He made me feel better, but I didn’t fully agree with him. “You shouldn’t have anything to regret.”

A sad smile touched his lips. “I regret my harsh words. I regret my anger.”

“You shouldn’t. I needed to hear those words and to be woken up to Inside’s problems. Although, I don’t have a death wish!”

“I know. Just voicing my frustration. You’d dash off to the rescue, but couldn’t see Inside needed more rescuing.” His smile reached his eyes this time. “If I only knew to tell you to not get involved, it would have saved us a lot of trouble. Plus, Sheepy’s been miserable these last few weeks.”

Sloan returned. “The room’s ready. Let’s go,” he said to me.

“What’s going on now?”

“I’m gonna lock you in a maintenance closet, we’ll tip off Bubba Boom to your location and he’ll sweep in for the rescue,” Sloan said.

“You can tell him Jacy didn’t trust you and wanted you out of the way. Try to get…close to him. Convince him you’re on his side.” Riley’s queasy expression said more than his words.

I stepped closer to him and lowered my voice. “If you could change one thing, what would it be?”

He pulled the sheep pendant from his pocket. A question filled his eyes. I held out my hand. Riley placed it in my palm and I curled my fingers around the necklace, pressing the metal into my skin.

The trip to the maintenance closet with Sloan was part of the ruse. After giving Riley time to return to his wires, Sloan grabbed my elbow and pulled me along a few corridors in level one. We passed a bunch of people who ignored us. I was supposed to look scared—not hard to do considering I was with Sloan.

He shoved me into the closet. Only two meters wide by two meters long, the closet’s shelves had been filled with mechanical parts. Sloan closed the door and turned on the light. No vents.

Sloan pulled out a roll of tape. “Turn around.”

“Excuse me?”

Spinning me around, he yanked my wrists behind my back and taped them together, rolling the tape a few centimeters up my arms. He pushed me down to the floor, and did the same to my ankles.

“It’s gotta look real,” he said, but a perverse little smile played on his lips.

Being small may be beneficial when climbing through the ducts, but it sucked big time against Jacy’s oversized goons. I needed to get my stun gun back.

“Did Jacy tell you to do this?”

“No. I really don’t like you. Figured this is a little payback for not trusting us scrubs enough that you had to place a microphone over our barracks.”

He ripped off another section of tape and slapped it over my mouth. My head jerked back and a stinging pain radiated over my jaw. I didn’t know how or when, but I silently vowed that I would retaliate in some way.

“I hope it takes your boyfriend a long time to find you.” He clicked off the light and locked me in the dark.

16

AFTER I CONCOCTED A LIST OF CREATIVE WAYS TO pay Sloan back, I squirmed into a more comfortable position. Sloan had my arms pinned too tight for me to bring my hands forward.

Should I try to escape? From my brief glance of the parts and supplies on the shelves, I figured I could find something sharp enough to cut through the tape. If this were indeed a real abduction, then I would try my best to get free.

Getting up on my feet was harder to do than I expected. Once stable, I hopped over to the light switch. Or rather to where I thought the switch was located. I bumped into the door, then rubbed my cheek on the cold metal wall to find the light. It was too high for my hands to reach, but I managed to flick the tab up with my shoulder.

I inspected the shelves, and discovered one positive aspect of my imprisonment. Sloan had taped my wrists so that my palms touched. If I found a sharp object, I could grab it with my fingers and saw through. If he had turned my wrists the opposite way, I wouldn’t be able to manipulate an item as well.

I also searched for sharp edges jutting from the shelves that I could rub the tape against. The metal bins on the left side contained nuts, bolts, rivets and washers. Tubes, electrical connectors and rolls of wire filled the bins along the back wall. Finally on the right wall, I found a pile of nails. Long pointy nails.

Turning around, I tried to pick up a couple, but the bin was just high enough that even up on my unsteady tiptoes, I could touch it, but not get to the nails. Instead, I grabbed the bin and yanked.

I fell forward, landing on my knees. Nails rained down on my legs and bare feet. Sloan would regret his little payback, I promised. At least I had plenty of nails to use. And after a few awkward tries, I succeeded in keeping the nail in my hands long enough to poke it into the tape. When I added in being light-headed from lack of food and water, I realized a quick escape wouldn’t be in my future.

Time ceased to have any meaning and by the time the doorknob twisted and the keypad beeped, I’d only ripped a little bit of the tape. I sagged to the floor in exhaustion.

The door flew open and Bubba Boom was next to me in a heartbeat. “Are you all right?”

I nodded. He pulled out his penknife, and cut through the tape on my wrists and ankles. I winced as he peeled it away from my skin.

He touched the one on my mouth. “Do you want to do it or should I?”

I pointed to him.

“On three?”

Again I nodded.

“One. Two.” He ripped it off.

I yelped. My lips burned and tears stung my eyes. “No three?”