Chasing the Night - Iris Johansen [117]
“A great deal.” But this was not the time to try to explain that to him. She had listened intently to the exchange between Luke and Kelly. Kelly had not only answered questions; she had asked them. Luke had not replied to all of them, but Eve had heard enough to start to piece together the enigma that was Catherine’s son.
The violence, the beatings, the cruelty that extended far beyond the physical.
The loneliness.
Even when Czadas had taken him out into the world, he had not permitted him to socialize with anyone. It was a wonder he had not withdrawn entirely within himself.
But then there had been the library of books. They had probably been his salvation. Feeding that quick, agile mind and giving him refuge.
“You’re looking at me again. I don’t like it.” He was frowning. “Is it because you’ve got that funny kind of job Kelly was talking about?”
“You think she’s seeing you as a skeleton?” Kelly scoffed. “Don’t be dumb. Eve wouldn’t waste her time on you.”
“According to what you said, she’s already wasted a lot of time on me,” Luke said. “So I’m not the one who’s dumb.”
“I was wondering if you think you knew enough about us by now,” Eve interceded quickly. These two young people, who were ordinarily mature far beyond their years, were striking sparks off each other and reacting in a way that was out of character. Hell, maybe that was healthy. It was just getting in the way right now. She glanced at the stream of light that was now pale and fading. “The sun is going down. Czadas said Rakovac was coming tonight. He didn’t say what time.”
Luke gazed at her without speaking.
“Do something,” Kelly said. “We’re both here because of you. Now get us out of here.” She paused. “If you can do it. I don’t know whether to believe you or not. Maybe you’re just full of bull.”
He gazed at her without expression. “You’re trying to make me show you that I can do it.”
“Yes.”
“It wouldn’t be smart of me to do what you want just to prove I can.”
Kelly threw up her hands. “Oh, for goodness’ sake, then just do whatever you want.”
“I will.” Luke suddenly rose to his feet. “But not because I want to help you. I just won’t let them kill me.” He was moving toward the chest across the room. “But I guess you can come along.”
“Thank you,” Eve said dryly. “Kelly was only guessing that you might know a way out of here. Is it—”
“It wasn’t a guess,” Kelly corrected. “It was a natural progression of his pattern.”
Eve ignored her. “You said you could do it, Luke. You led Natalie out of the house. But I can’t imagine that route wouldn’t have been sealed after they discovered how she had gotten out.”
“They didn’t ‘discover,’ she told them. She told them everything.” He nodded. “And they put double locks on that door.”
And Luke had been brutally punished because she had told them he had been involved. It was no wonder he didn’t trust strangers.
“Chateau d’If.” He opened the lid and fumbled at the bottom of the chest. He drew out a wooden panel that had obviously been the floor of the chest.
“Chateau d’If?” Kelly repeated, bewildered.
He glanced at her impatiently. “The Count of Monte Cristo. Only he had it harder. These floors are wood, not stone. And I was able to cut them with the metal leg of that chair at the table over there. I bent the leg once, but Mikhal didn’t notice. No one thought I’d try to get away when I didn’t go with that Natalie woman.”
“Count of Monte Cristo.” Then Kelly’s frown cleared. “A book. Alexandre Dumas.”
Kelly was of the generation of Harry Potter, and it wasn’t surprising she hadn’t made an instant connection, Eve thought. “Chateau d’If was a prison, and the hero took years to dig his way out to freedom, Kelly.”
“Is that where you got the idea, Luke?” Kelly asked.
“It worked for him,” Luke said as he climbed into the chest. “Or it would have if the other prisoner hadn’t died, and he found a better—” He broke off. “I’ll go first. This floor is above the basement. It’s a ten-foot drop. Hold on by your arms, then jump. It’s a dirt basement, and there’s a high window