Page 63 of Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

She laughs. “We weren’t sure what state they’d find you in. Once Elise and I were done being yelled at for leaving the safety of the compound by every member of the club that’s here and twice by Duke and Boss, the one fieldtrip they let us take from this place was to a discount store.” She walks over to a drawer that looks more like an old file cabinet, beat up and beige, and pulls a three pack of undies, a utilitarian bra and socks from the top. From the second drawer she pulls a bright yellow tank top and black yoga pants.

“Go ahead and slip on a pair of panties,” she says. “But leave the bra. I need to check your back. Sit on the edge of the bed first so I can check your heart and lungs.”

Apparently, when she said check me, she meant check me.

“Okay, sure.” Then I tear open the plastic packaging, unfold a pair of white cotton panties and slip them on under my T-shirt. Tossing the rest of the package onto the bed, I pull the shirt off, holding it to cover my bare breasts.

She’d been prepared for my arrival. Her bag sits on the floor next to the bed. She opens it, reaches inside and brings out a stethoscope and other typical doctoring tools that I don’t know the names of.

“Good. Good. Good,” she says, putting down one instrument and picking up another. I’ve breathed in and out. Eye check. Ear check. Throat check. And even blood pressure. From there she moves to manipulating my arms at the shoulders and elbows, and legs at the knees and ankles. “Go ahead and lie down on your stomach.”

Manipulating my arms and legs pulls at the skin on my back. The skin still feels tight there, like when a sunburn heals.

I lay down flat then flinch when her cold hands touch my back. She moves her way down slowly, checking every spot, even rolling the panties down just far enough to check my buttocks. “Superficial cuts. No signs of infection so far,” she says. The lash marks are red, like carpet burns. “I’m just going to spray you down with some bacitracin to prevent any possible infection from developing. Once it soaks into your skin, you can pull the clean shirt on.”

From her bag she produces a blue aerosol can and pops off the lid. The spray cools my back, leaving goosebumps all over. After a five-minute wait time, she hands me my tank top.

While putting away her goodie bag, she casually asks, “Liv, as your doctor, I have to ask this. Did either of those men force themselves on you?”

Sneak attack. Provide a safe space, get me to trust her, then—bam!I huff out a harsh breath. “No. Michael was headed that way. But it wasn’t about that for Houdini.”

Caitlin still has the stethoscope she picked up to pack away in one hand when she stops, other hand to her hip, to scrutinize me. “You wouldn’t lie to me?” she asks.

My shoulders straighten so I can look her in the eyes. “No, of course not.”

“Good. So are you up for some revenge on the asshole?”

What? Sneaky sneak attack. “Revenge?” I ask, curiosity heightened.

“Elise and I have a plan.”

“My guess, the men won’t like it.”

“Oh, girl, the men are going to hate it.” We break out in a round of giggles. Yes, giggles.

I wipe at my eyes. “Then I’m in.”

Much later, after dinner and once we’re in bed, I wait for Gage to fall asleep. He likes to hold me at night, which makes sneaking away difficult. Quietly as I can, I slip out from under his arms, then into my yoga pants and socks, pull the sweatshirt over my head and slide on the sneakers.

This is it. I creep out of our room, meeting Caitlin and Elise wearing similar gear in the hallway. They lead me to the stairwell. None of us speaks. Too risky. It’s dark, but the hallway is lit by greenish-hued LED security lights spaced intermittently along the floorboards. I’m worried about the cameras. A place like this will most likely have alarms. If we trigger an alarm, it’s all over.Allover.

Inside the stairwell, Elise turns to me. “We’ve taken care of it. Just follow us, step where we step.”

As cryptic as she sounds, I nod and follow them down to the first floor. Elise opens the door to complete darkness. “Chain-link,” she says. I feel a hand grab hold of mine and guide it to a back, probably Caitlin’s. When I grab on to the fabric of her shirt, her hand drops. I assume she does the same to Elise. Our train moves from the stairwell, and to be honest, I have no idea where they’re leading me.

We enter inside a room. It’s chilly inside, making me thinkkitchen. But like the hallway, it’s cloaked in complete darkness. Instead of taking steps, my feet shuffle along the floor. Before I reach it, there’s a click and moonlight filters in through a doorway. Outside.

“What now?” I whisper as Caitlin presses her finger to her lips in that universalshh…

Elise whips out the sat phone. How did she get that? Gage had the sat phone. She presses a few buttons and the GPS kicks on. She takes off running from the back of the property. No one stirs in the house. No lights flick on. No men rush out yelling or cursing. We might have just gotten away with this.

With the troglodyte’s prison far enough behind us, I bypass the sat phone question for the more important one. “How do you know where to go? What coordinates are you following?”

“Houdini sent those videos from a text. I copied the number.” Elise apparently has the skills.

“If he sent it from a traceable line, don’t you think there’s a reason for that?”

“Yeah. But he won’t be expecting the two of you,” she says. “I texted him, told him that if he let you go, I’d give myself over to him.”

---