Surrogate for My Brother-in-law - Chapter 90: Chapter 90

I paced in Sable’s make-shift nursery. To anyone else, it would look like I was just trying to soothe the baby to sleep. The truth was, Sable was fast asleep. I was trying to soothe myself.
The plan had seemed simple when I devised it with Ethan and his scouts. I would get in, convince the Rogues I only cared about Sable, and locate her and Leo.
I’d done all that. The next step was to arrange to get all of us out in one piece. That was harder.
Ethan’s scout had given me a little vial before I’d left the hospital. It had my name on it, and Dr. Lee’s, so that if anyone found it I could claim it was a prescription. Something to calm my nerves.
The truth was, the vial contained a powerful sedative. I’d hoped to volunteer to help with dinner, and slip it into the meal. Unfortunately, I learned that the Rogues did not all share one communal dinner. They took shifts.
Well, knocking out some of them was better than none. I’d just have to hope no one figured it out before Ethan’s distraction.
I asked where the kitchen was. One of the Rogues shrugged and pointed me in the right direction. It wasn’t so much a kitchen as a collection of mini-fridges, microwaves, and a coffee maker stuffed into an out of the way corner.
“Are you actually volunteering to work?” Eva sneered, walking over.
I shrugged. “I want to help,” I said.
“Sure you do,” Eva rolled her eyes. “I don’t know what you’re really doing here, but I can’t wait until they catch you at it. Then you’ll really have nowhere to go.”
She flounced off, obviously not interested in doing any work herself. One of the nearby Rogues patted me on the shoulder.
“Ignore her,” he said. “She’s useless anyway. It’s good you want to pull your weight around here. You’ll get a lot farther than she does, I promise you that.”
“Oh, uh, thanks. What should I make?” I asked.
“Eh, soup’s always good. We got a camp stove over there. Grab the big pot and put in whatever looks soupy to you.”
“Okay,” I said with a smile.
Soup was perfect. With all the spices and different flavors, no one would notice the taste of the sedative. And it would be easy to pour it in while seasoning the broth.
I gathered cans of vegetables and beans, and some decent cuts of what smelled like rabbit and venison. It would make a nice stew. Too bad I couldn’t eat any of it.
I mixed the ingredients, and stirred in spices and of course, my special extra flavoring. I was tense, expecting to be grabbed at any moment, but no one even glanced my way.
The Rogue who’d instructed me how to help warmed up a tray of rolls somehow, and offered me one and an empty bowl.
“Thanks,” I said. “Is it okay if I eat in Sable’s nursery? I don’t want to leave her alone.”
“Of course,” the Rogue said, patting my shoulder. “Thanks for your help with dinner.”
“Sure, no problem,” I said.
I felt just a little guilty that this friendly Rogue was going to eat my drugged soup, but only a little. One, the drug was harmless. They’d just sleep for a while. Two, friendly or not they were part of the group that had invaded my home, hurt Ethan’s siblings, and stolen my baby.
I poured my share of soup down the drain of the bathroom sink and nibbled on the roll while I bundled Sable up to my chest. I had to be ready to run at a moment’s notice.
I waited, sure at any moment that Rory and his Rogues would burst into the nursery. No one came. I checked the time. The drug should take effect within fifteen, twenty minutes.
It was quiet outside the nursery. I decided to check. I peeked around the corner of the office area, and saw several Rogues either napping or looking for a spot to drop off.
No one seemed alarmed. Good, warm soup could make anyone sleepy, after all.
I slipped past the main area of the factory, to the area behind the stairs. I could see the door to Leo’s closet cell. There was a guard, but he was sitting against the wall with an empty bowl of soup next to him.
I strode over, trying to act confident. If I looked like I had business there, no one should question me. I checked the sleeping guard, and found a key to the closet. He snorted but didn’t wake up when I took it.
I opened the door to the closet and stepped inside.
“Tessa?” Leo whispered.
I nodded. “There’s going to be a distraction, soon. Ethan’s setting it up. Then we have to be ready to go when his scout finds us.”
“Right,” Leo said.
“I’m sorry about the stuff I said,” I told him.
“I deserved it, actually,” Leo shrugged.
“You didn’t, though. You treated me better than anyone else in the pack, except my mother and the archivists when I was little.”
“That’s… not okay,” Leo whispered. “When we get back, I am going to have a very, very long talk with your pack about how they treat their servants and the half-bloods.”
That was going to be a fun discussion. Leo sounded serious, though.
We didn’t have long to wait before there was a commotion outside the door. I don’t know what Ethan did, but it got the Rogue’s attention. Those who were still awake, anyway.
I peeked outside, and saw several Rogues running out the front door, while others tried to wake up their drugged friends. I motioned for Leo to follow me.
There was a door near the kitchen area, used to take out trash when they cooked and bring in supplies. It was supposed to be locked, but I had a feeling that wouldn’t stop one of Ethan’s scouts.
The door opened a crack, and a voice whispered, “Tessa?”
“Yeah,” I whispered back. “I’ve got Sable and Leo.”
“Great, come on.” The scout waved us through the door.
“Figured you couldn’t shift with the baby, so we’re going the long way,” the scout said. “Can you both run?”
“Yes,” Leo said.
“Great. Just follow me, and ignore any explosions you may hear behind you. All part of the plan.”
I clutched Sable close to my chest as we ran. There were, in fact, several explosions. I didn’t turn back to look.
The scout led us past several more abandoned buildings, and into the woods. I heard shouting in the distance, but no one followed us.
We reached a clearing some distance into the woods. There was an old, overgrown gravel road there. We hiked down it for a short walk, until we heard an engine approach.
I clutched Sable tightly to myself and hid behind Leo.
I relaxed, though, when I saw the car. It was Ethan’s.
“Get in,” he ordered. “They’re pretty distracted by they’ll notice you two gone soon.”
We all piled in the car.
“Where to?” Ethan asked as he drove.
“Back to the manor as fast as you can go,” Leo said.
“My place or yours?” Ethan asked.
“Mine,” Leo said. “No way is Rory going to let this go. We spoiled his plans, I’m betting the next step is an all out attack.”