Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

“ C ome on,” Jill muttered as she adjusted her hold around the metal pole that she’d pulled off the towel rack from the guest bathroom upstairs and-

“What are you doing?” came the question that had her swallowing hard as she slowly looked over her shoulder to find the teenage boy that seemed to really love glaring at her doing what he did best.

“Embracing my obsession with Pilates,” Jill said, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she used her fingertips to push the metal pole closer to the closet door only to end up pushing the pole out of her reach.

Damn it!

“You know that you’re not fooling anyone, right?” Shane said with a heavy sigh as he stepped over her and picked up the metal pole.

“What’s that?” Jill asked as she pushed herself up.

“Your escape plans,” Shane murmured absently as he glanced from the metal pole in his hand to the closet door that she’d been trying to open for the past four months.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Jill said, blinking innocently as she got to her feet and held her hand out for the metal pole.

“Yeah, I can see that,” Shane said, ignoring her hand and tossed the pole on the bed before focusing back on the closet door. “What’s in there?”

“What are you doing up?” Jill asked instead because she really didn’t think that it was a good idea to give a teenage boy that loved to glare access to whatever was behind that door.

“Why are you changing the subject?” Shane countered as Jill glanced at the alarm clock by Logan’s bed. She had another hour, two tops, before Logan came back from wherever it was that he went to every night, which meant that she needed to get rid of the evidence of her latest escape attempt.

“Because that’s what I do best,” Jill said as she grabbed the metal pole off the bed and resigned herself to finding another way to get into the closet. She-

“It’s empty,” Shane said, making her sigh heavily as she turned and muttered, “Of course it is.”

“Might want to come up with a better plan,” Shane said as Jill stood there, taking in the empty closet that she’d really been counting on to pull this off.

“I always have a Plan B,” Jill said with a sigh after she sent one last wistful glance at the closet before turning around and headed for the door only to pause by the bureau, grab Logan’s iPad and-

Damn it!

-sighed as she placed his iPad back on top of the bureau while she mentally crossed “Demon” off her list of potential passwords and headed for the door with the teenage boy quickly catching up with her.

“Does your Plan B involve removing your chain?” Shane asked as they headed down the hallway.

“It’s part of it,” Jill said, only to realize that she should probably consider this Plan C since her plan to entice Logan with her blood to get her chain removed hadn’t exactly worked out.

She just…

She had no idea what she was doing.

Madison would have probably already figured a way out of this mess, Jill thought with a sad smile. God, she missed her. She missed hanging out with Marc late at night watching horrible horror movies while they waited for Ephraim and Chris to come home from patrol. She missed the way that Madison used to cheat at Monopoly only to pout when she lost anyway. She missed her grandmother’s cooking and…

She missed food, Jill thought on a wistful sigh.

“The leech knows that you’re trying to escape,” Shane pointed out.

“That’s because I’m lulling him into a false sense of security,” Jill said as they walked into the living room to find Caleb struggling to open a bottle of green glitter while Emma did the same with a bottle of glue.

“And it’s working,” Shane said dryly as they made their way over to the twins and plucked the bottle of glitter and glue out of their hands before they could redecorate the kitchen island.

“I just need time to figure it out,” Jill said as she placed the bottle of glitter back in the craft box.

“You might want to work faster,” Shane said as he placed the bottle of glue in the box before securing it and moving to place it back in the cabinet only to hesitate when he noted the way the twins watched his every move and decided to place the box in the cabinet above the refrigerator instead.

“And why’s that?” Jill asked as she did a quick search to make sure the twins didn’t hide anything only to sigh when she spotted the box of markers hidden in the bowl of fruit on the kitchen table.

“Because the other leech will probably take it out on you if we manage to escape first,” Shane said, drawing her attention and-

“Don’t hesitate,” Jill said, taking him by surprise. “If you get a chance to get the twins safely out of here, take it.”

“You’re not afraid of what he’ll do to you if we leave?” Shane asked, watching her curiously.

“I’ve been through worse,” Jill said, shrugging it off as she adjusted her hold around the metal pole in her hand and headed for the stairs.

“What’s the plan?” Shane asked as he caught up with her again only to grumble when Emma silently demanded that he pick her up before Caleb grabbed hold of his hand.

“Are you going to tell me what you’re doing up?” Jill asked instead because the last thing that she wanted to do was get them involved if she didn’t have to.

“We couldn’t sleep,” Caleb absently murmured as he took his time taking in the long hallway that led to the pool. “What are we doing up here?”

“I have to get rid of the evidence,” Jill said as she headed into the bathroom and worked on putting the towel rack back together.

“He’s watching our every move,” Shane said, placing Emma down so that he could gently push her hands away and take over.

“Which is why I’m being sneaky,” Jill said, grabbing the towel that she placed on the bathroom counter earlier and placed it back on the towel rack once Shane finished adjusting it.

“You’re really not, though,” Shane said, picking up Emma when she held her arms up again.

“Why do you say that?” Jill asked, taking Caleb’s small hand in hers as she headed back the way that she came only to have the little boy that she couldn’t help but adore pull on her hand to get her attention.

“What’s over there?” Caleb asked, pointing at the double doors that led to the pool.

For a moment, Jill considered bringing them back downstairs so that she could start the long process of tucking them in again only to decide to finish giving them the tour. It had taken her a week to get them to leave their room and since then, they’d spent their time between their room and the living room. Anytime she tried to show them the rest of the penthouse, they simply shook their heads and retreated back to their room.

“It’s a surprise that I was waiting to show you when you were ready,” Jill said only to smile when Caleb said, “I’m ready!” as he turned around and began pulling her towards the double doors.

“I can see that,” Jill said with a warm smile as she allowed the little boy to drag her down the long hallway.

“He watches you,” Shane said as Jill reached past Caleb and pushed the door open.

“Because he recognizes a threat when he sees one,” Jill said with a heartfelt sigh as she led them down a small hallway with her chain softly rattling behind them.

“Yeah, you’re a real threat,” Shane said dryly, making her lips twitch as they walked around the corner and into the large room filled with soft moonlight.

“I try,” Jill said, releasing Caleb’s hand so that she could turn the lights on before she pulled her dress off, leaving her in a black bikini and-

Felt her stomach drop as she watched Caleb stumble back with a look of pure terror on his face. She looked at Shane to ask him what was wrong only to find the same look of terror on his face. Her gaze shot to Emma to find the little girl crying as her tiny hand fisted her brother’s shirt.

“You don’t have to do this,” Shane said hollowly as the sounds of water splashing against the tiled floor drew her attention to find Caleb peeing himself.

“Caleb,” Jill said, feeling her heart break as she moved to go to him only to watch as he dropped to the floor and wrapped his trembling arms around his brother’s leg.

“We’ll be good!” Caleb screamed around a sob as he buried his face against his brother’s pajama-clad leg, leaving her stunned.

She opened her mouth only to have Shane cut her off. “You don’t have to do this. I won’t tell the leech that you’re trying to escape,” he said, leaving her even more confused.

“I would never hurt you,” Jill said, following Shane’s terrified gaze to the pool before she glanced back and-

Logan was suddenly there, gently pulling Caleb into his arms. “Shhh, it’s okay.”

“You don’t need to do this!” Shane shouted, tightening his arms around his little sister as he turned so that he could keep his eyes on both of them.

“I’m a good boy,” Caleb sobbed against Logan’s neck as he wrapped his arms around him.

“I know you are,” Logan said soothingly as he gently caressed the little boy’s back.

“I have no idea what’s going on right now,” Jill admitted, swallowing hard as she stood there, watching helplessly as the twins cried.

“She’s going to punish us,” Caleb sobbed against Logan’s neck.

Shaking her head, Jill said, “I would never-”

“I know you wouldn’t,” Logan said before he shifted his attention to the little boy in his arms. “Why do you think Jill was going to hurt you? Hasn’t she been nice to you?”

“The water,” Caleb said, pulling one hand away so that he could blindly point back towards the pool and just like that, Jill finally understood why they panicked anytime she mentioned taking a bath.

“I see,” Logan murmured as he continued gently caressing the little boy’s back while Shane watched his every move. “I think she was trying to do something nice for you. She didn’t know that you were afraid of the water.”

“I’m not afraid,” Shane bit out, but the look on his face…

God, he looked terrified.

Turning his head, Logan kissed the top of Caleb’s head as he said, “Prove it,” making the teenage boy go still.

“I don’t have to prove anything,” Shane said, swallowing hard as his terrified gaze flickered to the pool.

“I see,” Logan murmured, kissing the top of Caleb’s head one last time before he gently placed him down on his feet and-

“What are you doing?” Shane demanded, keeping his terrified gaze locked on Logan as he reached down and grabbed hold of Caleb’s arm and pulled him back.

“Going for a midnight swim,” Logan said as he finished toeing off his shoes and reached down to pull his socks off.

Shane opened his mouth only to snap it shut and swallow hard as his panicked gaze moved from Logan as he pulled off his shirt and dropped it on the floor to the double doors behind them. He moved to take a step back only to go still when Logan crossed the short distance and swept Jill off her feet.

“Ready, Angel?” Logan asked, adjusting her in his arms as he carried her to the edge of the pool and turned around so that they were facing the children and-

Did he just wink? Jill found herself wondering seconds before he managed to tear a surprised squeal from her as he fell back into the water, taking her with him. She held her breath as Logan’s hands found her hips and guided her back to the surface. As she took her first breath, she saw the worried expressions on the children’s faces and felt her heart break for them.

When Logan pulled her into his arms, Jill wrapped her arms around him and watched his eyes turn silver as he pulled her closer. For several minutes, neither one of them said a word as he moved them through the warm water and-

“Their guardians punished them by holding them underwater,” Logan said softly.

“I didn’t know,” Jill mumbled weakly as her gaze flickered back to the children to find them watching them.

“I know you didn’t, Angel,” Logan said as he reached up and gently pushed a strand of wet hair out of her face only to have his fingertips linger on her cheek as his gaze dropped to her lips.

Swallowing hard, Jill watched as his silver eyes slowly met hers and-

“I wanna try,” Caleb said, thankfully breaking whatever spell Logan seemed to have over her and drew their attention to find the little boy yanking his hand away from Shane, who bit out a curse and tried to grab his little brother only to have Caleb duck beneath his reach and quickly made his way to the pool.

“Are you sure?” Jill asked, reluctantly pulling away from Logan so that she could hold up her arms and-

Felt her lips twitch when Caleb stubbornly shook his head and gestured for Logan. Chuckling, Logan moved past her and held up his arms. After a slight hesitation, Caleb moved closer and allowed Logan to pull him into his arms.

“Don’t let go,” Caleb whispered as he wrapped his tiny arms and legs around Logan.

“I won’t,” Logan promised as he kissed the top of Caleb’s head like it was the most natural thing in the world to do.

“The water’s warm,” Caleb said, shifting his hold around Logan so that he could place his fingertips in the water.

“Do you like it?” Logan asked with a warm smile for the little boy as he slowly moved them through the water.

“Yeah,” Caleb said, raising his hand so that he could watch the water drip from his fingertips.

“Do you want me to put you down?” Logan asked, only to chuckle when Caleb frantically shook his head and wrapped his arm back around him.

Jill glanced back to find Shane watching his brother with something close to terror before her gaze dropped to Emma, who was worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she watched her twin brother.

“Do you want a turn?” Jill asked as she moved closer to the edge.

After a slight hesitation, Emma nodded and gestured for Shane to put her down. When he didn’t put her down fast enough, she wiggled until he sighed heavily as he put her down only to swallow hard as he watched her make her way to the edge of the pool and held her arms out.

Smiling, Jill reached up and pulled Emma into her arms as she glanced at Shane to find him sending her a look that told her what he would do if she hurt his sister. “It’s okay,” Jill said as she kept her gaze locked with Shane while she gave him a moment.

Releasing a shaky breath, Shane reluctantly nodded. Returning the nod, Jill shifted her attention to Emma. “Ready?” she asked with a warm smile.

When Emma nodded, Jill slowly moved back, moving Emma through the water as the sounds of her chain sliding into the pool accompanied the move. Ignoring the reminder of the reason why she was here, Jill focused on the little girl in her arms. When Emma relaxed, Jill moved faster only to slow down again when Emma’s arms tightened around her.

She was such a sweet little girl, Jill thought, kissing the top of her head as she glanced back at Logan to find him holding Caleb away from him so that only his legs were in the water as he slowly turned in a circle, making the little boy smile as he yelled, “Faster!”

Chuckling, Logan moved the little boy faster through the water, earning an excited squeal that ended with laughter as Logan pulled him back into his arms. When she turned around, she saw Shane slowly making his way to the pool, and after a slight hesitation, he sat down and moved to lower himself in the water only to rethink the move and yank his feet back.

“Let me help your brother,” Logan said, kissing the top of Caleb’s head before handing him to Jill.

“I’m not scared,” Shane said, swallowing hard as he kept his terrified gaze on the water.

“I know you’re not,” Logan promised him.

“I just don’t want to get my pants wet,” Shane said hollowly.

“They’ll dry,” Logan promised him as a tiny gasp drew her attention to the little boy in her arms.

“I need to take my pants off!” Caleb said, wiggling in her arms as he gestured frantically to the spot next to his brother.

“Hold on,” Jill said with a warm smile as she carried Caleb over to the edge so that he could climb out of the pool and-

Quickly stripped down to his undies and threw his soaked pajama pants at his brother, who shifted that glare on him. As soon as he was left in his teddy bear undies, Caleb held his arms back out for her. She barely had a chance to reach for him when he was jumping into her arms and earning a grunt from his sister, who sent her twin a glare that he easily ignored as he released a satisfied sigh.

“Better?” Jill asked, her lips twitching when the little boy nodded.

Smiling, Jill moved back in the water as she watched Logan turn around and give Shane his back. After a slight hesitation, Shane dropped Caleb’s pajama pants on the floor and lowered himself into the water as he reached for Logan.

“Please don’t let go,” Shane whispered, squeezing his eyes shut and held on as Logan’s silver eyes locked on her and-

“I promise.”