Damnit.
The door swings open, and I fall to my knees on the floor, as if I’m just terrified.
I am, but this window could be my only escape, and I don’t want them to take that away from me by calling attention to it.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because you were easy to catch.” The man, Scott, laughs a little, and Oscar glares at him.
“Don’t engage with her. She’s the enemy.”
“What are you going to do to me?” My voice shakes, and that isn’t fake fear in my voice.
“We’re going to keep you here until the boss tells us what to do.”
Scott nods, leaning up against the doorjamb.
“You won’t hurt me?”
Scott shrugs. “Not unless Niall wants you hurt.”
Oscar gets in Scott’s face. “What did Ijustsay?”
“What? It’s not like she doesn’t know who you are. If Niall didn’t want her to know who’d taken her, he shouldn’t have sent his nephew.”
Oscar throws his hands in the air. “I don’t even know why I hired you to do this.”
As they’re focused on each other and not on me, I slowly move my hands behind me, using my fingernails to remove the already-flaked paint that seems to be holding the window shut.
We’re on the second floor, but if I get lucky, I won’t break anything. Plan is to tuck and roll.
“It’s an easy enough job.” Oscar pokes Scott in the chest. “All you have to do is watch the Burke bitch. It’s not like she’s one of the men.”
That makes anger roll through me, but I have to stay focused. I have to get home.
Finally, the window starts to slowly open.
Oscar and Scott are still entangled in their argument and not paying attention to me, so I stand up quickly and rush out the window, tucking into myself and trying to drop into the bushes.
I hit hard on my side, and my hip aches, but I manage to get up as Oscar shouts.
Scott comes through the window, dropping right beside me, and I screech, taking off in a limping jog.
Fuck. I really hurt my hip somehow.
I can’t move very fast, and now Oscar is coming out of the front door.
I manage to make it around the side of the house, but then I run right into a huge wall of a man who chuckles as he grabs me.
He snickers. “I’ve got her.”
I have to keep fighting, so I kick and scratch at the man, finally able to get away from him by wrenching my arm free.
But Oscar and Scott have caught up.
Damnit.
I don’t stop fighting as they drag me back inside and up the stairs.