Page 172 of Heartbeats & Highways

I grinned when he slammed the door behind him.

Chapter 45

I napped in between meals.Staying up most of the night had left me exhausted and I knew I’d need to be well-rested so I could work on my shackles throughout the night.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to escape because even when I got my shackles off, the door was still locked. Depending on how much time I had before dawn, I might be able to pick that lock, too. But no doubt someone was guarding the house.

Thinking too far in advance caused anxiety to ricochet through my belly, so I forced myself to only think about the first step in front of me.

Despite what I’d told the Grand Patriarch, I was losing hope that Savage was alive.

I have to rescue myself. Rescue my babies.

I couldn’t wait. I wouldn’t stay here and let my due date draw closer. At some point, it would be too dangerous to try and flee. I’d be too big and there wouldn’t be any chance of success.

And after the birth of the babies, he’d begin to use me . . .

The room was stifling. The heat from the wood stove chimney warmed my sick in the chamber pot and the scent ofit permeated the air. The Grand Matriarch brought me meals, but she would not empty my refuse bins. Apparentlythatwas beneath her.

Breathing through my mouth, I wondered if the window was sealed shut, or if I could open it.

I slogged my way over to the window, the iron chains clanking across the wooden floor. I unlatched the window, grasped the bottom of the frame and heaved. It shot up quickly, not having been stuck at all. Cold air immediately washed over my skin. I took a deep inhale and closed my eyes.

Clunk!

My eyes flipped open. The window had slid shut because the rope holding the cast-iron metal sash weight had snapped.

I picked up the weight that had fallen and held it in my hand. It was heavy and round, and about ten inches long . . . just the right size to be used like a club.

I put the sash back into the window channel and hid the broken rope beneath the mattress. I didn’t want to keep it near me in case someone unexpectedly decided to search the room.

After dinner, I washed my face and brushed my teeth. I retrieved the sash from the window and climbed into bed. My fingers closed around it. I tried to stay awake, but when the room went dark, my eyes closed, and I fell asleep.

Hands clamped around my neck and my eyes flipped open.

Moonlight bathed the Grand Matriarch’s rage-infested face as she attempted to strangle the life out of me.

“You think I’ll let my husband set me aside for a slut like you?” Her fingers pressed deeper into the sides of my throat asshe squeezed with all her might. “You took my son from me! I won’t let you take my husband!”

Black spots twinkled in front of my eyes.

I tried to fight—I tried to move my legs—but the iron shackles prevented me from kicking.

My hands went to her wrists, but she was bigger than me and she had anger and adrenaline on her side.

Something hard poked me in the back as I struggled to fling her off.

My hands fell from her wrists and felt for the sash weight from the window that I had dropped sometime when I’d been asleep. My fingers clamped around it.

My vision was nearly black, and my energy continued to drain, but I could still see the faint outline of her face and murder was in her eyes. I lifted my hand, and with all the force I had left inside of me, smashed the cast-iron weight against the side of her head.

Her cry of pain met my ears, and her hands loosened from around my neck.

Sweet air fueled my strength.

I hit her again and again until she fell over next to me on the bed. And then I pummeled her skull until the sheets were stained with brain and blood.

My hands shook with adrenaline. I dropped the sash weight and quickly scrambled to the side of the bed, lifted the sheet, and pulled out the hidden nail.

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