Page 96 of The Innovator

The door cranked open, and the light flicked on. I could tell through my closed eyelids. I breathed slowly, trying to calm my heart rate and the tremor in my body.

Stay calm, Natalie. You’ve got to get out here alive. There are things waiting for you to do. Work on your new collection. Tell Grayson you love him.

I cracked my eyes to see Neil placing the bag of takeout food and a bottle of water on the side table. Why would he join the crime world? He’d always been kind to me, so this was a complete surprise.

The look on his face showed fear and regret. I didn’t know if I could trust him, but at this moment, he was the only option I had. I didn’t know how many men were out there. Even if I could escape this room, would I be able to get away safely? Where was I? Was I in another city? Another state?

Trusting my instincts, I pushed up from the bed, swinging my legs to the floor. “Why are you doing this, Neil?”

“I’m sorry Natalie. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I didn’t know . . .”

“Where am I? Am I still in Providence?”

“You’re still in Providence, but underground.” He looked at me. “How are you feeling?”

Underground? I had more questions, but I only had time to ask relevant things. My life could end any minute.

“I’m scared, Neil.” There was no lie there. I hoped my admission would inspire him to help me. Was that too hopeful? “Are you going to kill me? If you are, at least give me the reason.”I didn’t want him to know I’d listened earlier.

“You’re not going to die. They’re selling you to some rich guy in Italy.”

“That’s death to me,” I said.

Anguish flashed over his face, and his voice lowered to a whisper. “I didn’t know I’d be kidnapping you. I’m sorry. I needed money and took a side job, but I had no idea I’d be trafficking people. Paul introduced me to people he knew, and they hired me for ‘miscellaneous’ tasks. I should have known money couldn’t be made easy.”

“Can you help me escape? Please?” I begged. “I don’t want to be someone’s sex slave.”

“You’ve always been nice and respectful to everyone at work. I liked that about you.” He pointed to the corner of the room covered with cardboard boxes. “After I leave, move the boxes aside. Use the tunnel to crawl out of this room. It’ll take you to a wider passageway that will lead you to an adjacent building’s lot. Stay close to the wall. If you hear a sound, don’t move. Most of the guards are on this side of the building tonight. Get out as fast as you can. There are no cameras in this room. There are armed men lurking around, but they don’t know about this tunnel.” He jerked his chin toward where I was supposed to go.

“How do you know about it?”

“I was part of a team who worked on miscellaneous jobs for extra money. They said it was a city job. It wasn’t. But I kept my mouth shut for the money.”

“Who are you working for now?” I asked.

“Paul works for men who are linked to a crime organization. I don’t know them. Paul is the one who pays me.” He glanced over his shoulder at the door. “Shit’s going down soon, and I need to get out of here.”

He cleared his throat, signifying the change in conversation.

“Eat.” His voice grew loud, as though he wanted everyone to hear.

“Okay,” I said.

He offered me a nod and left.

Neil didn’t need to share all that information with me, but he did. Right now, he was my ticket to safety. I had to trust him.

Despite that, I didn’t eat or drink anything. What if the other people had put something in the food or the drink to subdue me? I couldn’t risk it.

I waited about five minutes before easing the boxes aside. I tried my best not to make a sound. A metal grid greeted me. It hung loose by a single screw. My heart hammered as I removed it and put my necklace back on again. It would be my guiding light in the darkness.

I’d seen movies where victims crawled through tunnels or vents to escape their enemies. I never imagined it would be me.

On all fours, I fit through the tunnel and made my way slowly. My knees and palms pressed into pebbles as I advanced deeper into the dark tunnel. The smell of moist dirt surrounded me. I also heard faint noises somewhere.

What if they could hear me? Fear made me stop for a few seconds.

Keep going. Grayson needs to hear your words.

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