“Yeah, we—wait, what? You’ve broken down a door before?”
“Did you find out who he was?” I asked, ignoring the question.
He flipped the wallet open. Webb’s picture was next to an MDG logo.
“What is the Monster Defense Group doing in France?” I asked.
“Well, they’re doing something with those scrabs we just found, that’s for sure.” He closed the wallet, an abashed look crossing his face. “But I realized right after I took it that I was putting you in danger too, and . . .” He met my gaze. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
“It’s fine,” I said. At least he’d been trying to think of a way to get us out of here. I’d just gone along with it. “We should hide it, though. He’ll probably just think he lost it somewhere. He’s not going to suspect that you lifted his wallet when at least two other guys were watching while you were blindfolded.”
He looked like he was trying very hard to hold back a laugh.
“What?” I asked.
“You accused me of being a bad criminal once. You seriously doubted my skills, you may remember.”
“Oh my god.” I rolled my eyes, but a smile spread across my face.
“I’m just saying.” One side of his mouth lifted a little higher than the other when he grinned. “Blindfolded. And motion sick. And I had to pee, which was very distracting. And like you said, at least two other guys were watching.”
“Fine, yes, you are the best pickpocket ever. I’ll admit it.”
“Thank you.” He walked into the bathroom. “I’ll put it in the toilet tank.”
“Do you feel better now?” I asked. “The motion sickness?”
“I still feel a bit dizzy, but it’ll pass,” he called as the water turned on. He emerged a minute later, shaking out his wet arms. He wiped them on his pants and pulled out his phone.
“They didn’t take your phone?” I asked.
“They sure didn’t. I think this is their first kidnapping. There’s room for improvement.”
A laugh bubbled up in my chest. I realized suddenly how grateful I was to be with Edan, of all people, in this situation. I couldn’t have handled a horde of scrabs or kidnapping amateurs with someone who defaulted to angry or hysterical in scary situations.
“Their Wi-Fi is password protected, though.” Edan sighed and slid his phone back into his pocket.
The door opened, and I jumped at the sudden intrusion. Webb stood with one foot in the room, two rolled-up sleeping bags tucked under his arms. He tossed them on the floor.
“All right, kids, change of plans. You’re going to need to sit tight here until we decide what to do with you.”
My body went cold. “What to do with us?”
“You can’t keep us here,” Edan said.
“I can, and I will,” Webb said. “The fewer morons we have running around making my job harder, the better. Stay quiet, and we won’t have any problems, OK?”
We both just stared at him.
“With any luck, Grayson’s teams will implode in the next couple days, and you guys can get out of my hair permanently.” He stepped back, starting to pull the door closed. “We’ll send up some food soon. And I mean it about being quiet. You start making trouble, and I can’t be held responsible for what some of these guys will do.” He looked at us seriously before pulling the door shut.
I took in a shaky breath and listened to his footsteps fade. “Why would they keep us here? How does that make any sense?”
“They were really excited about all those scrabs,” Edan said. “I think they’re worried that if they let us go, we’ll tell Grayson about it.”
“And, what? They want first crack at it? MDG doesn’t even hunt scrabs, do they?”
“I have no idea. But I think we should try to get out of here. I don’t want to wait around to see what they decide to do with us.” He looked at me expectantly.
I hesitated. It sounded like Webb would let us go if we were patient. Of course, he’d also basically threatened to kill us if we made trouble, so maybe it was stupid to trust him.
“They’re up to something with that nest,” Edan said, when I didn’t reply. “I want to get word to Grayson as soon as possible.”
“Do you have a plan?”
“What’s holding your bangs back right now?”
I put my hand on my hair, confused. “A bobby pin?”
“Perfect. Do you mind if I use it to pick that lock?” He jerked his head at the door.
“You know how to pick a lock?”
“What, in our time together, makes you think I don’t know how to pick a lock?”
I laughed. “Good point.” I reached for the pin.
“You can keep it for now. I can hear people in the house. Let’s wait until tonight, see if it quiets down.”
“You really think you can do it?”
“Absolutely.” He held my gaze. “We’re getting out of here.”
27
I sat on my sleeping bag next to Edan, our backs against the wall and our legs stretched out in front of us. The bathroom light cast a soft glow across the floor a few feet from us.
Downstairs, I could still hear murmured voices, even though it was late. We had no chance of escape if they didn’t leave or sleep, and I’d had too much time to think. I was starting to worry about what Webb had planned for us if we didn’t get out of here.
“Why did you break down the door last time?” Edan asked. We’d been quiet for a long time, yet somehow the question that picked up a conversation we had hours ago didn’t seem out of place.
I couldn’t think of a lie off the top of my head. I wasn’t sure I wanted to lie, anyway.
“My dad locked me in my room when he found out I was coming here.” I snuck a quick look at him, expecting horror, or at least surprise, but he just cocked his head, like
