Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer

Author:Rebecca Schaeffer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Twenty

NITA DOUBLE CHECKED that the front door was locked, not because she believed it wasn’t, but just because she felt comforted seeing the lock and knowing there was an obstacle between her and Reyes.

Then she checked Kovit’s phone—Reyes’ number had to be in there. Maybe Nita could text her and lure her into a trap.

Nita found a recent text from Reyes. It read Customers coming at noon tomorrow. Have everything cleaned up.

Nita hesitated. What was supposed to be cleaned up? And how would Kovit respond to this? Nita opted for a simple Understood.

Then she put the phone down and plopped onto the chair. The phone vibrated, and Nita picked up again.

I will be there at eleven to make sure there’s no repeat of last time.

Nita wondered what happened last time, but she didn’t type anything except another Understood.

The phone didn’t buzz again.

Well, that was fine. Nita had a timeline. She could do this.

While she considered more effective ways to incapacitate Reyes besides a hammer or rope, she decided a shower would be good. She felt disgusting.

There was a tiny bathroom attached to this room. It was so small the showerhead was above the toilet bowl, and Nita had to straddle the toilet while she showered and still barely had room to turn around. She stepped into the shower fully dressed. She peeled off her clothes underneath the ice-cold water—what a fantastic idea. Who needed hot water out here anyway?

Once she was scrubbed and had fished her shirt out of the toilet—stupid design—she stepped out. She couldn’t find a towel, so she dried off with one of the shirts on the laundry line. They smelled clean—dirty things were very obvious in this kind of heat. She took a different black T-shirt and put it on.

Most of Kovit’s T-shirts were black or dark red. Probably to hide the bloodstains, Nita thought, and then pushed that idea away. She didn’t want to think about that.

She stole a pair of his jeans too, glad that he was skinny and lean. The waist was a bit too big, but the pants stayed up because she had hips where Kovit didn’t. The rest of it was a little baggy, but not ridiculously so. The legs were a bit short, stopping just above her ankles, but Nita didn’t care too much.

Finally clean, Nita lay down on the bed. She tried to think of a way she could lure Reyes into the cages instead of just hitting her, since that seemed fraught with dangers, but she was too exhausted and her mind so muddled that her eyes drifted closed before she could think of anything.

She didn’t realize she’d fallen asleep until she dreamed of Mirella’s death. In the dream, the scene where Mirella’s body was slammed into the ground by bullets was overlaid with the screams as Kovit tortured her. Her pink-gray hair stuck to her face, and her eyes stared out at Nita, wide and accusing. Why didn’t you help me? they asked.

Nita woke up silent. No screaming.

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