Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
“So you’re going to do it?” I ask. Wilson was hell to deal with before. When we get back to our cells, he’s going to kneel on our backs with a promotion behind him.
“There are options.”
Kinkaid, who was leaning against the wall, straightens. “Options?”
“Lory goes home today.”
“NO.” The word is out of my mouth before I consider what I’m saying. Hyde studies me, his mouth quirking like he’s worked out a secret, and he finds it amusing.
Kinkaid lifts his chin. “We want her to stay.”
Grady rubs his jaw. “Then, you make Wilson understand what’ll happen to him when you get released if he spills the secret.”
“No.” This time, Lory’s voice cuts through the silence, ringing out with determination. “They did that already,” she says. “Repeating it will only put us all in more danger.”
Kinkaid and Hyde stare at her like she’s grown another head. Is she seriously defending us? Thinking about our wellbeing?
“This is your arrangement,” she says to Grady. “I want to get paid. These men deserve their reward. You need to find a way to deal with Wilson.”
Grady eyes the tiny woman he bought at auction with fascination. His mouth twitches. “People don’t often surprise me.”
Kinkaid shakes his head, staring at Lory as she blushes.
“I’m sorry if I spoke out of turn, but these men shouldn’t have to defend their position when you have all the power.”
“Don’t’ be sorry.” Kinkaid’s lips twitch at the corners, and he shakes his head again. “You speak your mind, Lory. And that’s good.”
“You’re the only man who’s ever thought that.” She shrugs as color tints her cheeks. “My last boyfriend used to call me a mouthy bitch.”
“Yeah, well, he was a fucking idiot,” I tell her. “You speak your mind whenever you need to.”
Grady watches us with watery eyes, sharp and calculating beneath his weathered exterior. He misses nothing. It only takes him a single glance to assess a situation, his instincts honed from years of managing this place. That awareness is one of the reasons this prison runs as smoothly as it does. Grady sees the points of friction before they fully form, and while he can’t prevent every conflict, he’s always one step ahead, doing his best to keep the chaos at bay. His presence commands respect, not through intimidation, but through his uncanny ability to read people and act before things spiral out of control.
“Can I check my phone?” Lory asks. She steps forward before he has a chance to leave, maybe worried that Grady will prevent her after her outburst.
He pulls it out of his pocket again. This time, when Lory powers up the phone and taps into her message app, her face falls, and any color she had in her cheeks fades to gray. The hand holding the phone trembles, and her shoulders hitch as she curls forward like she’s been kicked in the gut.
“Lory.” I hold out my hand to cup her elbow, and when she turns to me, fat tears are sliding down her cheeks. “What is it?”
“My sister.” She stares down at the phone again. “She’s had to run.”
“From who?”
“Her boyfriend.”
“Does she have someplace to go?” Kinkaid asks.
Lory shakes her head and swipes at her tears with her knuckles, sucking in a deep breath and holding it tight like it’s the only thing that’s going to keep her upright. “She’s found a refuge.”
“That’s good,” I say. “They’ll help her.”
“You don’t understand,” Lory says. “He won’t stop looking. She’s not safe if she stays close.”
Grady holds his hand out for the phone, and I want to punch him. “I can’t stay down here for much longer,” he explains. “I have a meeting.”
Lory powers off the phone and hands it back, wiping away more tears.
Grady strides to the door, leaving us staring after him as he exits.
Then I gather Lory into my arms and let her cry.
She told us she was here because of family stuff. I’m guessing her sister’s relationship issues are behind her decision to enter the auction. She sold herself to help her sister escape.
The realization tears at me from the inside.
This situation is fucked, but isn’t that what happens when we do wrong? It snowballs until everything’s out of control. It doesn’t matter how much Whitaker deserved what we did. His stain runs through everything that’s happened since. The world is fucked up when a woman’s only option is to sell her body to rescue her sister. It’s just plain fucked up.
She clings to me, panting softly with each stifled sob, and Hyde and Kinkaid crowd us, resting their hands on her body.
“It’s okay, Lory,” Hyde whispers. “It’ll be okay. She’ll be okay.”
Kinkaid meets my gaze, shaking his head as he grits his teeth. He’s thinking the same as I am. It’s fucked that we’re in here and are powerless to help. If we were free, we’d all get in a car and drive out to that refuge. We’d find a safe place for Lory’s sister and help Lory in whatever way we could. In here, all we have is our bodies and words to offer comfort.