I wouldn’t excuse the guilt I felt that Jia had been taken, and it didn’t make me feel any better to hear she still would have been taken, his words held truth though. They held truth and I was listening and paying attention. Grateful for his wisdom.
This was our chance. My chance that I wouldn’t blow this time.
“Okay guys, let’s do this. We’ll assemble in a few hours and get this done. Get her back,” I stated.
I was looking at Giovanni, who’d resumed his former worry. He’d resumed the worried sick father mode.
Worried sick didn’t begin to describe my worry.
I knew what Balthazar Kane was like.
No one here, aside from me, had seen the extent of his madness first hand.
I was really praying there wouldn’t be a repeat of it.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Jia
I’d been watching everyone’s movements. Watching what they did and how they operated.
Their process.
What I was looking for was a way of escaping.
Yes…
I’d officially put my hand up and admit that I’d gone bat shit crazy.
But then, I was pretty sure there were a few times in my life when I’d said the same thing.
This time was just the time that really mattered and it needed my craziness to push the limits so I could believe in myself. Believe I could do this.
Escape this place.
It started with this room. if I could get out of the room then I could have some type of chance. Maybe…
I had to try. I had to.
I couldn’t just allow Balthazar to do whatever he wanted to me. I couldn’t sit here and wait and accept my fate.
It was crazy.
That would be crazy. Not trying would be crazy and the coward’s way out.
Ethan hadn’t come back since I spoke to him. That was many hours ago. I even fell asleep. What put me in gear for this plan of mine was waking up to seeing Balthazar watching me. It was so creepy. So damn creepy and gave me that instant feeling of some violation although he hadn’t touched me.
That had been some hours ago too.
They had a guard at the door, who’d taken me to the toilet twice already. It was down the corridor from the room. I’d gone the second time to get another look at the place. There was a vent in the wall above the toilet. I was hoping to go in there and try and get gone.
The time was now. It had to be now. I’d already been here too long.
“Guard!” I called out. “Guard!”
He was standing there on the outside of the door ignoring me. Idiot. I wished I could be one of those women who could seriously handle themselves. Someone like Xena or fuck, Wonder Woman was needed to kick his ass and put him in his place. Actually, the whole fucking lot of them.
Since I was neither Xena, nor Wonder woman I would have to settle for what I could do, and that was to be as annoying as fuck.
I called him over and over again.
“Guard, guard, guard, guard, guardddddddddddd!!!”
That got him good. The door practically flew open and he burst in eyes boring into me like daggers.
Now it was time to turn on the charm.
“I need the toilet,” I said with a smile and lifted my shoulder into a sassy shrug.
“You just went,” he snarled.
“That was hours ago. You want me to piss on the floor? I don’t really care but I don’t think you people want that do you?”
“This is some fucking joke,” he huffed. I gathered babysitting duties weren’t his usual thing.
He walked over to me and undid the ropes around my feet, my hands next.
This was the part where even if I knew some kind of self-defense I’d try to escape.
This guy would have me on the floor in seconds though if I tried anything like that. he was a military looking type that would have been fitting to Pa’s knights. The kind of man who didn’t fuck around and was not to be fucked with.
I stood when he grabbed my arm and started hustling me toward the door.
My legs wobbled from the non-activity for the last few hours and having to keep still.
We got to the little toilet cubicle and he allowed me to go inside. He’d only allowed me in by myself because it was so small and the toilet was right there.
The minute I got in and closed the door I knew I only had seconds. Seconds before he realized I’d gone. That meant that once I got inside the vent I had to power through and hope like hell it got me somewhere I could get out properly. I’d seen most vents like this lead outside. That was my hope. These were built to regulate the air flow in buildings so there had to be a path of sorts that led outside.
I turned on the tap and let it trickle so it would sound like I was peeing. Then I made a move. I stood on the toilet seat and moved to the sink. The vent was above. I pushed it in and thanked my lucky stars it was one of those flap style ones like what Pa had installed back in the hotel rooms at The Marchesi.
I didn’t waste any time I hoisted myself up and pushed in with my head, sliding in and clawing my way up the slippery shaft.
Oh God… I was in.
I actually did it and it was small. Just small enough for me to make my way through. A big guy like the guard wouldn’t have been able to fit. It wouldn’t stop him though. It wouldn’t fucking stop him if he decided to shoot me and then scoop me out after.
The freedom and adrenaline that rushed through me propelled me forward , scuttling down the path as fast as I could, and fucking faster when I heard the faint sounds of commotion from where I’d come from.
God all I’d had was about two minutes before he must have gone into the toilet and realized what I’d done.
I didn’t allow it to faze me or throw me.
Keep going Jia. Keep going girl. You got this.
Christ… the echoes of voices outside the vent sent shivers down my spine. I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t. The best I could hope for was that the path truly led outside and in some miracle spot that would give me an opening to run.
I approached a section ahead where it split off into five different pathways. I followed my instinct for survival and went toward the one that had the most light.
More light may mean daylight. It might have helped if I knew what time of day it was. For all I knew that could have just been a very bright light.
It got brighter and looked like daylight.
I prayed it was.
Please God let it be daylight.
I pounded forward propelling my body to move. When I got to the end of the path and gazed out desperate to see some kind of greenery I frowned when I realized I’d just gone toward a room.
This had to be the way though. I’d have to take the route. I couldn’t go backwards.
I pushed the vent panel open and pulled myself out.
There was about a ten foot drop to the floor. falling would be just like when I fell out of that tree at Great Auntie Layla’s house when I was twelve.
That was an accident. This was survival but I fell the same way. With a loud thump, smacking into the floor.
That was one of the differences between then and now. The ground was a lot softer than a tiled floor.
The pain was the same.
The room was some kind of hall. A meeting room. There was a long table ahead of me that looked like it was used for a buffet and there were a few chairs dotted here and there.