Page 170 of Heartbeats & Highways

She slapped me across the face. The sound of her palm hitting my skin echoed in the room. “Clearly he didn’t try hardenough. You never should’ve left us. The world isn’t safe for a Reaper.”

I laughed through my watering eyes and stinging cheek. “And you think it’s safe here? Have you spoken to your husband? Do you know what he plans to do with you?” When she didn’t reply, I stated, “Your husband plans on takingmeas his new wife. You know what that means for you, don’t you?”

“I have been the wife of the Grand Patriarch for thirty years,” she sneered. “He protects me, he cares for me, I gave him a son. A sonyoutook from me!”

“I feel sad for you. Sad that you can’t see what’s right in front of you.”

I turned away from her to stare out the window.

“Don’t expect your savage biker to come rescue you. If by some miracle he isn’t dead already, he won’t come for you. You’re not worth the trouble.”

She strode from the room and slammed the door shut behind her.

The light was dying. It would be dark soon.

After I ate my meal, which was bland yet filling, I curled up onto the bed and waited for night to fall. Though it was dark, there was enough light from the moon shining through the window that I could see inside the room.

At some point, someone returned to fetch the empty tray. I heard the snick of the lock and waited for the footsteps to retreat.

When I was sure no one was loitering outside my door, I got up. I grimaced when the sound of chains hit the woodenfloor. I expected to hear footsteps coming to investigate, but it was quiet. I lowered myself to my hands and knees and used the chain between my legs to catch the nail sticking out of the wooden plank. I leveraged the chain and attempted to pry the nail loose. I lost my hold on it and the chain clunked against the floor. My frustration grew with every setback, and I thought about moving the cot to make access to the nail easier, but if someone came to check on me, I wouldn’t be able to get the cot back into place quickly enough.

I worked tirelessly even as my fingers went numb, but eventually the nail wiggled far enough out of the wood that I could remove it.

A cry of triumph nearly escaped my lips, but by some miracle, I managed to keep it in. I began to try and pick the lock on my shackles with the nail.

My mind finally slowed down enough to think about Savage. The Grand Matriarch knew what Calvin had done to him and she’d taunted me with it.

Fear spiraled through my stomach.

She didn’t know Savage like I knew him.

Even injured, Savage would be relentless. But what if there were no miracles? What if Savage was dead?

That line of thought brought tears to my eyes, but I hastily brushed them away. I couldn’t lose my focus. I couldn’t tumble into a fog of grief like I’d done after my parents’ deaths. I needed to stay alert, determined.

I’d get to safety and then I could fall apart. But not before then.

I worked through the night, my mind turning sluggish as the hours went by. After a while, I wasn’t even paying attention to what I was doing, but then I heard a click.

Holding my breath, I pulled at the shackle on my ankle, and it came apart.

It had taken me hours to pick the lock. I didn’t have time to pick the other. Dawn’s early light painted the sky purple.

Knowing the Grand Patriarch, he’d send someone to check on me before full daylight. I hastily clamped the shackle back around my ankle, but this time it would remain unlocked. I lifted the fitted sheet off the mattress and shoved the nail into the corner of the bed stuffing before securing the sheet over it to conceal it again.

The nausea started and I was retching into one of the chamber pots as a key slid into the lock.

I didn’t even bother to look when the door opened.

“You’re sick,” the Grand Patriarch commented as he came across the threshold.

“It’s called morning sickness.” I sat up awkwardly and wiped my mouth.

“Glorious,” he murmured. “Did you sleep well?”

“Hard to sleep in a prison.”

His expression flattened. “I’d hoped a night back with your family would change your attitude.”

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