Trapped In Lace

Jack kicked the man hard. He dropped onto the floor, writhing in pain.

Seeing this, Rachel was overcome with emotion. Jack approached, bent down, and removed the tape which covered her mouth.

Both of her hands were tied behind her back. With a straight face, Jack carefully but swiftly removed the shoelaces that bound her.

When the laces were removed, an overwhelming feeling of relief came over her. Her eyes welled up with tears.

She felt so lucky. Jack had come just in time.

She remembered how terrified she had been when the three men had said that they would leave her here to die.

She thought about the horrible reality of being thrown away like garbage and with no one knowing where she was.

After successfully freeing her, Jack helped her to her feet. Rachel croaked, "Thank you."

In a low voice, he said, "Seriously? Why so formal with me?"

Rachel opened her mouth and looked up only to find his sour face. He put his arm around her waist, and together, they walked toward Michael. That was when he noticed that something was wrong with her feet.

Frowning, he asked, "What's the matter with your feet?"

Rachel tried to rotate one foot, and a sharp pain shot up her body. It turned out that she had sprained her ankle.

Determined not to be a burden, she clenched her teeth and tried to move her foot again. It hurt even more than it had moments ago.

Awkwardly, she explained, "I think I sprained my ankle. It hurts too much. I can't walk."

Michael kicked the man who was on the f

she said, "Okay. I'm waiting here for you. They have informed the firemen of your position. But it's too dark where you are. They're trying to locate you. Can you see me waving?"

It hard for Rachel to see the people below too. Flashing lights and people walking around made it more difficult for her to spot Lea.

The second floor was not that high, but there was some distance between the balcony and the crowd.

"Yes, I see you. Alright. Don't worry. We'll be downstairs in no time."

Puzzled, Michael looked in the direction of Rachel's gaze. It was pitch black, with a few flashes of bright light now and then. He couldn't see anything.

What did she see?

Michael and Jack didn't expect that such comforting words would come from such a cold woman. It made Jack jealous of Lea.

'Wait. Jealousy?'

Jack's facial expression changed subtly. He turned his head and pretended to look out the balcony. However, smoke coming up from downstairs and from the front of the house choked him.

Rachel stood straight and leaned on the handrail. From the other end of the line came the clear voice of a man. "Rachel, how are you feeling now? Are you hurt?"

"Lucas?"

"Yes, it's me. I..."

She interrupted him. "I'm fine. There's no need to apologize to me."

"Okay. We can talk about it once you're safe and sound downstairs."

"Okay." Rachel returned the phone to Michael.

He continued to talk on the phone. More and more smoke rose from the lower floor, and the rescue operation was yet to be completed.