Page 69 of Unmasked Legacy

Is Caleb telling the truth, or is it an empty threat?

Either way, the thought is crippling and for a moment, I forget how to breathe.

My anger simmers beneath the surface, a mix of rage and helplessness. Yet, even during all of this, a flicker of defiance burns within me. I refuse to let Caleb act out his plan. I will find a way out of this. Part of me prays that it’s all a lie, that nothing has happened to Wolfe, but right now I can’t allow myself to feel that. Right now, I have to get Nia and I out of here, before Caleb can do anymore damage.

Then, I can deal with what comes next.

16

Once Caleb has left, I lean in to Nia. “We need to come up with a plan to get us out of here.”

“Believe me, I’ve tried, but those guards are always around and even if we did get outside, where would we go?”

“Then we have only one option, and that is to take them down. There are two of them, and two of us. There is a way, we just have to find it.”

Nia’s eyes flash with hope. “You really think we can get out of this?”

“I will die trying,” I vow, pushing to my feet and walking around the room.

It is a solid basement, mostly concrete and little else. But, there are a few things that we could use. The one window, for example, has been boarded up with wood. That wood is frail and could easily be pulled off. It’s not much, but it could be used to hit the guards, or even stab them if it came down to it. If we caught them off guard, there is a solid chance that we might be able to take them down. We just have to work together, and give it our all.

“Do the guards have any kind of routine?” I ask Nia, continuing my inspection of the room.

“Yeah, I mean, mostly. They come down once in the morning and once in the evening to give me water and something small to eat.”

That’s helpful.

“And it’s always just the two of them?”

Nia nods, pushing to her feet. She looks tired, and when she walks, it’s slow and steady. She has been in here too long, and her body is weak because of it. That means I’m going to do this, I will have to take most of the force. Nia can be a distraction, perhaps.

“What are you thinking?”

I turn to face her. “There isn’t much in this room, but there is enough that we can use to hopefully take the guards down long enough to run. See that wood covering the window,” I point to it and Nia turns, nodding. “We can use that to hit them.”

Nia walks over, running her fingers over it. “It’s still solid enough. It is moldy but hopefully not enough to break when used.”

“What do they feed you with?”

She thinks on it. “A small plate and a plastic water bottle.”

“Two things we can use. We will leave the water bottle full, for more impact. A good hit with one of them would hurt. The plate, is it plastic or glass?”

“Glass,” she offers.

Idiots.

“We’ll smash it, that could cause some serious damage. Between the two of us, I think we can do this.”

“I’m not very strong,” she admits, pursing her lips.

“I know, and I will do my best to take the force of the attack, but do you think you can give it your all?”

She nods. “I’ll die trying.”

I smile as she repeats my words.

“Good, then let’s come up with a plan and pray that it works. I know Wolfe will be looking for me, and I hope he catches onto this house being where we have been taken. Until then, we have to focus on getting out of here if we can. I’m not going to let Caleb kill you.”

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