Page 161 of Distress Signal

Fair enough.

“Okay, let’s sweep the area.”

“Rea Rea,” Lainey whined. “I’ve already done that!”

“Well, I haven’t, so let me try, okay?”

She nodded but didn’t move, leaving me to my own devices.

In deference to the lingering headache and insistent pain in my broken arm from the struggle between me and Tuck, Igingerly rose to my feet and took shallow steps forward, in the direction of the bathroom. While I was there, I relieved myself—on a toilet without a seat, my weak legs shaking from the awkward hovering—before returning to my task.

Like the main space, the room had been stripped bare. Anything Tuck seemed to have deemed an object that could be weaponized had been removed. In addition to the missing toilet seat, the tank cover was also gone. Doors, drawers, and hardware had been taken off the crudely constructed vanity, leaving an empty, gaping maw of dust-covered OSB. The stand-up shower had no door or curtain and nothing inside beyond a thin sliver of soap. There were no windows, and the door and hinges had also been taken down.

I walked back into the main area, eyes sweeping the large space. Stretching to the full limit of my chain, I walked the perimeter, eyes probing. Lainey watched me silently, pity on her face. She’d been here for months and hadn’t found a way to escape; I didn’t know who I thought I was kidding, believing my presence would magically change everything.

Despair swept over me like a towering, inescapable wave. My hands went to my face, wiping the tears that had fallen from my cheeks before sliding into my hair. I yanked on the roots, the sharp sting returning some sense.

Falling apart now wouldn’t do either of us any good. I had to stay level-headed.

“Okay,” I started, more to fortify myself than anything, my good hand tangling in my hair and pushing it backward, out of my face.

A knot formed around the fingers. I withdrew then tilted my head and came at it from a different angle to work it free.

Elation and excitement buzzed in my veins when I teased it out—and a bobby pin fell into my hand.

Holding it up in triumph, I grinned at Lainey.

“Oh, we aresogetting out of here,” she replied, smile equallyas wide and proud as mine as she got up and met me in the bathroom.

“Can’t believe that stupid fuck didn’t think to check my hair,” I chuckled.

We sat mirroring each other on the cold linoleum floor, knees bent so our ankles rested between us.

I reached for Lainey’s shackle. “You first.”

Picking a lock wasn’t as easy as hostages made it appear in movies and television. Hours seemed to pass in a blink—though, in reality, based on what I could glean from the slowly lightening sky beyond the windows, it couldn’t have been longer than thirty minutes. By the time Lainey’s restraint finally popped open, the bobby pin was scuffed and a bit mangled, and sweat beaded on my forehead.

Her shriek of joy was so loud, she clapped her hand over her mouth, both of us stilling as we waited for any sign that Tuck was approaching.

When all upstairs remained quiet, I went to work on my own. Since I’d already done it once, it took a fraction of the time. Soon, both Lainey and I were free.

In celebration, we jumped up and clung to each other, cheering as quietly as we could.

“Now what?” she asked, twisting her ankle, seemingly absentmindedly, obviously luxuriating in the sensation. Meanwhile, rage rose within me at the sight of the bruising and scarring marring her flesh.

“Now,” I said through clenched teeth, “we take that fucker down and get the hell out of here.”

“Any idea how that’s supposed to happen?”

“Nope,” I said. “But now that we’re not restrained, I’m sure it’ll be a lot easier.”

The door at the top of the basement stairs creaked open, and Lainey and I shared a look of horror. Racing back into the main room, we flopped down on our separate mattresses.

“Put it back around your ankle!” I hissed, gesturing at her shackle while I grudgingly coiled mine back in and dropped it over my ankle. “But don’t lock it.”

“No shit.” Lainey rolled her eyes but followed suit.

Not a moment too soon, either, as Tuck began descending, his footsteps followed by thethunk thunk thunkof something heavy being lugged down after him. When he reached the bottom landing, he rounded the corner into the room with his back to us. I rose onto my feet to see what he dragged.