“We could go together.” Natasia lifted her chin. “They might not know we had help.”

“No,” Sasha said curtly. “My rules, Natasia.”

“I might be able to make my own deal with Masenak.”

“I don’t believe you’re that selfish.” She paused. “If you are, then consider who you’re dealing with. Masenak would betray any deal in a heartbeat. You’d still be stuck here.”

She frowned. “I might still be stuck. Who’s helping you? CIA?”

“My friends. You won’t be stuck. I trust my friends.”

“I want to know more.”

“When I came in here today, you had no hope at all. And you just threatened to betray your classmates. Do you think I’d trust you with information that might hurt my friends?”

“No.” Natasia paused. “That wouldn’t be intelligent. And I would have found a way to help my friends once I was safe. I just have to think of myself first.”

“Yes, I can see that’s a priority,” she said caustically.

“And I might even be grateful to you if you manage to get me away from these monsters. They hurt me.” She looked impatiently around the tent. “I’ll do anything I can to help. How long is it going to take for this first step?”

Sasha shrugged. “It’s actually forty-seven steps. Forty-seven chains to weaken so they’ll snap. I don’t know how long. I hope by the end of tomorrow. It depends how often the guards come in to check and how long they stay. It’s not a question of how fast I can do it. It only takes a minute or two—you saw how quick I was. But it might have to happen when they’re sleeping, or if I can find another reason to be here.” She had a sudden thought. “Though I might be able to use that crack Masenak made about this tent stinking. Anyway, I have to follow my usual routine and keep as many girls as I can from knowing what I’m doing.” She grimaced. “One of them might give something away. The guards are used to me bandaging and putting ointment on the girls’ scratches and wounds, but they might be suspicious if I do too much.”

“Then you shouldn’t bother doing it,” Natasia said flatly. “We can’t trust them.”

“I didn’t think I could trust you. But I am, so if I run across one of your friends who finds out what I’m doing I’ll have to rely on you to use all that charm and influence you ooze to keep her quiet. That shouldn’t be a problem for a well-bred, popular girl like you.” She stared her in the eye. “Will it, Natasia?”

“Of course it won’t,” Natasia said sourly. “I just don’t see the sense of it, and I want everything to happen now.”