Chapter 36

So, Sophia was counting on him for her great escape.

Consider the fact he had trouble walking over to the wall to take a piss, he didn’t see how this was going to go down. He certainly couldn’t walk out the gate and survive in the desert for any length of time to make it to the Saviors. Hell, he probably make it a mile and drop dead. He didn’t even have a pair of shoes.

Besides, he had no idea where they were. Sophia had said they were in Arizona, but in which part? He would do the best he could for her and Megan.

“What did you hear?” Blake asked, feeling the need to sit down again.

Sophia crossed her arms over her chest. “A human female body can become pregnant around fourteen years of age, correct?”

Blake nodded.

“Jael thinks it would be a fine idea to get Megan’s body used to the mating ritual.”

Blake’s stomach turned. “Fucking bastard,” he muttered, running his hand through his hair.

“I need to get her out of here, Blake.”

He agreed, but how they were going to do that, he didn’t know. If he were stronger then maybe he could do something. “I don’t suppose you have a car here, do you?”

Sophia shook her head.

“And how do you propose we do this, Sophia?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “I just know it needs to be done.”

Blake looked around the shed. While they were at it, they should try to move a mountain or bring down the moon. What was this woman thinking? He agreed Megan needed to get out of here, but there needed time to plan, time for him to get stronger.

“Micah will arrive in a car,” she said. “We can take that.”

“How’s that going to work? Do we just politely ask for the keys?”

Sophia gave him a sad smile. “I don’t think that will work.”

“Me neither.”

They stared at each other a moment, and Blake could practically see the wheels turning in her pretty, little head.

“Sophia, I don’t even have a pair of shoes or a shirt,” Blake said.

“I know, but Micah keeps some clothes here. They’ll be too large for you, but it’s something.”

She bustled about the shed, gathering her cleaning supplies and towels, erasing any sign that she’d helped him in any way.

“Follow me,” she ordered, walking out of the shed.

As Blake trailed her into the house, the haze he’d been in for the past few weeks seemed to dissipate, and he found himself thinking clearly. They needed a plan for escape. If he could orchestrate an elaborate strategy to rescue two aliens out of a government facility, this should be a piece of cake.

Anyway, that was what he told himself.

They entered the house and he followed Sophia to her room. He cringed as he glanced at the large bed, imagining Micah rutting on her in his efforts to make babies. God, the guy was such a bastard.

She rifled through her closet and pulled out a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of sneakers that looked at least three sizes too big.

“I’m not going to be able to get the shirt on unless we can get rid of the cuffs,” Blake said, holding up his hands.

“I didn’t think of that,” Sophia murmured. “I don’t have a key. Perhaps we could try to cut them with something?”

“What do you have?”

Sophia shrugged. “Gardening sheers?”

Blake sighed. This wasn’t going well. “Just help me with the shoes, okay?” he said as he sat on the bed.

As Sophia slipped on the socks and shoes, Blake couldn’t help but admire her. She’d become pretty complacent in her life with all the lies she’d been told, but when it came to her daughter, she was willing to trust a complete stranger for her and Megan’s safety. Pretty, intelligent, and brave—a lethal combination for any woman. Both Megan and Sophia deserved a better life than what they had, and he was going to do everything in his power to make sure that happened.

“So, how do you think we should do this?” he asked.

Sophia shrugged and stood. “I don’t know, Blake. We can’t overpower them. You’re so weak, and Megan and I don’t know the first thing about combat. I guess we’ll have to outsmart them.”

Blake smiled up at her, his respect for her growing by the minute.

He was about to tell her how much he admired her, but then they heard the crunch of tires on the gravel driveway.