The Girl from Her Mirror (Mirrors Don't Lie Book 1) (15 page)

Maybe someone who could afford to stay
in a plush resort like this one
, an inner voice argued. Even as she
tried to rationalize it, the image of the gray Honda parked outside flashed
through her mind. She drew in an unsteady breath and glanced at the papers that
lay beneath the keys. There was an assortment of maps and tourist brochures,
several of which Makenna had identical ones to, a few receipts, and the folder
for a rental car agreement. Makenna glanced over her shoulder, still hearing
the murmur of voices coming from the nearest bedroom. Bob’s voice sounded odd
now, and not as sharp. Maybe they were making up.

Reaching for the maps, Makenna scooped
up the rental agreement and tucked it among the papers. Knowing she was
overstepping the bounds of propriety, curiosity won over etiquette as she
flipped open the folder. She scanned the details hastily… four-door 2013 Honda
Civic… Robert Lewis …. Chicago, Illinois…

A gray Honda,
she thought
uneasily.
And Chicago?
She frowned.
I thought they were from Seguin.
She bit on her lip, vaguely noticing a tingle there. As she nibbled on her
lower lip in distraction, Makenna saw one other item of definite concern.
Except for the area code, the number on the agreement and the number for Cara
Sims were exactly the same.

“What is going on?” she whispered aloud,
but the words were hard to form. Alarmed, she realized her lips not only
tingled, they were now almost numb. She glanced at the water glass on the table
and a terrible suspicion started to form. Hastily replacing the brochures, she
picked up the glass and sniffed its contents. Nothing. She dipped her finger
into the water, allowing a drop to fall on the back of her hand before very
carefully touching the tip of her tongue to her finger. There was no taste, no
indication that the liquid had been tampered with.

Maybe it’s my imagination, s
he thought, even
as her hand began to itch. She stared at her offending skin, realizing she was
in real trouble. From the very beginning, something about the Lewises had
troubled her, something had felt ‘off’. Now something was definitely
wrong. 

Lisa’s whiny voice called out through
the still-closed door. “We’re calling in our order, Kenzie! You still okay out
there?”

Makenna swallowed hard and forced her
voice out, hoping it sounded normal. “I’m good! Take your time.”
Please,
take plenty of time. I’ve got to figure out what I’m going to do.

First of all, she had to get rid of the
water. Refusing to think about how much the beautiful couch must have cost,
Makenna pulled the cushion away from the arm and dribbled water down along the
seam. With any luck, she would be long gone by the time the water stain soaked
through. Afraid to over-saturate the cushions, she looked for another place to
pour the contaminated water. She leaned down and whipped the glass sideways,
slinging a little onto the floor beneath the couch. That still left a quarter
inch in the glass, and Lisa might be out any minute to insist she finish her
drink.

There was an elaborate arrangement of
artificial flowers in an urn beside the fireplace. Makenna zipped over to them,
emptied her glass, and hurried back to the couch. She heard the bedroom door
opening as she dove onto the sofa, so she pretended to be settling further into
the cushions. She forced herself to look comfortable, casually throwing one leg
up on the cushion beside her. She balanced her empty water glass on her knee
and nestled her head against the sofa’s richly upholstered back.

“I’m sorry to run out on you like that,
dear,” Lisa said in her nasal whine. Makenna noticed that her eyes flicked
briefly to the empty glass. “We couldn’t decide on bear claws, jelly filled
donuts, or apple fritters. So we ordered them all.”

Makenna gave a drowsy yawn. “Sounds
delicious,” she murmured. She pretended to be having trouble rousing. “Sorry, I
think I may have drifted off. I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Go right on back to sleep, dear. I’ll
wake you up when Bob gets back with the pastries.”

“I don’t mean to be rude…”

“Not at all, not at all. I need to work
on a report, so I’ll just sit here quietly while you nap.” She vaulted her
short body onto one of the barstools and reached for an electronic notebook.

There goes my exit through the front
door
,
Makenna inwardly groaned. Praying she wasn’t making a mistake, she got slowly
to her feet. Her legs were wobbly with fear, but hopefully Lisa would mistake
it for grogginess. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to get more water.”

“I’ll get it for you,” Lisa offered.

“No, no, you stay there,” Makenna
insisted. She bypassed Lisa and the bar on her way to the sink, where she
quickly rinsed out the glass and refilled it halfway. As she turned back
around, she scanned the room for escape routes and faked a wide yawn.

“I don’t know why I’m so sleepy all of a
sudden,” she said, allowing her words to slur. Another hefty yawn, half hidden
behind her hand. “Goodness, I am so tired.” She tried to look embarrassed. As
she retraced her steps toward the couch, she staggered just a bit, making a grab
for the granite bar. “I-I don’t feel so well,” she told her hostess, abandoning
her water glass. “I think- I think I should lie down. Do you have a bedroom?”

If she hadn’t been looking, she would
have missed the smug look of satisfaction that crossed the rounded sphere of
Lisa Lewis’s face. “Of course, dear. Right this way.” She jumped down from the
barstool and rolled past Makenna, leading her down the hall and to the second
door on the left, at the back of the unit. Makenna was careful to move slowly,
letting her body sway and her legs to give slightly as she moved through the
bedroom doorway. Lisa was prattling on about taking a good, long nap; she could
even stay the night if she would like, they had plenty of room.

When Makenna got to the general vicinity
of the bed, she took a nosedive onto the covers, making certain she landed with
her purse beneath her. The last thing she wanted was for them to take her cell
phone while they thought she was sleeping. She forced herself to stay where she
landed, sprawled unceremoniously upon the bed in an uncomfortable position. She
made no response when Lisa called her name. She remained perfectly still when
the other woman poked her leg. With her face buried in the covers, she allowed
herself a tiny smile when Lisa laughed triumphantly and left the room, shutting
the door firmly behind her.

Makenna stayed in the same position for
another long moment, making certain the other woman was truly gone. Only when
she felt it was safe to do so did she move to a more comfortable angle, but she
remained on the bed as she attuned her ears to the noises around her. Soon she
could pick out the voices coming from the adjoining bedroom, and bits and
pieces of the conversation.

“… better not get in our way…” came from
Bob.   

“….enough to knock-out a full grown
horse…” from Lisa, with a laugh. “Should have seen…”

“Buys us a few hours. Now get on the
phone and …”

Very quietly, Makenna eased off the bed.
The light was off in the bedroom, but plenty of morning sun streamed through
the curtains. She peeked out the window, noting the wooded area behind the
resort; she also paid attention to the straight drop-off down to the ground, a
full story below. Drawing a shaky breath, she tiptoed to the wall separating
the two bedrooms and put her ear against it. Willing her heart to settle and
quieten, she listened for what was being said in the next room.

“We have the girl in confinement,” she
heard Lisa say. At least she thought it was Lisa; the voice didn’t sound quite
as nasal as usual, not quite so irritating. “No trouble. She should be out for
several hours…. Are you ready?… Don’t worry, we’re professionals. We can handle
things on this end. I’ve taken care of Kaczmarek for now, but we’ll need to
find a more permanent solution.” Makenna heard her laugh, and then listened in
astonishment as Lisa’s whiny voice said, “Don’t you worry, dear,” then suddenly
morphed into the soft tones of Cara Sims as she continued, “I’ve created a
monster out of our pesky friend. She fell for it hook, line, and sinker, as
those ignorant Texans like to say. She won’t be turning to him for help any
time soon.” The petulant whine returned as she finished, “That’s what she’s got
her new best friend, Lisa Lewis, for…. Call me when you’re ready for her.”

Makenna heard her own gasp as it
resounded in the room. Both hands flew to her mouth as her eyes rounded. She
hurried back to the bed, afraid they had heard her. She got back into position,
all the while her mind whirling in a thousand directions.

They had duped her. None of those things
about Hardin had been real; Cara Sims hadn’t even been real. Her heart soared
at the realization. For a split second, she chided herself for not trusting her
own instincts, but now was not the time for regrets. Now was the time to devise
a plan of action.

For all intent and purposes, she had
been kidnapped. She may have come here willingly, but she could not leave the
same way. They had tried to drug her and thought they had succeeded. They
thought she would be out for several hours, which definitely gave her a window
of opportunity.

Later, she would think about whom they
had called and why they were kidnapping her and what they would do to her “when
you’re ready”. For now, she just had to concentrate on escaping.

She heard the door open and sensed
someone come into the room. Her face was buried in the covers so she could not
see, particularly with her eyes squeezed tightly shut as she concentrated on
taking slow, even breaths. Judging from the lack of floral perfume, she assumed
Bob had stepped inside to check on her. She felt him approach the bed, jostle
it with his knee, then wait for a response. She pushed her tongue into the roof
of her mouth and pulled a breath up through the diminished nasal cavity, making
it sound like a light snore, but she lay still as stone. After a long moment,
he turned and retraced his steps, closing the door quietly behind him. 

For a few moments, Makenna was too weak
to even try to move. Relief flooded through her, followed immediately by a new
surge of fear. Even though they expected her to sleep for hours, they would
probably check on her periodically throughout the morning. She would have to
escape between those times.

No time like the present.
She turned her
head slightly to make certain he had left the room. She heard them talking
again, something about food, and listened as their voices trailed away toward
the living room. Taking her cue to act, she slipped off the bed and went to the
window. It was a long way to the ground, but it was her only choice, and her
only means of escape.

As silently as possible, Makenna
released the latches on top of the window. She bit into her lip when one of
them made a distinct click. She was thankful her mouth was still half-deadened.
When both locks were free, she began the arduous task of raising the window,
making as little noise as possible. She had to tug to get the movement started,
and her heart lodged halfway up her throat when the window suddenly heaved open
a noisy first inch. After that, it eased upward smoothly, silently, until it
was fully extended. 

Makenna leaned out the window and judged
the distance down. At least twelve feet, but it couldn’t be helped. She tested
the windowsill and found the metal cold and sharp, particularly on a soft
belly. She would need something to soften the pinch.

As she grabbed a pillow from the bed,
she noticed the adjoining bathroom for the first time. On a whim, she locked
the door from the inside and silently pulled it shut. With any luck, they would
check the bathroom before they checked outside, perhaps offering her a few more
minutes of head start. With that thought in mind, she re-made the bed so that
the missing pillow was not obvious.

Taking the time to switch her phone to
mute, she placed the pillow on the window ledge, then carefully pulled herself
up into position. She teetered for a moment, not certain how to proceed, before
she decided to go out feet first. She managed to get one leg up and out the
window, but even through the down of the pillow, the metal windowsill bit into
her flesh as she balanced herself in limbo.

Had the situation not been so serious,
Makenna might have laughed at the sight she must make. For a single moment of
pure panic, she thought she was stuck in the window, half her body in, the
other half twisted as she attempted to push her other leg through the suddenly
too-narrow opening.

She heard a loud rip and then her leg
was free, plunging out the other side of the window. With both feet now
dangling in thin air, the full weight of her body was pressed into the metal
sill. She supported herself on her elbows, trying to inhale fully when her body
felt sliced in two. She pulled down on the windowpane above her, trying to hide
evidence of her escape. She tugged at the curtains, pulling them closed in
front of her face, hoping they would not be the first thing her captors noticed
when they stepped into the room.

It was becoming increasingly difficult
to breathe. Her lungs and diaphragm felt crushed, her arms ached from holding
the suspended weight of her body from the window ledge, and her legs were
trashing about, trying to find purchase on the side of the house. She gave one
last tug of the window, pulling it as close to her head as possible without
decapitation, then eased her head out of the room, to be suspended with the
rest of her. With a futile glance down at the ground below, Makenna said a
quick prayer, took a deep breath, and pulled the pillow with her as she curled
her body into a ball, mid-air, and rushed down to meet the earth.