…”Wheeze.“…predicting the future.”

Travis loosens his grip, curiosity flaring. “And what exactly do you predict is going to happen, aside from the fire department sifting through your ashes come sunrise?”

My expression remains stoic, eyes pinned on his. “I predict you’re about to be hit in the head with a table lamp.”

Confusion wrinkles his brow for a quick second before his eyes flash with realization.

But it’s too late.

Thwap.

Sydney nails him in the back of the head with the lamp, and this time, her aim is impeccable. I think she even surprises herself when she freezes, mouth agape, watching in stunned silence as Travis topples off the bed and hits the floor, unconscious. She glances my way, kneeling beside me on the mattress. “Holy shit.”

Despite the circumstances, a smile tugs at my lips as our eyes hold. “Would it be a burden to untie me?”

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