His Slave

58. Oak

Erin

It's been 16 days since Kylie and I were kidnapped. Kylie seems to be losing hope but I'm not. I have a plan.

They finally let us shower and gave us the same dull green coveralls the A.E.D.P. operatives all wear. The fabric is scratchy and stiff.

It makes me miss the soft, luxurious fabrics my old clothes were made of. I know it's a trivial thing to miss in a situation like this, but it's all I have to distract me from what I truly miss.

My heart aches just thinking about thinking about him.

"Do you think Kendra will come to see us today?" Kylie asks me, staring up at the ceiling from her bed.

They also moved us to a different room, one with two beds and an adjoined bathroom. But the door to the room is always locked, and that makes it no better than the concrete cell they were keeping us in.

"She hasn't come to see us for a week. What makes you think she'll come today?" I ask, scratching at my neck where the collar of my coveralls rubs against my skin. My fingers accidentally brush the little gold chain around my neck, causing sadness to well up in my chest. I stop itching.

"I don't understand," she replies quietly. "If we're supposed to be held for ransome, why hasn't she contacted them and made her demands?" She asks.

I glance sidelong in her direction. "Do you really want Kendra having control over a corporation as large as Persona Industries?" I ask incredulously.

"Do you think that's what she wants?" Kylie counters.

I nod. "It'd make sense. And if that happens we're all fucked. I'm glad she hasn't done anything yet," I reply.

"But why wait over two weeks?" Kylie asks, throwing her hands out in frustration.

"She's waiting it out on purpose; making sure they're nice and desperate," I reply dryly, narrowing my gaze.

"Kendra's no fool. She knows exactly what she's doing."

Then I smile wide. "Lucky for us, I know what I'm doing too," I add.

Kylie furrows her eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?" She asks me.

"I've been working out a plan," I reply.

"Like an escape plan?" Kylie confirms, hope gleaming in her eyes.

I nod. "Whenever Kendra does come to see us again, we're going to agree to help the A.E.D.P.," I explain.

Kylie's jaw falls open. "Erin, you can't be serious!" She cries in horror.

I shake my head. "I'm not. But we can't very well escape if we're stuck in a locked room all the damn time," I tell her, keeping my voice low.

Kylie thinks about my words for a minute. "If this was your plan why didn't you say something sooner?" She asks.

"I've only been working on it for about four days now. And besides, if we give in too easily it won't be believable. She needs to be under the impression that you and I have had plenty of time to think," I say.

"If the police haven't busted the doors down yet, that means the A.E.D.P. is using some kind of technology to mask our DNA signatures,"I tell her. I don't mention how I know that information. I don't think that would go over well.

"So we're going to have to find a way to help them find us," I explain.

"I'm not sure I understand," Kylie replies. "How are we supposed to-," she drops her sentence as the door lock clicks.