“Of course we’re here,” she said. “Emily said you sounded off when you called. Then those scary men showed up and took over the shelter, and we knew something was up. We drove the Dog-Mobile here as soon as we could.” “Wait.” I walked toward the balcony doors and peeked outside. “What do you mean they took over the shelter?” “One of the scowling ones said they were there for security , but we all know that’s just a cover. No good can come from having the mafia lurking around. They’re scaring of f all our visitors.” The tension eased from my shoulders. “No, no, Gladys. I asked Davian to send his men to the shelter as a favor, because of those teenage thugs. It’s a safety precaution.” A long pause made me worried our call had dropped, before Gladys cleared her throat. “... You’re saying Reed did you a favor?” She didn’ t need to sound so shocked by it. “He did. And I know you’ve heard rumors, but Davian’ s not the terrible, scary puppy-mu rderer you warned me about,” I explained, then chewed on my lower lip. “Well, not completely . It might look bad, but he helped me get Bear back —” “Sadie.” She talked over me, speaking slowly and deliberately . “If you try to tell me the big bad mafia boss is secretly some misunderstood angel, I’ll throw up the leftover egg salad sandwich I ate for lunch. That nest of vipers is the last place you belong, and we’re here to bust you out.” The swell of relief that filled my chest made my knees a little unsteady , and I leaned against the balcony door . My friends had come for me. Right when I needed them, they’d shown up. The rush of emotion was unexpected—and a lot to handle—but I was just happy Gladys couldn’ t see me when I wiped my eyes. “Thank you. Truly. But how did you even find me?” “That part was easy. We stopped by your apartment, but you weren’t there, and a shady young man was r eplacing the door—I can’t wait to hear your explanation for that , by the way. He refused to speak to us. So, I told the ladies in my book club what happened, and they asked around. You know how extensive our network is. They tracked down Reed’s place without any trouble,” Gladys explained, leaving me speechless. Her book
club really didn’t mess around. “Ryan and I have been staked out in front of his dark fortress all day , trying to get in touch with you.” Sniffling back the rest of my tears, I tried to rein in my excitement before we got ahead of ourselves. Vince had warned me it would be impossible to leave the compound again without him allowing it. “They’re not actually ke eping me here against my will,” I said to Gladys. Well, not exactly. I wasn’t sure how to explain the whole voluntary prisoner -slash-guest thing to her. “But I do think I’ve overstayed my welcome. And I miss you guys.” “Good. That means they haven’t completely brainwashed you yet,” she said, making me roll my eyes. “We need to move quickly . Do you have free movement in there?” “I do, but...” I bit my lip, because she wouldn’ t like what I said next. “There’ s someth ing important I should do before we leave. I need to talk to Davian —” “Absolutely not! Don’t you dare approach him. It’s too risky,” she warned. “He could stop you from leaving.” “We don’t know that.” I squeezed my eyes shut. I needed to handle this delicately . “I know you don’t want to hear it, but he’s really not the monster people make him out to be. I’ve gotten to know him —” “Sadie, stop talking. It’s not worth the risk, and we need to move now . How can we get you out?” I huffed a sigh. But if I was honest, maybe I was a little relieved I could push of f my talk with Davian. I could always call him later . Or email. Or maybe it was time to bring telegrams back into fashion. ... Or maybe he’d take one look at the line of mafia princesses waiting for him and for get I ever existed. I quickly shut down that train of thought. “It won’t be easy. They won’t let me just waltz out the gate.” Not again , at least. I paced over to Davian’ s bed and placed a hand on the soft sheets as an idea formed. A risky idea. “Does the Dog-Mobile still have that ladder from when we had to get Honey of f the roof?” A golden retriever we’d briefly housed at the shelter had proven quite the es cape artist.
“I like where you’re going with this.” Gladys hummed softly. “Yes, the ladder’s here.” “&an you drive to the eastern wall of the compound in six minutes?” I asked. At least, I hoped that direction was east. My heart did a sideways flip as what we were about to do sank in. “Around the area that lines up with the house. I need to find Bear, then I’ll meet you there. I’m just not sure what to do about the guards.” “We have that part covered,” she said. “I’ll distract them while Ryan gets you out.” The menace in her voice made me hesitate. “How exactly are you planning to distract them?” “Don’t you worry about that,” she said, sounding even more sinister. “Do you want me to call the police for backup, just in case?” I pressed my lips together , remembering how Davian hadn’t batted an eye at the car wash when the police were on their way. He wasn’t afraid of them. “I don’ t think they’ll do anything to help us. We’re on our own.” “Roger that. R yan will meet you at the eastern wall. Six minutes.” Just six minutes, and then I was out of here. ... So, why wasn’ t I happier about it? /eaving felt wrong. Dirty. Davian had dropped everything to help me. He’d opened his home to me and Bear. He’d made me see stars in the kitchen. Now, I was about to disappear without so much as a thank-you or goodbye. But Vince’s cruel words rang in my head, and I clenched my jaw— pushing any second-guessing de ep, de ep down. This was for the best. “You’re a lifesaver ,” I told Gladys as I pulled the top sheet off Davian’ s bed. It was time to get to work. I could overthink everything later. “Thank you, Gladys.” She snorted. “What are friends for if not to help each other break out of heavily guarded mafia fortresses?” ... Well, I couldn’ t argue with that. But I gulped as I stripped the fitted sheet off Davian’ s bed. Was I really going to try es caping from his compound two days in a row? My arms prickled with goose bumps just thinking about it. Vince had called me weak, but he was in for a rude awakening. I didn’t need to hide out here like some helpless damsel.
I could return to my life and protect myself .
S a d i e Sadie’s Guide to Hostage-T aking Being T aken Hostage Forming a Partnership with Y our Hostage Embracing the Hostage Lifestyle Not Freaking Out Es caping, T ip #26: Not all es cape plans ar e created equal. My only regret as I hustled out to the balcony with an armful of tied- together sheets was I hadn’t waited for Vince to return with that ice cream before I es caped. And also that I hadn’ t confronted Davian. But it was just too risky to chance. Instead, I scribbled out a quick note explaining things as best I could and left it on his dresser like a coward. I turned on the bath to buy myself more time when Vince returned— fully regretting not getting the chance to soak in Davian’ s beautiful tub. Cargo space was limited, so I stuffed my phone into my bra and grabbed my plant, Walter, before making my way down the makeshift blanket rope I’d knotted together . It was slower going than yesterday . With my heart in my throat and my ankles clamped around the rope, I descended at snail speed. It wasn’t until I was halfway down and a breeze hit that I realized I hadn’t grabbed a fresh pair of underwear . But it was too late to turn around —plus, I didn’t have the upper body strength to go back up my little es cape route.