Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Slowly and painfully, the tape lifted and the tension loosened until she was finally able to use her tongue to disengage it from her mouth. With a final tear that removed most of the skin of her lower lip, it fell away and Cami opened her mouth wide and gulped in the first full breath of air she’d taken since the day before.
For several seconds she allowed herself to suck in the oxygen that filled her lungs completely, listening as the two men continued to argue below. She could hear the sounds of what she assumed was them loading up the car in the garage with their things. They’d almost certainly obtained the combination to the safe from her mom or dad and raided that, and who knew what else they were stuffing in their trunk.
Good. Keep taking every last item you can. Give me the time I need to get free. That hatred rose in her again, and the absolute fury gave her the fortitude to keep trying.
Cami dug her foot under the folds of the quilt and picked up the compact with her toes. Then she brought it close to her hip and used her body to move it to the location she thought best before lifting her hip and lowering it directly onto the small, enclosed mirror. Because of the give of the mattress, it took her three tries before she heard the small crack from within. Yes.
A few more steps.
Then what? Even if you get free, you’ll need a better weapon than a tiny piece of glass.
As she endeavored to scoot the compact up toward her mouth by nudging it with her body, her mind raced. Her father owned a gun that he kept tucked in the far back of the bottom drawer of his dresser. She’d seen it a few years before, when she’d gone to find an old T-shirt she could cut up as part of a Halloween costume. It’d felt a little like coming upon a snake unexpectedly. She’d jumped back and closed the drawer and never mentioned it.
Her father was a judge who must have had enemies, or at least people who felt bitter toward him. It made sense that he’d have a weapon to protect his family, even if he hadn’t wanted to worry them by alerting his daughters to its presence.
They’ve seen our faces.
Yeah, no shit. This is fucked.
And now we gotta fix it.
She had no idea if the gun was still there, or if it was loaded. And she’d never fired a gun before. Even so, it’s what she would go for first.
Once she’d nudged the compact high enough, she bent her neck, straining against the bonds at her wrists as she grabbed it with her teeth and then raised her head and set the small item next to her on her pillow. She turned toward it and used her teeth to hold it while she worked on the small clasp with her tongue. Come on, come on, she chanted in her head as she fumbled with the stupid thing, easily flicked open with fingers but seemingly impossible with her mouth. The unsteady surface didn’t help, and a drop of sweat rolled down the side of her forehead as she labored, considering whether she should move the compact back down the bed and work on it with her feet the way she’d done before. Down below, the mudroom door opened and then closed and opened again. Just leave. Leave us here. Please.
The clasp came open and Cami let out a small whimper of victory, turning her head as much as possible so she could see the broken glass inside. It was cracked in half, which was another tiny triumph because it would have been useless if it had shattered into a hundred slivers. She used her tongue again to pry up the broken glass, which was easier than getting the clasp open, as it was only attached with a dot of glue. Both pieces fell onto her pillow.
She wasted no time. She picked up the sharpest-looking piece with her teeth, and then she adjusted her body and strained her neck so that her mouth was at the tape on her wrist. And then she began sawing. Back, forth, back, forth. She barely felt the small slices to her tongue and her lips, but she tasted the blood. That didn’t stop her, though. She didn’t even slow.
Fast, but not so fast you drop the piece through the wrought iron bars of the headboard.
Slow and steady wins the race. Slow and steady wins the race.
She heard what sounded like the trunk slamming in the garage, and then their tromping feet as they came back into the mudroom, the door opening and shutting behind them. Back, forth, back, forth.
They walked through the kitchen, still talking, but Cami only made out a few words, her focus directed on her work. She wouldn’t stop until she had to.