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I’m hoping it isn’t too difficult to sway them.
“So, your plan is to bring a bunch of inmates into some sewers where we don’t know where they end up. Then you want us to come back, open the gates to let out hundreds of bloodthirsty and criminal men, all so we can find Ana and get her back from the guards and you can ride off into the sunset?” Theo finishes.
I nod. Yup. That’s my plan. Best one I got, and if we have more help we can get through down there faster.
“Why would we do that?” Emilio asks a bit petulantly. “It’s a big risk.”
“Because the guards now know how to make us do anything they want. And you know you sure as fuck ain’t ever leaving this place, so I think I’m probably your best chance. Better hope we don’t leave you behind, old man.” I grit my teeth, my annoyance obvious. We don’t have time for this shit. Emilio pales considerably and nods.
“Okay,” he says, “but I get to take three men with me—no, four.”
“Done.” I turn to Luis and he nods. He’s always been too good for this place anyways.
“I trust you Ax, even though you’re an asshole, you’ve always done right by us in my opinion,” he replies. I turn to Theo who is watching me skeptically. Really, I don’t need him. He represents people I am not bringing into the sewers, and really is more of a detriment than anything. But, he’s Ana’s.
“Somehow I don’t think it’s us you have to worry about,” Theo says wryly, “The skinhead folk are gonna be mighty sore at you, if they aren’t already. The druggies will be even more pissed once they find out their stashes aren’t coming back, and that’s not to mention everyone else.”
Exhaling deeply through my nose, I turn my back to them.
“Suppose we’d best start a riot then.”
Twenty Seven
Ana
Four stone walls with a single tiny barred window, a door and a drain in one corner. No bed, blanket, pillow or anything even somewhat resembling comfort. It reminds me of the solitary cell Ax and I spent a night in, minus the overwhelming smell of sewage. Thank fuck for small blessings.
Despite the barren setting, Sammi seemed to have no problem curling up in one corner and falling asleep after our pitiful meal of stale bread, but I haven’t been so lucky. Then again she’s been here for longer so perhaps she’s used to it. I have no idea what her home living situation looks like.
Hugging my knees, I think of what I wouldn’t give to have Ax’s arms around me right now. A small shiver travels up my spine, reminding me of how warm I felt every night wrapped up in him. It’s strange I spent so many years avoiding being under the rule of men and here I am wishing for nothing but my man to keep me safe. So many years alone, and now all I want is him beside me.
My man…
It’s been so busy the last month or so since I took over. I’ve been so distracted and stressed with running The Tomb. Now that I’m here, that time feels wasted. Minutes and hours and days I should have spent with Ax. I feel a tear fall from my eye and immediately wipe it away, frowning.
Self-pity never helped anyone, and it sure as fuck won’t help me get free.
Not able to sleep or sit around any longer, I take some time to inspect the room despite its bare appearance. Pushing on the walls, reaching up to try to touch the bars on the window and, of course, inspecting the lock on the door.
No loose pieces to make a weapon or even a lock pick, no loose bricks or stones. This room is exactly how it looks.
Nothing. Literally, nothing.
My eyes travel up to the window that shows the smallest hint of sky from this angle. I can tell it’s almost dawn, the sky has that unique look it gets right before it begins to lighten. Still dark and still black, yet it’s clear the briefest hint of light has begun to touch it. I feel a small smile grace my lips when I realize that could be a perfect analogy for Ax and me. Although I know he thinks of me as his light, the thing that pulled him back from darkness and an addiction to cutting, but really, he was the one who saved me. His blackness blotted out the nastiness of my past and gave me, for the first time, a small glimpse of hope for the future.
I’ve told him I loved him, but I wish I had told him how much his love in return truly meant. That I would have spent my life inside that hellhole, if it meant I was spending it with him.
A noise from outside the door breaks me from my melancholy. When I hear the telltale jangle of key’s my eyes widen and I rush over, shaking Sammi awake none too gently.
“Someone’s coming,” I whisper, and I immediately see the fear in her eyes as she sits up.
The door opens and we both have to shield our eyes for a moment from the bright light coming from the other side. I blink a few times before I get a more solid view of Hinkley himself standing there. Stepping into the doorway, he looks over both of us before stopping his eyes on me. The growing grin on his face doesn’t reach his eyes and I feel a small glimmer of fear Sammi was wrong about their intentions. In this moment, the man standing in front of me is infinitely more terrifying than the unknown traffickers.
“You,” he says, the smile never leaving his face. “Come on, we gotta talk.”
I stand unmoving as he turns and steps out of the cell. My eyes dart to Sammi who looks downright petrified.
“Find a place in your head,” she whispers, “to block it out.”
