Page 42 of Strangers in Love

I hoped.

The first two keys didn’t work, but the third slid right into place, and the tumblers clicked as I turned the key.

Yahtzee.

Since no one had come out of the room when the shooting started, I was almost positive that there weren’t any soldiers in there with her, but there was always a chance that someone had been told to guard the prisoner no matter what, which meant my gun was out and ready. I didn’t want to scare any civilians, though, so I kept the barrel as low as I could without putting myself in too much danger.

I took a breath and braced myself for whatever I’d find inside, then I opened the door.

Thirty

Aline

I didn’t knowwhat was going on in the hallway. I had not idea who was here, why they were here, or even whereherewas, but I did know one thing for certain.

That door was about to open.

The way I saw it, three possible outcomes existed. One, nothing in my circumstances had changed. Either the man who’d thrown me in here or one of his friends would come in and either hurt me or take me back to the cell. Two, the people who’d been shooting had come to rescue us, whether their objective was me or one of the others, and the person who opened the door would be safe. Or, three, a rival group had come in to take over, and a complete stranger who might want something more than money would come in to get me.

The one possibility I couldn’t accept right now was that no one would come, and I’d be trapped in here until I died from dehydration.

To keep myself from latching onto that unpleasant option, I focused on what I would do when that door opened.

I still believed that my parents would pay any ransom asked, but I no longer completely believed that the men who’d taken me intended to let me go, even after they had their money. I’d been willing to wait and not cause any trouble – with the exception of standing up for Gia – but I wasn’t going to let someone assault me without a fight. That was my line in the sand.

Some rough handling I’d take without complaint, but I hadn’t been separated from the others just to be slapped around. Making assumptions was one thing; ignoring a progression of facts as they came to the most logical conclusion would have been foolishness on my part.

So, I would fight.

And once I struck, I would run. I was more grateful than ever that I’d only brought comfortable shoes because trying to do this in heels would’ve been impossible, and I really didn’t want to run on these floors in just my socks. Traction and the possibility of stepping on something dangerous were the first things on my mind, and for more reasons than just running.

My freshman year at Stanford, the college had offered self-defense as a health course, so Freedom and I had taken it, though I’d gotten the impression that she’d done it because she hadn’t wanted me to take it alone. Anything where I could possibly be hurt in any way always brought out the crazy overprotective side in my family.

I hated the fact that I hadn’t used it already, particularly when those men had been going after Hammond, Dana, and Gia. I’d frozen. I’d always assumed that I would be able to react automatically if I was ever attacked, but I knew that wasn’t the case. I’d call on that training now because I was prepared, but I needed to be better at reacting in the moment. When I got home, I vowed I would take karate classes, and if anyone had a problem with it, I was going to bring up this exact scenario.

My butt and the small of my back hurt from where I’d fallen, but the adrenaline that’d flooded me from the moment I’d been dragged from my cell was keeping the worst of it at bay. I bounced on my toes, trying to remember everything the instructor had told us. The right way to stand for the best balance and the most power. Putting my thumb on the outside of my fist instead of the inside. The best places to aim for the most effective hit.

Then I heard it…the sound of a key in the lock. I narrowed my eyes, hoping that doing so would help prevent the hallway light from blinding me when the door opened. Except it didn’t open yet. I heard a scraping sound and then a key in the lock. It didn’t open this time either.

My stomach dropped as I realized what was happening. Whoever had the keys was trying different ones, which meant they weren’t part of the group who’d taken me. That also meant that the person on the other side was either a rescuer or someone worse.

My natural optimism warred with a strange and new cynicism. Then, the lock clicked, and I braced myself.

The door swung open, and someone took two steps into the room. The first thing I noticed was how tall the man was. The second thing was that his eyes were the most vivid shade of green I’d ever seen. The fact that I couldn’t see his features somehow made them stand out even more when the small bit of light touched them.

“Aline Mercier?”

I let out a shaky breath and tears burned at the corners of my eyes. He had an accent, very faint, but it definitely wasn’t local. It sounded Scottish or Irish, something like that, which I hoped meant he’d come to help.

“Are you Aline Mercier?” he asked.

“Yes.” I nodded, trying hard to push my tears back. “I’m Aline.”

“Your sister sent us to get you.” He came closer, his gaze running over my body in a way that might’ve been sexual had the circumstances been different but felt more like a necessary assessment right now. As if he needed to know the extent of any injuries I might’ve sustained.

I didn’t care about any of that, though. All I needed to hear was that Freedom had sent this man. I launched myself at him, remembering only at the last second that my wrists were tied. I hit him with my arms between us, but I wasn’t about to let that stop me. I grabbed his shirt and held it tight as I pressed my face against his chest.

He smelled like sweat and laundry detergent, and something about it just made me think of home.

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