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Chapter Twenty-One

S CARLETT

Then

Maybe day seventy in the basement

I curled my knees close to my chest and closed my eyes as the radio upstairs blathered on about August heat. We’d been in this room alone together for two days. There’d been no sign of Tanner, and neither of us had eaten and the water jug he’d left us was empty. My head pounded, and my stomach felt like it was eating itself.

“We’re in this together, you know. We need each other,” Della said.

I looked up and I wanted to rail on her and remind her I was here because of her. But I was becoming a practiced liar. I could smile when all I wanted to do was scream. “I know.”

Della crawled toward me. As she got closer, I could see her eyes, shadowed by dark smudges, sparkle with need.

“He’s scouting another girl.”

I stilled. “Who?”

“I don’t know her name. He calls her the redhead.”

Disgust ricocheted through me, and I struggled to keep my face neutral. What if I helped him but couldn’t escape? What if I not only failed to get away but also condemned another girl to this hell?

Della took my hand and kissed it. “You’re worrying. I can see the line creasing your forehead.”

I pulled my hand back. “I’m not.”

“I can almost see your brain turning. You think we’ll fail. And we’ll all be trapped here together.”

I wanted out of this room more than anything. And I’d do whatever I could to get free. I would risk another girl’s life to save mine. I was becoming Della. A cold chill slipped through my bones. “Why does he do it?”

Della shook her head. “He’s on a mission, Scarlett. He sees this as his calling.” She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and pulled me close.

Oddly, her touch was comforting and untangled some of the fear inside me. I relaxed into her.

Another girl was a chance to get out of here. A chance at freedom.