"Not really."

"Don't be a wimp. I thought you were the adventurous one."

Abby eyed the window hesitantly.

"Freedom's right outside. You can do this."

Abby sighed and took off her shoes. "Okay." She slid a leg over the sill and awkwardly sat half in, half out as she handed her heels to Alexa. Moving swiftly, her foot left the bathroom floor, and she lowered herself down.

"Good," Alexa encouraged in a whisper as Abby dangled from the baseboards and jumped to the roof.

It was her turn. Alexa got up off her knees and tossed Abby's shoes down one at a time. She walked to the bathroom door and cautiously opened it, then hurried back, eager to make her escape. She scrambled over the sill as Abby had and reached for the window's rail as she hung by one arm. Her muscles trembled with her effort to hold her bodyweight while she attempted to close the window behind them. Her fingers made contact with the wood, and she pulled down. The gla.s.s slid several inches, but she lost her grip and tumbled, landing on the rough grit of the rooftop in a crouched position. She groaned as rock bit into her palms and a sharp, hot ache radiated through her right ankle. Unable to bear the pain, she immediately and awkwardly fell back on her b.u.t.t, skinning her elbows in the process. "d.a.m.n. d.a.m.n. d.a.m.n."

"Oh my G.o.d, Lex. Lex, are you okay?" Abby crawled to her.

She struggled for her breath as her ankle tingled and swelled. "I'm fine. I'm okay," she tried to convince herself. "The fall scared me more than anything else." She pulled off the stupid blonde wig dangling half off her head and threw it behind her.

Abby scrutinized Alexa's foot and pressed gently at the tender skin. "Holy c.r.a.p, Lex. I think it's broken. If not, it's definitely sprained.

"No, it can't be." She eased forward for a closer inspection and closed her eyes as the deeply bruised skin of her foot puffed around the thin strap of her high-heeled sandal. "I can't believe this."

"We have to get help." Abby slid her finger over the worst of the swelling, and Alexa sucked in a gasp, fighting the sudden urge to vomit from the excruciating pain.

"Ow. Please stop touching."

"Sorry but I have to get your sandal off."

"Let's leave it alone." She tried to move away from her sister's probing fingers, but it felt better to remain perfectly still.

"You'll lose circulation if your foot gets any bigger. I'll be gentle." Abby slid the strap free of the small buckle, and Alexa ground her teeth, trying not to cry out.

"There. That's done. We're almost finished."

"Thank G.o.d."

"I just have to take it off." Abby bit her lip as Alexa glared.

"Go ahead and shoot me instead."

"I don't have a gun, but I can slap you if it'll make you feel better."

"Take it off," she snapped, not in the mood to appreciate her sister's smarta.s.s sense of humor.

"Okay. Geez." She huffed out and flexed her fingers. "Okay. We need to prop your leg up just a bit. I think it'll hurt less. Can you lift it?"

Alexa leaned back on her elbows and hissed from the bite of rough gravel against raw wounds. She raised her leg and pressed her lips together with a wrenching moan. The lack of support for her ankle was excruciating.

"Close your eyes. I'll be quick and careful." Abby's cool hand braced Alexa's calf as she grabbed the heel of the shoe with the other.

Alexa slammed her eyes shut and grit her teeth as Abby tried to ease the sandal off. "Oh, Lex, it's stuck. I'm going to have to pull harder."

"Just do it," she choked out.

Abby tugged; Alexa whimpered.

"It's off. It's off."

She opened one eye, looked down, and winced. Her foot was easily triple its normal size. "I think-I think it's going to split open."

"I need to get us help." Abby peered over the edge of the small rooftop. "You need a doctor, big time."

"No." She grabbed Abby's wrist. "We stay together."

"Lex, you can't jump down. It's like eight, maybe ten feet to the bottom."

"We stay together. I won't lose you again. If you go, I go too." Alexa struggled to rip the hem of her thigh-length dress. "Help me wrap my ankle first."

"Lex..."Abby's brow rose with her 'give me a break' sneer.

"Some support is better than none. I'll try to land with most of my weight on my good leg." She yanked on the summery yellow cotton again, and the fabric finally gave way. "Help me rip some more."

"Fine, but this is a really dumb idea." Abby yanked, and another few feet pulled free.

"If you have a better idea..." Alexa glanced at her watch. Another thirty minutes before her original two hours was up. Was Christina still searching for her among the crowded rooms? She had to be okay, or the agents would've raided the house.

Abby yanked at her own dress and freed a long piece of black satin. "Between your dress and mine I think this will be enough. Prop it up again. Rest your leg on my lap this time."

Alexa breathed in and expelled a whoosh of air when Abby jostled her ankle. "I didn't think there was anything that hurt as much as childbirth. I was wrong." She wiped at the tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm almost finished. I don't want the wrap it too tight or too loose." Abby tucked the ends of tattered yellow and black fabric among the strips she'd circled around the arch of Alexa's foot and ankle. "There."

Alexa studied the makeshift splint and smiled, despite the discomfort. Her foot looked like a bloated b.u.mblebee. "Thank goodness you didn't choose medicine as your profession."

"I think I'll stick with mannequins and sketch pads. Consider this the first and last design from my 'Escape' line."

Alexa lifted her foot an inch off Abby's thigh and winced. The flimsy support of two torn summer dresses would have to do. Sighing, she braced herself for more pain and moved to the edge of the roof. "You ready?"

"I'm ready to get you to a hospital."

Alexa nodded her agreement and scooted forward gingerly. She b.u.mped her injury on the rough surface and tried to ignore the nausea roiling her belly as she stared down at the well-manicured bushes and lush green gra.s.s. They were a long way up. It would be a good four to five feet to the ground after they let themselves hang off the side. Then what? She glanced at the pretty stone path lit by candles in decorative gla.s.s, leading to the front edge of the house. If they could make it to the shrubs along the security wall, they would be able to sneak out to the street from there. A surveillance vehicle wouldn't be too hard to track down after that. She could do this; she had to. "After we jump, we have to hurry to the bushes."

"Are you sure this is a good idea with your ankle?"

"What choice do we have?" She glanced up at the window still partially open. "If someone notices that, we're in trouble."

Abby nodded. "I'll go first." She moved to the edge of the roof, rolled to her stomach, and wiggled her body until her legs dangled. "The stones on the house stick out a bit. I can rest my feet on them."

Alexa turned on her belly and eased her legs over the side, slamming her eyes shut when gravity pushed more blood to her foot. The throbbing pressure was almost more than she could bear.

"Here I go." Abby let herself hang by her fingertips and counted to three, then let go.

Alexa's heart stopped when she heard the thud of her sister's landing. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm all right. Come on down. I'll help you."

Alexa pushed herself further over the edge until she hung like her sister had. The rough shingles bit into her fingers and she pressed her lips firm as she released her grip. Gasping, falling, she tried to maneuver her body to land on her good leg. Her foot met ground and she lost her balance. She rolled once, and her wrapped ankle slammed against the stone on the pretty walking path. The shocking pain stole her breath, and she whimpered, fighting her tears, as she clutched the cool gra.s.s.

"Lex. Oh, Lex." Abby rushed forward, crawling, and cupped Alexa's sweaty face in her hands.

Alexa struggled to clear the gray haze of unconsciousness from her vision as Abby stroked loose strands of hair from her damp forehead. She could not pa.s.s out.

"You're so pale. We have to get away from the path. Someone might see us."

She blinked, relieved when the tiny dancing spots vanished from her vision. "I need-I need a minute."

"We don't have a minute. If someone happens by the window, they'll take us away. Come on, Lex." Abby hooked her arms under Alexa's armpits and dragged her to the shadows.

Alexa groaned as the jerking movements caused her more unspeakable agony.

"I'm sorry. We're almost there." Abby gave her another tug and sagged to the ground out of breath. "Let's rest for a few minutes. It doesn't seem like too many people are on this side of the house."

Alexa nodded and leaned her head on the rough rock of the house. "Most of the party's in the back half of the east and west wings." She closed her eyes, attempting to summon up any remaining dredges of strength. The last few minutes had drained her dry.

"I knew this was a bad idea. You should've stayed on the roof. Why didn't I make you?"

"Because there's no way you could've. I'm not leaving you." She reached for her sister's hand.

Abby grabbed her fingers and held tight. "I'm sorry you had to do this. I'm sorry I didn't escape."

She opened her eyes and looked at her sister. "Ab-"

"I wanted to. It was all I thought about at first."

"We're together and you're safe. That's what matters."

"I tried once." Abby continued on, despite Alexa's rea.s.surances. "I saw an opportunity and went for it. One of the guards went to the bathroom, and I snuck away from the bas.e.m.e.nt they kept us in and ran right out the front door, but they grabbed me and told me they would make you and Livy suffer." Her eyes watered and her lip trembled. "They called you and made me listen. I could hear the fear in your voice when they told you I was going to die." She clutched Alexa's fingers tighter. "They held me down while Eric talked to you and came at me with a syringe full of clear liquid. He told me to say goodbye. Then they shoved the needle in my arm and I didn't wake up 'til the next day."

"Ab, I'm so sorry."

"I didn't try to run again, but I tried to call."

"I remember."

"I wanted to tell you where I was, but I didn't know. They cover our heads when they put us in the vans. Sometimes we're in there for minutes, other times hours. The phone idea was just as bad as trying to run. They realized a phone was missing and started beating one of the girls..."

Alexa rested her head on Abby's shoulder. What could she possibly say to lessen such a trauma?

"After that, I lost hope that I was ever going home. They reminded us daily that we were theirs and escape meant death to our families."

"I left." Alexa blinked away her own tears. "I put Livy and myself on a plane and fled to Los Angeles. I didn't want to-"

"I'm glad you did. I was constantly terrified they would take you and Livy. They're evil. The things they make the girls do... They're so young, and I couldn't stop it."

"It's not your fault."

"No, but it doesn't change what I saw or what I listened to. They made me-they made me keep the books. All the questions Renzo asked about my business background..." She shook her head. "I thought he was interested in me... It was my job to handle the organizations books as well as dole out the girls-ten to twenty times a day." She sniffed. "G.o.d. I can barely stand the guilt. There were so many nights I wanted to die, but then I saw you with Jackson at Lady Pink."

"I wanted to take you with us, Abby. You have no idea how much."

"Probably as much as I wanted to go. But I knew I couldn't." She leaned her head against the wall. "I was never more surprised than when I opened the door to that disgusting room and saw Jackson Matthews grinning at me. He looked at me with his kind eyes and told me he would be back...and I started to believe again."

She pulled her sister against her. "I hate that you went through this. I hate it so much."

Abby clung. "I just want it to be over."

"It is. They're waiting for us on the other side of that wall-or down the next block, at least."

"Whenever you're ready, I want to leave and never look back."

"Then let's go."

Abby frowned as she studied Alexa's face. "You're still pale."

"My ankle hurts a bit." 'A bit' was an understatement. Her foot begged her to be still as the swollen skin bulged around the yellow and black wrap. The second fall had injured her further but they couldn't afford to stay here any longer. "I'm okay." She swiped at the sweat beading along her forehead. "I need you to help me up."

"Of course." Abby crouched and wrapped an arm around Alexa's shoulders. "I'll lift on the count of three."

Alexa nodded.

"One...two...three."

Alexa kept her right leg extended and used her left to help propel herself up with Abby's tug. The stabbing throb almost sent her back to the ground.

"Lex, this isn't going to work."

"It's fine," she said, her voice strained. "Let's just go."

Abby hesitated.

"Please, Ab. I can sit down again when we get to the bushes."

"Okay." Abby wrapped her arm tight around Alexa's shoulders.

Alexa leaned in to the support her sister offered and hooked her arm around Abby's waist. They hobbled forward with little grace. Putting weight on her right foot was impossible. They paused as they came to the first large window of the formal dining area.

Abby peeked in the edge of the gla.s.s. "There're only a couple people mingling about. If we duck, I think we'll be okay."

"This should be interesting."