Page 36 of Avenging Devil: Part 2

“My fuckin’ knocking would have woken the dead.”

“Well, go in and look.”

“Fuckin’ hell!” the first man roars. “Whatcha think I want the nigger for? He’s got the fuckin’ key.”

Damn, damn, and fucking damn. I should have taken her and run. We might have lost our chance now. One thing she was right about is here, we’re trapped.

Knocking begins again on the door of the room she was kept in.

“She’s either fuckin’ dead or refusing to talk.” I identify Croak’s voice again.

“I think we should break the fuckin’ door down and check,” the other man says.

“Yeah, Slinger?” Croak barks a laugh. “Then we’d have to go to the bother of fixing it up again. Fuck, she’s probably passed out from enjoying too much of Slit’s attentions. You know how he likes to choke a bitch.”

There’s a snort. “Didn’t think of that. You’re probably right.”

There’s nothing for a second, then, “She’s got to still be in there. He’s hardly likely to take her out for exercise like a fuckin’ dog.”

“Who knows with Slit?” Slinger replies. “He’s a crazy fucker, ‘specially with bitches.”

Croak’s the one to snort now. “You can say that again. Come on, Sling, let’s get downstairs and ask if anyone’s seen him. Knowing him, he probably beat the shit out of the VP’s ol’ lady and now he’s taken the nigger off to have some fun with him.”

“Yeah.” Slinger’s voice sounds brighter now. “In that case, let’s see where he’s at. I’ve got a few lessons I want to teach that Black fucker myself.”

Croak laughs loudly. “Can you fuckin’ believe he thought we’d let him patch in?”

As their voices fade, a few more insults at my expense come to my ears.

“Guess you know now,” Saffie says drily. “The Wolves are a Whites-only club.”

“You think?” Relief the danger has passed for now, I wink. “I kinda came to that conclusion myself.” Quickly, I get back to business. “It’s only a matter of time until they come back. We need to try to get out, Saffie.”

“So I can come with you now?” She rolls her eyes.

“Jeez, woman.” I can’t leave her here, though I’ve doubts about us getting successfully away. “You gonna be able to run if we need to?”

She gives me a determined nod even though I know she still must be sore from the beatings she received yesterday and on top of that, whatever Slit did to her earlier. But she confirms it with words. “I can run.”

Knowing our situation’s far from ideal, I’ve no plan and no information to formulate one, I have to rely on her. “Okay. Tell me what you know. What’s the best way to get out?”

Her brow creases. “Not down the main staircase. But there’s a fire escape the other way.”

That sounds promising if we can get to it. I ease to the door and put my ear against it. When I hear nothing, I crack it open. All clear. When I beckon, she steps up close behind me, but tugs on my shirt, making me look down.

“I’d rather die than stay here.” Her expression, the set of her eyes, the determination in the way her jaw is clenched, makes me believe it’s not a casual statement. She truly means it.

I fully comprehend. On my part, I’d rather be killed escaping than tortured to death like their new plaything. I respond with an up and down of my chin, and a look of understanding passes between us. Taking the lead, I step out.

My body is tense, my muscles prepared for anything. We reach the corner I’ve not yet searched around. Craning my head, I rectify that now. At the end is a door with glass panels, and beyond I can see the fire escape that she mentioned. Better still, there’s no one standing between us and it.

I don’t need to tell her to be quiet, as we make our way over to the exit. Rather than immediately reaching for the bar and pressing down, I check for signs of an alarm. Relieved when I don’t find any, I open it.

It’s a metal staircase, so I take it cautiously, even so my weight makes it knock and clang against the building.

Scanning the area around the bottom, I notice a window to the left, so ease down to the right of it. Reaching back to take Saffie’s hand, I pull her to join me, then take a moment to get the lay of the land.

In the distance, there’s a tree line, but a large area of scrubland is between us and it. To the right of us are old farm buildings. Just as I’m deciding to run for them first to use as cover, a man rounds the corner of the building.

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