Page 55 of Ruthless Scoundrel
She’s safe now. No one will ever have her but me.
Chapter sixteen
Reina
Like a lid being removed from a boiling pot, the heat evaporates from the room as soon as Jasper leaves. The damn bastard kissed me again. I suppose I should be more ashamed of how he lavished my…
Never mind.
The important thing is that he forgot to ward the window, so now I just have to get myself free from this bed.
I look at the pistol he left me. Could I shoot through the chain? Probably not. The wood, though…But it would make such a noise that surely the bartender would come investigate. I need to do this quietly enough not to rouse suspicions.
A flash of lightning rips open the sky and rain patters against the window. The boom of thunder punches down into my soul and threatens to unmake my mind. I can’t let it turn me into a simpering child like the other night. The thunder is just the cover I need. I have to be ready next time.
I set the pistol on the desk and sit on the bed. With my feet pressed into the post of the headboard, I grab the chain of my binds in both hands. The wind whistles past the thin glass and I watch the rain tilt sideways.
Another flash and I pull my legs back, all the way to my chest. When the thunder hits, I kick the headboard post hard and pull on the manacle at the same time. The bed, while simple, is of a sturdy construction and barely budges from my effort.
I line up for another shot and wait.
Hit after hit, the post begins to loosen. My hands ache and my legs are screaming. I want to give up, but I know this might be my only chance.
Lightning.
Kick.
Lightning.
Kick.
Something in the post snaps and the headboard rail pulls out from it. The other manacle slides off the end and I fall back on the bed, panting in a pool of sweat. I allow myself one minute of rest to catch my breath, and then I move.
I pull the sheet off the bed and wrap it tightly over one shoulder and under the other arm, then tie it off. I pull the shade off the lamp and grab the magus crystal, gripping it tight. I can’t push any of my magic into it with the enchanted copper cuffs on, but when I am free, I’ll need this to see in the dark tunnels.
I tuck it into my small chest pocket, then grab the pistol off the desk. I pull the trigger stopper so that I can’t accidentally shoot myself, then tuck it into the sheet.
The room is otherwise barren, apart from a chamber pot, so I turn to the window. There’s no way to open it—it’s just a solid panes of glass held in by wooden supports.
Fuck.
I guess it’s time to make a racket.
The ground isn’t too far off below. The drop might sting a bit, but I won’t be so badly injured I can’t run. Unless I fall on the shattered glass.
I look down at my bare feet.
“Fucking fuck.”
Doubt unspools through my chest and wraps around my heart. I turn away from the window and stare at the protections around the door.
Jasper hasn’t hurt me, and he definitely isn’t selling me for greed. He seems like a decent person, honestly, and if I stay with him a little longer, maybe a better escape route will present itself.
Or maybe I’ll never escape him, and he’ll sell me off to some fuckwit who will rape me for the rest of my days.
Lightning flashes and I whirl around, smashing the other end of the manacle through the window. The glass shatters spectacularly, resulting in a shout downstairs. I use the chain to clean up the bottom of the window pane, removing the sharp edges, and then steel myself.
“Stupid. This is so stupid,” I mutter as I look over the edge.
