Page 54 of She's Mine

As the door closed behind me, Alyssa called out, “Who’s there?”

“Alyssa, it’s me, David,” I replied, my eyes adjusting to the light. I saw that she was bound to a flimsy, worn cot. She looked cold, tired and scared, but there wasn’t a single scratch or bruise on her, so I figured she was otherwise unhurt. “I got your message and found you here.”

“Are my dad and Jeffrey coming?”

I staggered towards her, my arms still bound, and said, “No, it’s just me. I came alone.”

Even in the darkness, I could see the tears in Alyssa’s eyes, and then one rolled down her cheek. “I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing.”

“It’s a good thing. Don’t worry. If your father and Jeffrey had come, Hernández would have killed them on sight. At least this way, we can figure out a way to escape.”

24

ALYSSA

“Do you really think we can get out of here?” I whimpered in the darkness.

I wasbeyondrelieved that David was here. Just having him by my side made me feelsomuch better. But without my dad or Jeffrey knowing where we were, I feared the Bloodline would just let us rot here.

“We’ll find a way,” David said, his voice strong and determined. Maybe that’s because he hadn’t been trapped down here for God knows how long, with very little to eat or drink.

“Maybe we could try talking sense into your brother?” David suggested. “He’s the one guarding the door.”

“When Joseph first captured me, he said if I let him kill Dad, his boss would let me leave. That I could start a new life away from here.”

“Then why didn’t you? I don’t mean you should have let your dad be murdered, but if you could have gotten out of here, you might have been able to get a message to me.”

I sighed. “Do youreallythink Hernández would release mebeforehe killed my dad? More likely, he’d have killed me in front of him, just to make him suffer more. Besides, I wasn’t about to leave California without you.”

“Okay, that’s a good point. And I suppose youdidget a message to me. That was very clever using the plus code, instead of the coordinates. Too bad Hernández knew what you were doing all along and this was all a trap.”

“I figured it might be, but I also thought you’d consider that too, and at least tell Jeffrey what’s going on. Why didn’t you leave him a message or anything?”

David bowed his head. “I wasn’t thinking straight. I was just acting on adrenaline, and myneedto get to you. I honestly thought if the whole of J&J Security just stormed in here, Hernández would kill you. At least this way, we might have asmallchance of escaping.”

I could see the logic in David’s plan and replied, “Yeah, I think you’re right. At least you’re here now. I just wish I could hold you.”

David came as close to the cot as possible, and then crouched down beside me. He lent in to brush his cheek against mine. It’s the best we could do with my arms and legs bound to the frame of the cot, and his hands cuffed.

“There must be a way to escape. What are you tied to the bed with?”

“Those plastic zip tie things you use for cables and stuff. I guess Joseph figured even if Ididmanage to break them, I wouldn’t get out the door with him guarding it.”

“And even if youdidmake it upstairs, the place is swarming with cartel members. I counted at least thirty. There may be more,” David said, but to my surprise, he didn’t sound resigned. “But zip ties we can work with. Here, let me see if I can use the metal of the cuffs to cut through the plastic.”

David shuffled along the ground and repositioned himself in a way we could almost hold hands. But, instead of entwining his fingers with mine, he moves from side to side in such a way that the metal of his cuffs grazed against the plastic of the zip ties holding me to the cot. It hurt like hell, and the cuffs pressed against my skin too. I knew they’d probably be red raw by the time David was done, but it was a small price to pay to free my hands.

After an intense amount of effort on David’s part, I could feel the plastic zip ties getting hot, and then I used all my strength to pull my arms free.

“We did it!” I whispered in the darkness.

From nearby, David gave me a dazzling smile and then said, “Here, let me free your legs too.”

Once more, he shuffled across the ground, and repositioned himself, then repeated the process to break the zip ties binding my legs to the bed.

Finally free, even though my wrists and ankles were sorer than they’d ever been, I still sat up in the cot, and threw my arms around David. I kissed every inch of his face, brushing my stiff fingers through his hair.

Part of me had beensosure I’d never see him again that I could hardly believe he was here now.

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