Carefully, so carefully, I pulled my cross from the hole and replaced it so it hung back from my neck. I stood up, stretching out the backs of my legs and took the handle in my hand. Slowly, I pressed down on the handle and proceeded to open the door just as my grandfather’s knocking filled the small space.

  “Lara,” he said. “I’m going to come in if you’re not out in thirty seconds.”

  “I’ll be right there,” I called out, my eyes sweeping the contents of the closet.

  It was exactly what I expected it to be – a small supply closet filled with refills of paper towels, toilet paper, and soap as well as cleaning supplies. And right there, in the middle of the room, was none other than a footstool. I wasn’t sure if it was enough for me to reach the window, I wasn’t sure if this would work, but it was something.

  I had to come back here before I was injected with the serum. I had to ensure that I gave myself the chance to escape, no matter what the cost.

  I closed the closet door and quickly stepped into the nearest stall just as my grandfather opened the bathroom door. I flushed the toilet and emerged, letting a little squeak at seeing him present.

  “Sorry,” I said, hand over my heart. “It’s just, I started today and I don’t have any…you know. Maybe you could get me something eventually and I could come back here and adjust things?”

  “I, uh…” He was speechless. I had never seen him speechless before. “I’ll see what I can do. Let’s go.”

  I made a show of washing my hands, making sure to bite back a smile. Things were slowly falling in place. I just had to make sure everything went off with a hitch if I was going to get away with this.

  Chapter 16

  “What the fuck are you smirking for?”

  Alex waited until we were alone before asking his direct question. I wasn’t sure if we could be overheard, and I didn’t want to give anything away. It almost seemed as though he thought there were only cameras without audio, but I didn’t trust my grandfather quite that much. Instead, I lifted my shoulder and sat back on my cot.

  I had already planted the seeds in my grandfather’s head. If he thought I was menstruating, I could probably get him to take me back to the bathroom in order to take care of that before he took me back to whatever part of this place I was supposed to go in order to get injected. It wasn’t much of a plan. I would have to work fast. I didn’t think he was going to give me as much time as he had before.

  More than that, there were so many things that could go wrong. The window might not open at all. I wouldn’t be able to fit through it. Even if I had, it might be too high up – though I doubted the last one only because I was pretty sure we were only on the first floor. But there might be guards outside who would have no trouble catching me and bringing me back to my grandfather. Regardless of the risks, though, I had to do it. I couldn’t just sit here and let my future be decided by everyone here. I had to actually do something about it, no matter what the consequences would be.

  “Well?” Alex insisted.

  I blew out a breath and gave him a glance. I wanted him to see the annoyance on my face. I didn’t appreciate his attitude.

  “You know,” I said, “You could be nicer to me. It’s not my fault…” I let my voice trail off and slowly closed my mouth. Technically, no, it wasn’t my fault that he was in this predicament. But, at the same time, my grandfather was the one who did terrible things to him. He could still be upset. He could still want nothing to do with me because of those things. “Never mind.”

  “Yeah, good choice,” he said, snippy.

  “You know,” I said, lying down on my back so I could stare up at the ceiling. I began to finger my necklace. “When I get out of here, I do plan to get you out too, so you better be nice to me.”

  He arched a brow, but said nothing. I supposed that was better than him immediately dismissing the fact that I wouldn’t get out of here in the first place. That was something.

  I settled my head back on my cot, still holding the cross between my fingers. I let out a small prayer to God, to Richard, to my parents, and whomever else was listening that I was able to do this. That my plan would work.

  Because if it didn’t… Well, I didn’t want to think about what would happen to me if it didn’t.

  It took another three hours before I was ready to put my plan into action. Someone came an hour and a half ago with food for me and Alex. I had to dig my nails into my skin in order to refrain from asking to go back to the restroom. If I appeared too hasty, they would be suspicious. They might check the restroom and discover that I left the supply closet door unlocked. They might notice a step ladder in the supply closet and remove it. I just had to bide my time.

  It was difficult for me to focus on eating when my mind was caught up in my plan, but I forced myself to eat as much as I could. The food wasn’t terrible, which surprised me, until I glanced at Alex and saw the portion he received. I realized that if they wanted him to be some super-strong weapon, they had to feed him appropriately. Which meant a lot of calories and a lot of protein. There was no way the government would invest in him as a viable weapon only to starve him. Which meant they truly believed this cage was enough to keep him locked in. Which meant the only way out of this place was getting out of this cage.

  I didn’t have the same amount of food on my tray, but it was enough to fill myself up. I figured I would need all the energy I could get if I was going to make a run for it.

  Once we finished, someone came to collect our trays. It wasn’t long before Alex had to pee, so I looked away, even though he hadn’t asked me to. He probably didn’t care.

  I waited another hour before trying to get someone’s attention. I knew there had to be cameras on us, which meant if I jumped up and down and waved my arms, surely someone would come and see me.

  “Keep doing that, princess,” Alex muttered from his position on his cot. He had one eye open, the other closed, in a lying position, with his arms crossed over his chest. It was almost as though he was ready to fall asleep after such a large meal. “You look like an idiot.”

  “Would you rather I bleed all over the place?” I asked through gritted teeth. I had never been comfortable discussing my periods with anyone, especially a man, but in this case, I made an exception.

  “I don’t smell –“

  “Shut up,” I snapped, my cheeks turning red. I didn’t realize the wolves had the ability to actually smell things like that. Had Jon? When he was with me? He never said anything. Probably because it didn’t make a difference, but still. It almost felt like a violation of privacy, but I doubted Jon could help it. “You cannot be this stupid.”

  “Watch it,” he growled.

  “Then shut up,” I snapped again. “You have no idea what’s going on so close your mouth and just trust me.”

  Alex’s nostrils flared. I could tell he was annoyed with my dismissal of him and, honestly, he probably had a reason to be. But that didn’t mean I was going to apologize for it. I needed to focus on getting the hell out of here. If I could do that, I’d be able to get help and get him out of here.

  “I’ve killed people for saying less,” Alex said, his voice a rumbly warning, like an oncoming thunderstorm.

  I ignored him. He was probably not lying, but I didn’t want to think about that now. I doubted that he would kill me, especially once I showed him what I planned to do.

  Not that I could show him anything. But once he was free, then he would understand. At least, I hoped he would.

  Finally, after what felt like forever, a woman with blonde hair pulled into a professional bun, and a white lab coat approached my cage.

  “Oh, thank God,” I said, making sure to breathe a sigh of relief at the sight of her. “You’re here. I need –“

  “The commander informed me that you might want to head to the restroom for personal matters,” she said with a curt nod. “I’m here to escort you there myself.”

  I opened my mouth. No. This was not good. She couldn’t escort me. I wanted my grandfather to. This woman could come into the restroom with me. My grandfather, on the other hand, would politely wait outside. If she came in with me, there was no way I could get to the closet, no way I could pull out the stool, no way I could reach for the window and try and escape. And yet, if I didn’t go with her, they would get suspicious. Why wouldn’t I go, especially if I really was on my period and needed to change things to ensure there wasn’t a mess?

  I cleared my throat and smiled, though it felt like a grimace.

  “G-great,” I murmured to myself.

  Alex smirked, though he didn’t say anything. For that, I was grateful. The last thing I needed was a smartass comment coming from him that would piss me off enough to respond. Or him commenting on the fact that I wasn’t happy about a woman taking me to the bathroom.

  I slowly headed for the glass door. The woman typed in a code, placed her hand on an encasement, and the door popped open. I didn’t remember my grandfather having to do any of that, but maybe if he was the one who opened it, he didn’t have to. The woman stepped back so I could walk out and shut the door. She didn’t even bother looking at Alex, which I couldn’t blame her for because Alex was a pain in the ass, and everyone here probably knew it.

  “I hate to be a bother,” I said as we headed down the hallway. “But I started earlier than I expected. Is there a way you can get me a tampon or something? The last time I was here, I didn’t see like a machine or anything, and I really don’t want to have to use toilet paper if I can help it, especially since I’m in this dress, and –“

  “I can look for one if you would just shut up,” she snapped, sliding her eyes over to me. “I’ll be back. If you leave the bathroom while I’m gone, I will shoot to kill, despite what the general instructed. Got it?”

  I wasn’t sure if she actually would, but I nodded quickly, trying to show her that I believed her, even if I didn’t. Not really.

  She opened the door for me and shut it. I heard a telling click and I turned. She locked me inside. I didn’t realize it could lock from the outside.

  Either way, I didn’t have much time. I quickly went to the storage closet and opened it. It was still unlocked, thankfully, and I pulled out the plastic stool. I placed it underneath the window and stood up, reaching my hands up. I could touch the glass, but the latch was still out of my grasp. I clenched my teeth and rolled up to my toes. This had to work. It just had to.

  My heart slammed against my chest, distracting me momentarily. If I didn’t calm down, there was no way I was going to succeed at this. I released a breath, staying on my toes, and tried again.

  This time, my middle finger managed to catch the lever and I pushed. There was a loud click, and I quickly snapped my head to the door. I didn’t even know if the woman was back in the first place, but it was as though I was worried she would have heard it.

  I shook my head to myself.

  Get a grip, Tucker.

  I turned back to the window and reached up again. I ignored the pain in the side of my neck from where I turned too quickly and pressed my palms flat against the glass, pushing as hard as I could. At first, the window didn’t give.

  My eyes widened. This couldn’t be happening. Not now.

  I pushed again. Finally, there was something giving in. I kept pushing, even as my arms strained.

  And then, the window groaned, popping open.

  I froze. I waited. Surely someone must have heard the noise. Surely they were sending people right now.

  I didn’t have time. I reached up, trying to pull myself up. My arms screamed and I chided myself at my lack of upper-body strength. I shouldn’t have stopped going to those self-defense lessons with Alec once Jon came back. Clearly, I still needed all of the help I could get.

  I tried again, even jumping up in order to help my momentum. Except, doing that caused me to kick the stool over. If I couldn’t pull myself up, I’d have to drop down, adjust the stool, and then do it all over again.

  Suddenly, I heard the scrape of a key and the lock click open. I panicked. There was no way out of this one. That woman was going to walk in and see me hanging from a window. I couldn’t even drop down and pretend I wasn’t doing anything. Not with a stool there or the supply closet open. Not with the window open.

  I needed to do this now or I was screwed.

  I lifted myself up. I still didn’t know if I would fit through the window itself, but I needed to try. I guess I would find out.

  The door whooshed open the second I got traction. I realized it was going to be a tight fit, but it didn’t matter. I had to try. And if I got stuck, well, that was my problem.

  “I got you – what the fuck?”

  Suddenly, her fingers clawed at my ankle, trying to pull me back. I could feel the cement, could see the grass. I was so close. I couldn’t let her make me fall, even if my muscles strained to hold myself in place. I swung back and forth, trying to keep her from getting a grip on me. It worked for a time, but I could feel my grip slipping. I couldn’t hold myself up for very much longer, and I had no idea if I was going to be able to pull myself up in the first place.

  But I had to try.

  I didn’t think she alerted anyone to what I was doing just yet, which meant I still had time. Granted, it could all be for naught if there were guards outside or if anyone happened to notice the window open and someone climbing through it, but I had to take my chances, no matter what.

  “You stupid bitch,” the woman said. “I knew I should have just let you bleed through your clothes. But no, because you’re his fucking granddaughter. Goddamn nepotism is everywhere.”

  I bent my knee and shot out my foot, hoping it would land somewhere important. At the very least, I wanted her to shut up. My grandfather was planning to use me as one of his experiments. I didn’t think that that should be classified as nepotism. However, I couldn’t, exactly, tell her that. Not when I was struggling to keep myself up.

  When I heard I crunch and then a scream of frustration, I knew I managed to kick her face.

  “You broke my nose, you cunt!” she exclaimed in a shrill voice.

  I was almost positive someone would have had heard that, which meant I didn’t have time to get out of here. I couldn’t let this be for nothing.

  With strength I didn’t know I possessed, I forced myself up. My muscles screamed in pain. My face scrunched up, and I bit down hard on my bottom lip to keep myself from grunting in pain. I didn’t want to draw any more attention to myself than I already had. When I got better footing with my upper body, I moved my elbows forward, trying to inch my way up. I couldn’t swing my legs around and take pressure off my arms because the window wasn’t long enough, but I could squeeze through if I maintained a horizontal shape – or as close to one as I could come up with.

  Fingers clutched at my toes but I kicked them back, escaping her grasp. My heart jumped. That was too close.

  I hurried up my inching out of the window, scraping my skin on the concrete. I didn’t care. I just needed to get the fuck out.

  “You’re going to get caught!” she called from below me. “I’ve already alerted everyone. They’re going to get you.”

  I couldn’t let her words distract me. She was trying to get in my head. I knew what she was doing and I would fail if I let her succeed.

  Finally, the majority of my torso was out of the window. I just needed to pull the lower half of my body through, which should be much easier than the torso. I grunted. This time, I couldn’t bite my lip. It was already bleeding from before, and at this point, I was sure people was aware I was about to escape.

  It took everything inside of me, but I finally slid through the window and collapsed on the grass nearby. I was out of breath. My muscles were sore. I wanted nothing more than to stop, that to calm my rapidly beating heart.

  But I had no time.

  I had to get out of here.

  I pulled myself up into a standing position – though, to be honest, standing was a generous use of the word. I could barely keep my torso upright, and my knees were bent because they had to support a heaviness inside of me I hadn’t recognized.

  However, directly in front of me was the gate. If I could get there, maybe climb over it…

  Well, I wouldn’t exactly be free, but I would be close to freedom. Closer than I was now.

  So, I started to run forward. My feet ached, the bare soles scraped and probably bleeding. I pushed through, up until I reached the iron bars.

  I threw myself up. The gate itself wasn’t as tall as I expected it to be. I could probably clear it. However, the second my feet left the floor, my muscles seized up and I froze.

  “Halt!” a voice called from behind me. “You move one goddamn muscle and I’ll blow your brain into chunks!”

  Chapter 17

  I threw up my hands.

  Fuck.

  I was so close. So close.

  I wished I kicked that bitch harder in the face. Maybe make her bleed. If I was going down, I wanted to go down swinging.

  “Don’t you fucking move! I swear to God, I don’t give a shit who you are. I will fucking pull this trigger and cause your head to blow into bits!”

  I frowned, thankful my back was to whoever it was that was holding me in place with all his talk of having a weapon and using it on me. Granted, being in such a vulnerable position wasn’t exactly ideal, but at least he couldn’t see the faces I was making due to his stupidity. What was he so afraid of? I was a woman with no weapon. He had every advantage. There was no need to threaten me with such bodily harm.

  A loud snarl pierced the air and I froze.

  “I’m not fucking kidding,” the security guard said. Fear tainted his voice, desperation clinging to his words. “I will fucking shoot. Do you understand? You better call the fucking wolf off before I do.”

  “What wolf?” I asked before I could stop myself.

  “Are you fucking kidding me with that? What wolf? The one in fucking front of you. He fucking came from fucking nowhere and he’s standing there, eyeing me like he’s going to bite my face off. Bastard is fucking stealth as fuck.”