worked diligently to reach a position of some authority so that she could change that sadness. So that she could devise a plan.
No matter the cost to her, she could not lose that small power.
In spite of that need, she still longed for freedom … escape. There had been opportunities … few and rare, but opportunities nonetheless. She would not take advantage of the chance to escape without being able to take the others with her.
To take the child.
An ache rose in her throat.
No matter the cost.
Pay attention. She squared her shoulders. Something was happening tonight. There was an unusual tension in the air. A sense of anticipation.
For the past hour or so she had seen the seemingly frantic coming and going of the others assigned to the house. There were no other deliveries or pick-ups on the schedule for the next eight days.
Fear trickled into her veins. If he had increased his schedule … No. She shook her head. It was too risky. He wouldn’t do that. She would know if changes had been set in motion.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, Tessa turned away from the window and moved toward the door, her bare feet soundless on the frigid floor.
She couldn’t think about the deliveries or the pickups. Taking care of the children and the patients was all that mattered. That was her life now.
At least until the time was right. The opportunity was close … so very close.
A shiver rumbled through her body as defeat weighed heavily down upon her. Stop. Nothing would stop her … she would find a way, no matter the obstacles that arose. Her plan was solid … but the timing had to be perfect.
Outside her door, along the dark, silent corridor were two large rooms besides her own. Tessa removed the key from her pocket and unlocked the first door.
She didn’t turn on the light for fear of waking the sleeping children. Whatever was happening, it could be dangerous. The children would be safest if they were asleep. Noise—not even a whimper—was allowed past eight in the evening.
Tessa crouched down next to the first bed. She pinched her lips together to prevent the forbidden. The urge to sweep soft blond hair back from the little girl’s forehead forced her to clench her fingers. She drew the fist to her lips and resisted the new urge to cry.
She had to protect the child.
She had to protect them all.
In a few days, at most, everything would change … it would all be over.
Clinging to that hope, Tessa moved to the next bed, then the next and the next. All four children slept soundly. All beautiful blond-haired girls with dazzling blue eyes.
And one, her gaze wandered back to the first bed, was the most beautiful of all.
Careful not to make any noise, she padded back to the door. Once in the corridor she closed and locked the door to the children’s room.
Her heart sank into her belly as she approached the next door. Tessa moistened her lips and unlocked it. Her hand shook as she removed the key and slid it into her pocket. Bracing for the misery, she turned the knob. A creak made her flinch. She prayed those inside, too, would be asleep. It would be best if they didn’t ask questions. Their cries and pleas took a heavy toll on Tessa.
Holding her breath, she eased into the dark room. The thick drapes on the windows blocked the moonlight from filtering inside. Beyond the drapes, on all the windows in the house, were iron bars that prevented anything inside from slipping out.
She moved quickly to the first of four narrow beds that lined the walls. Like the children, the women slept soundly. With no nightlight, Tessa couldn’t see their faces in the thick blackness, but she could hear their breathing. Slow, deep, rhythmic. Sleep was their only escape from a reality too horrifying to endure for more than a few hours at a time.
Please let me be able to help them before it’s too late.
The distinct sense of urgency thick in the room caused Tessa’s stomach to tighten with emotion.
Time was running out.
She had to be ready to act. She couldn’t allow this to happen again.
Her plan had to work.
Determination chasing away the uncertainty and fear edging out her courage, she turned and walked quietly back across the room, then as noiselessly as possible she exited and locked the door.
Let them sleep. Reality would intrude soon enough.
The corridor was quiet. Tessa hesitated outside her own room. She should go to bed. But sleep would be impossible. As the time drew nearer, the anticipation built, preventing sleep and prompting a restlessness that wouldn’t go away.
She bit her lower lip and considered the risk involved with indulging her curiosity.
Learning what tonight’s unusual activities were about could prove useful to her plan … but if he caught her she would be punished severely.
No one defied the Master.
Tessa inhaled a breath of courage and set one bare foot in front of the other; her destination: the landing. Each step frayed her nerves a little more. This house was so very old … the floors creaked. It had taken her months to learn the best places to step to avoid the loudest groans.
She didn’t release the air in her lungs until she reached the landing. Repeating a silent mantra for protection, she dared to lean over the railing just far enough to view the stairs that wound down to the second, then the first floor.
Clear.
Holding her breath, she glanced upward to the fourth floor—his floor. No one was allowed up there unless personally invited by the Master.
Her gaze dropped back to the stairs winding downward. Whatever was going on, the trouble had apparently settled in the questioning room.
Another shudder rattled her bones as she considered that room … the basement.
He’d turned it into a chamber of horrors. Steel bars had been erected at both ends of the massive area for using as cells. Every square foot of the floor space between acted as a stage for terror.
Torture devices.
Tessa closed her eyes and summoned her fleeing courage yet again. The silence closed in on her, crumbling away at her fragile bravado.
Just go.
Blocking the warning voices inside her head, she descended quickly to the second floor. She hesitated on the landing. More of that consuming silence. The soldiers who used the second floor for sleeping quarters were either rallied for whatever was going on or adjourned to their rooms. It was past curfew, but until a short time ago there had been much coming and going. That she could not be certain of their status made her decision to get a closer look at what was happening even riskier.
Had
