Tyjae digs into her pocket and pulls out a plastic nail file and I reach out, my mouth practically salivating. This moment right here is probably better than any dick I’ve ever had.
Okay, maybe that’s a bit dramatic. And a lie.
“A peace offering,” she says, holding it out to me.
I reach my hand out to grab it from her, but my shaking hands catch me off guard. I’ve always had a steady hand. Tyjae sees what I’m looking at and she frowns.
“The drugs,” she says. “Your body is already craving it.”
The panic I felt before I fainted begins to take root again. I’ve always been firmly against drugs. What people do in their free time is their business, but we live in a world where we can’t afford to have our minds dazed and cognitive function on the fritz. It’s dangerous. Add in addiction and you have a whole other problem.
Alcohol could be seen the same way, but I would never drink somewhere I didn’t have enough people around in case shit went down.
This weakness, the shaking, and nausea… I’m going through withdrawal.
“Lorazepam wouldn’t knock me out right away,” I say out loud. “I’m missing days, Tyjae.”
She shrugs.
“It could if you were given enough, but then he could risk overdosing you.”
She purses her full lips again.
“I’m not sure he cares. It’s possible he’s been adding something to it. Knock you out, build the addiction enough to where he can use it to his benefit.”
Liam’s face comes to my mind. His words echoing from the dream I had before I first woke up.
Whatever it takes, Malia, fucking fight.
Call me stupid. Call me whatever. But I didn’t get to where I am today with a lot of rationalism.
It’s only a matter of time until Elio finds out I’m pregnant. Then what? Do I sit here and wait to be rescued, knowing Elio will most likely kill my child anyway?
Or do I try to escape and give us the only chance we have to survive and get back to Liam and my dad. It’s an enormous risk, but I can’t sit here and do nothing. Whether I can trust Tyjae or not, once I’m out of this cell, I could die trying to get us to safety.
“Where are we?” I ask Tyjae.
Before I accept her offer, I need to know where we are. I’m not even sure we’re in the states anymore. For all I know we could be down the road from the Omen mansion and right under everyone’s noses.
Oh, to be that lucky.
“The Ricci family home in Lombardy, Italy,” she drawls.
Great. Just what I was afraid of. It doesn’t make escaping any harder, but it doesn’t make it any easier, either. I’m in a whole different country, which means more time scrambling to get back to my family.
“Okay,” I clip, pinning Tyjae with a glare. “But if I go down I’m fucking taking you with me.”
Snitches get stitches and I’ve never been that bitch, but it felt like it needed to be said.
Tyjae nods her head in acknowledgment.
“Oscar is taking you for your shower tonight. Elio thinks Griffin is off doing some job, but he’s waiting for my word to cause a distraction by the gates. If I help you further, I risk exposure to the Riccis, damning my whole purpose of being here.”
I nod, understanding I’ll be on my own from that point on. Which doesn’t hurt my feelings, since I’m not fond of other people’s help. If it’s my problem, I want to handle it. If my life is threatened, I’ll settle it in blood.
What can I say? I’ve never been very good at the whole damsel-in-distress thing.
I’d be fine with Tyjae forgetting to lock my cage and I’d work out the rest. She’s already offering more than I’m comfortable with, chained to the wall be damned. What is it they say? If there’s a will there’s a way.