Chapter Twelve
Five stories was a long way to fall. Just looking over the edge of the balcony made her dizzy, but she thought she had several minutes before Valzar came into the bedroom to check on her. She’d be damned if she’d go with him quietly. Somewhere out there Sean was fighting for his life, and she wasn’t going to leave him to do it alone. F*ck Valzar.
Taking a deep, calming breath, she swung her leg over the railing and set it firmly on the ledge. She figured she had no more than seven minutes at the most before he became suspicious. Clutching the side of the building, she slid one foot forward and then followed it with the other until she reached the next balcony. She climbed over the rail with relief, and tried the door. Locked, naturally. Taking another deep breath she crossed the balcony and stepped back out on to the ledge. There weren’t any more balconies on this side of the hotel, but she wasn’t far from the corner and she hoped that there was something around it.
Luck was with her.
When she reached the corner and peeked around, she could see the roof of the building next door. There was a narrow gap separating the two hotels, and not far below she could see a metal fire escape. If she could get around the corner, she’d be able to jump on to the fire escape and climb down.
Easier said than done.
The gap between the buildings wasn’t that wide, but the roof was a good six feet below her. She had never been particularly athletic. Visions of broken limbs danced through her head, but then she reminded herself what was at stake.
Her future with Sean.
Damn, she was tired of other people making decisions for her. If staying with Sean meant risking her life, that was her decision to make. He had no right to send her away with Valzar, none at all. She needed to get out and find him and explain that little fact to him.
She’d finally had enough.
Taking a deep breath, she whispered a prayer and launched herself across toward the other roof. She hit with a thump, rolling several times before coming to a stop. There were scrapes on her hands and she was sure she’d be sore after a while, but she none of that mattered. She’d done it.
Sandra pulled herself up, all too aware of how visible she must be. She crawled over to the edge of the roof, looking for the fire escape. For the first time she wondered why the other hotel didn’t have one.
The thought was rather chilling. If there had been a fire, she’d have been out of luck… Even more chilling was the state of the fire escape she needed to use now. It was rusty, and seemed to sag away from the building in several places. She reached out and pushed on it gingerly and it made a creaking noise.
Good Lord.
She reminded herself once more why she was doing this. She was tired of being passive, tired of other people telling her what to do. This time it was going to be about her, and her needs. She needed to be with Sean, and she was damned if she’ let him get away. Screw everyone else.
She reached one leg over the side and tested the fire escape. It seemed to hold the weight she put on it.
She lowered herself gingerly off the roof and onto the rickety contraption. It made a creaking, moaning noise, but nothing else happened.
I can do this, she told herself.
Down she went, trying not to imagine what it would feel like to plunge four stories. She didn’t think about whether anyone could see her, about whether Valzar had goons posted all around the buildings. All she could think about was climbing. One foot down, then another. Step after step, rung after rung, until she was on solid ground. She looked around and realized that nobody watched her. She’d done it. She was free.
She found her way along the side of the building until she reached the alley running behind it. She moved down the alley as quickly as she could, wondering what to do next. She had no idea. For all she knew Sean wasn’t even on the island any longer. How was she going to find him, and how would she convince him to allow her to stay with him? She had no money, no papers. Officially she didn’t exist.
She walked down the narrow streets, wishing desperately that she’d paid better attention when they’d arrived. A small group of mixed-race children started tagging along after her. She ignored them at first, but it got harder a while. They swarmed around her, eyes filled with curiosity and mischief. What did they want?
“Yo’ lady,” one of the kids said, and she whirled. An English speaker!
“You wanna take my picture, lady?” the girl asked. She looked to be about ten years old, and her eyes gleamed with capitalistic fervor. “You give me dollah, lady, I let you take picture.”
“I don’t have a dollar,” she said quickly. The girl rolled her eyes, and spoke quickly to the children around her in rapid Spanish patois.
“You lost, lady?” the girl asked after a moment.
“Yes,” she admitted. “Can you help me?”
The girl cocked her head, and another child spoke to her again. She nodded at him, and the other kids clapped their hands.
“We gonna help you, lady,” the girl said. “You look pretty sad all alone here. You gotta tell the people at the embassy that we’re good kids, though, that we help you.”
“There’s an embassy here?” she asked, suddenly filled with relief. She could get help!
“Little one,” the girl said. “You got papers?”
Sandra shook her head. The child shrugged, and then started walking.
“You come with me,” she called over her shoulder. The children seemed to think she needed their escort, because most of them started walking with her as she followed the girl. People watched as the strange little convoy moved down the street, and she wondered if it was foolish to allow such a spectacle to be made of her “escape.” But it wasn’t really as if she had much choice, she reminded herself. She had no idea where she was going or what she was doing. Hopefully they could give her some direction at the embassy. At the very least, they should be able to tell her where she was and give her access to a phone.
She could call Valzar, and demand that he have Sean call her, she thought suddenly. If she called from the safety of the embassy, there wasn’t anything he could do to her. She could threaten to tell them everything if he didn’t put her in touch with Sean immediately.
She smiled, feeling rather pleased with herself. She had it all figured out.
After walking for 20 minutes the streets were getting noticeably cleaner, and then she saw an American flag in the distance. Her heart lifted, and she felt a burst of patriotic pride that she’d never felt before.
How beautiful it was in the distance! In that building there were people who could help her — she would be completely safe with them. It was a wonderful feeling.
A few blocks from the lovely, gated complex the little girl turned into another alleyway.
“The embassy is over that way,” Sandra said, confused.
“You gotta go this way to get to gate,” the child replied. “Much faster.”
Sandra shook her head, but she girl had helped her so far. Within seconds they turned again and she found herself in an open courtyard. The children started giggling, and she realized something was very wrong.
She spun around, ready to go back toward the flag, but two large, armed men were already there, blocking her escape. Valzar strolled out of the shadows, shaking his finger at her disapprovingly.
“Now Sandra, that’s no way to behave,” he said. “If you keep this up, I’ll start to think you don’t like being around me. Wouldn’t that be a shame?”