“Did you have a relationship with her?”
He shook his head. “No. She dropped me off at my father’s doorstep when I was a baby. Said I was too evil and vile. So Hades let me run around his domain with ghosts and Charon to raise me. When I was thirteen, I ran away to come to Earth and never looked back.”
Underneath his words, I catch the hint of resentment. Like me, he’s probably searched for his human mother and never found her. I squeeze his hand. “Despite my grams, I always felt like I was alone in the world too. She didn’t beat me or anything, but she always had this veil between us, like she held most of herself back. I felt closer to teachers than I did her growing up.” I shake my head, swallowing down the lump in my throat. “Which is why I wanted to be a teacher. That dream is kinda smashed to pieces.”
Xanth turns to me, snatching my chin in his hand and forcing me to look up at him. “Then you find a new dream or change your existing one. I know you were teaching one of your roommates how to read.”
I blink back tears. “Yeah, but haven’t had much time for that lately.” Before I start crying over the loss of my freedom, I need to change the subject. “Who attacked you? Weren’t there other guards around to come and help you?”
Or was he more of an outsider like me than I thought.
He drops his hand. “These were different guards. Blue uniforms rather than the standard prison gray.”
“What does that mean?” I’d only seen gray guards like Xanth in the prison.
“They work directly for the Warden. An elite team that answers to no god or goddess and keeps him safe and carries out any agenda he wishes without repercussions.”
“That’s horrible. But why did they come after you?” Was it because of the hidden cameras in his wall?
He meets my gaze, his deep, dark eyes drawing me in. “You.”
“Me?” I squeak out.
“Remember? I read the last memories of Skul, a gift I have from my father, and saw you were the last person to see him alive. And I know about Nelos and his fire beast.”
My insides freeze over, and at first I lose my voice.
He knows.
O.M.G. He knows.
“It’s not his fault,” I rush out, not thinking but apparently, I’m going with the defense strategy according to my blabbermouth. “The Warden sends him assassination orders and—”
“And he sent you to see Skul?” His words are clipped and the hairs on the back of my neck prickle.
I nod.
“That fucking asshole, I’ll kill him.”
I place my hand on Xanth’s arm. “We don’t know the Warden is responsible.”
“But he knew about Nelos and his firepower, right?”
“Yes, except if he wanted me dead like that, there are a hundred other ways. Including offering a deal to my three cellmates and turning a blind eye.” Or the fighting pits. God, I never want to have to be in them again.
Xanth rakes a hand through his dark hair. “You could’ve been hurt.”
“I wasn’t.” Though I had been shaken up, admitting that wouldn’t gain Nelos any points with Xanth and I didn’t want any of them fighting each other. “Why would the Warden have his special guards attack you unless he knew you weren’t telling him the truth?”
“Yeah. I didn’t incriminate you or Nelos.” He says the last name with a groan.
“Thank you.” I kiss him on the cheek softly.
An alarm blares overhead, and I jump back. “What’s that?”
“Fuck.” Xanth stands and buttons up his shirt. “We gotta get you back to your cell.”
“What? Why?” Not that I have any reason to think I can stay with him here all night, as much as I’d prefer that to sleeping on the floor in my cell. I am a prisoner and he’s a guard working for someone who might want me dead. I shiver and press my arms across my stomach as reality punches me right in the chest. Why does anyone want me dead? Sure, I accidentally killed a god, but it was an accident, and I would never hurt anyone.
“They’re doing random cell checks. Shit, I forgot. We need to get you to yours stat.” He grabs my elbow and limps to the door, dragging me with him.
“But your injuries—”
“I’m fine. You’ll have worse if they catch you outside your cell at lockdown.”
I swallow hard and let him lead me down the corridors. He pushes me behind a column before two guards stroll past. I squeeze my eyes shut, wishing I could turn invisible.
They leave after exchanging a few words with Xanth.
Finally, we arrive at my cell, and Xanth unlocks my door. I dash inside, feeling like I’ve run a marathon non-stop with how hard I’m breathing, and the bars clang closed behind me. Xanth spins on his heel and leaves. No wave or smile, but I know he’s playing his role for the guard that’s marching his way.
“This one's count is right,” he calls to the other guard.
“Good. Let’s hurry up and finish, I owe you a beer for taking my shift the other day.”
They disappear down the hall, and I let myself slide down to the floor. Crymson and Lene gawk at me from their triple bunkbeds while Everly clicks her tongue. They’re awake. Of course they would be after that alarm, and now I feel their eyes on me, their questions will come soon enough, and I’m not sure I’m ready for them. I want to curl up and disappear.
“Someone’s been up to some extracurricular activities,” one of them groggily said, but right now with my head blurry, I couldn’t tell.
I don’t have time to deal with them when someone wants to kill me.
“Tell me, is he rough during sex?” she continues. “Man, I love dominating men, you know the kind that ties you up and fuck your brains out.”
“Shut up, Everly.” Crymson defends me while Lene leans on a bent arm, watching and listening, being entertained.
“Oh, shut the hell up, you horn bag. Can’t you see she’s spooked by something.”
“It’s okay, Crymson,” I say, grateful that she even tried to stand-up for me.
I can’t do this, so I sit down with my back to the wall and hug my bent knees. “I’m just going to go to sleep,” I say, but no one responds. They are all in their bed, and I welcome the silence as I close my eyes.
The next day, I keep my head down and shuffle out into the hallway with the rest of the prisoners, making my way to the cafeteria for lunch. Breakfast came and went, and the days start to blend into one another when I do the same thing. Everly shoves me out of the way and cuts in line. Part of me wants to push her back, but she owns our cell, and she’s always been temperamental. I have enough crap to deal with to not add her to my list. It’s easier to just let Everyln think she’s the boss and let her have her way in simple things.
In the mess hall, I grab the chunky oatmeal and raisins and sit alone at the end of one of the tables. Quickly, I shovel the cold, tasteless goo into my mouth.
“Hey, god-killer,” a guard marches to me with a scowl on his face, “get up.”
“Why?”
His baton smacks against the edge of the table, and I jump, my heart pounding. “This ain’t no spa... I say get up, and you fucking get up.”
I stand up on shaky legs, dropping my plastic utensils. The entire cafeteria is quiet and pulses with a tangible energy that jabs against me. They’re all looking my way.
“Come on,” he snarls.
My legs shake as I follow his gesture out of the cafeteria, and fear tangles in my chest about what this is all about. “Where are we going?”
His snicker makes me grow cold inside. “Warden has some questions he wants to ask you.”
I falter in my steps and hurry to catch up before the guard decides to see if he can splinter his baton on me. My mind whirls. What if he doesn’t believe me that I didn’t get a chance to speak to Skul and has me beaten like he did Xanth? I shudder a breath, my chest tightening.
This is really bad, and I can’t help but feel like I’m being led to the gallows.
By the time we reac
h the Warden’s office, I’m nearly hyperventilating, and my body is trembling. All the oatmeal I was able to chug down threatens to spew. I swallow hard to keep it down.
The guard knocks, then opens the door, then shoves a hand to my back. I stumble inside.
The Warden stands at the corner of his desk, his hands in fists. His expression is like he’d rather be doing anything else than questioning me. Or maybe he’s resigned to having me punished if I don’t give him the answers he wants. A shiver tracks up my spine.
“You’ve disappointed me, Shaye.” His shoulders tighten and his blazer pulls tight across his chest, while his eyes narrow in on me. “Skul is dead. And I doubt you spoke with him before he perished.” Despite his low voice, his words punch, and I’m shaking, taking in shallow breaths, just wanting him to do what he’s going to do and not drag it out.
“I-I—” I lick my dry lips, my heart clawing into my throat. If I don't come up with something, he is going to hurt me. I wrack my brain for something… anything, and I know close to zero about Skul, except he worked in the boiler room and he had some freaking scary cellmates. “You’re right, but... w-what about his cellmates?”
The Warden’s eyes narrow. “Go on.”
“They seem like they were close to him.” They were close to retribution despite nearly everyone else in this place being loyal only to themselves. Which makes little sense that they wouldn’t be the same, so what if I am onto something with this? Otherwise, what did they have to gain for attacking me if Skul is dead, unless they were protecting something else. “I think they may know something about Project X.”
“Why do you think so?” His thick eyebrows drew together as he studied me with scrutiny like he saw me making shit up on the spot. Except, I do think I might be onto something.
Now, I couldn’t reveal that they beat me up because I had no lingering injuries after Rowan had given me that Circe healing vial. And something told me that would get Rowan in trouble if the Warden found out he knew about the potion. “I went to Skul’s cell to poke around, but his cellmates stopped me. Why would they care unless maybe they know something or are hiding that something in his cell.” Yeah, I am throwing them under the bus, but fuck those bastards.
The Warden rubbed his chin. His blue eyes brightened as his gray eyebrows rose. “Fine. I will give you two days and not one second more. If you don’t have anything by then, our deal is off.” He sits at his desk, opening a file and picking up a pen and signing something. “Now go... my patience lies thin.”
On stiff legs, I hurry out of his office. I lean against the wall and force in a shaky breath.
Two days.
Not much time to figure out about Project X.
How the heck am I going to find out information from those pricks without them killing me if they catch me snooping around.
I cringe on the inside, and the ache in my gut grows at how deep a hole I keep digging myself into.
But there is no need to do this alone, is there? I have three guys who are more than happy to butt into my life, so maybe it’s my turn to ask them for a favor.
Because after the welcome I got after unintentionally getting too close to Skul’s cell, I doubt his cellmates will roll out the welcome mat for me.
With the three guy’s help, we can find out something before the deadline.
Fuck!
Two days.
Why not give me until Friday or— I stumble to a stop, my hand going to my mouth— the fight ring. It has to be why.
Bastard.
I rush down the hallway, looking for Nelos or Rowan or Xanth and praying I’m wrong. Because I barely survived the first time in the pit, I doubt I’ll get lucky enough for a second time.
Chapter Seventeen
Shaye
I seriously have no idea what I’m going to do, but I know I’m not going to get far alone. I need help and the only ones in this place that will talk to me are Nelos, Rowan, and Xanth. And I can’t believe I let myself fall into the arms of all three of them. My face heats at the things we’ve done. I mean, yeah, I dated after Nelos and I broke up. But it was never the same. No other boyfriend gave me good chills or curled my toes like these men. I don’t even want to think about choosing one, as that makes my stomach hurt even harder than the thought of going back into the fighting pit. The thing is, at the back of my mind, I have every intention of keeping all three, and the hard part is just making sure they all agree. I must be going mad to have such thoughts.
I hurry back to the cafeteria. I might be able to catch at least one of the guys in there before breakfast ends because I have no idea of any of their schedules. Up until now, I’ve either bumped into them or they’ve searched me out.
Prisoners drift out of the cafeteria, some going into the courtyard to work out while others linger talking among themselves. My gaze darts over the multitude of heads and more than half the tables are empty. There is a cluster of guards at various points in the room, but I don’t see Xanth with any of them or any sign of Nelos or Rowan.
I rush to the outer courtyard. I need to find at least one of them now and they can help me get the other two. There are only a few minutes left before we’re broken down into groups and I won’t see any of them unless Xanth comes to my block. Though, I can’t count on that. The Warden is angry with him or he wouldn’t have sent his personal guards to attack him so I’ve no idea if Xanth will be able to come and go as usual or if something worse will happen to him. Bile burns the back of my throat. In this hellhole, anything is possible. My nerves frayed and I feel like I’ve swallowed glass shards as I push my feet forward and outside.
Dozens of inmates push weights around or do insane star jumps that make my boobs hurt just watching them. One guy is doing chin-ups on the bar. His prison shirt is off, and symbols cover his back. No, not symbols. Runes.
“Rowan?” I gasp out and my feet move forward like there’s a magnet in my legs.
Two men step between Rowan and me. One sucks on his teeth. “No one wants you here, god-killer.”
Another guy with a large stomach joins them. All of them have shaved heads with a spade tattoo covering half their face.
“Don’t you have something better to do than waste the lady’s time?” Rowan claps the tallest one on the shoulder.
He winks at me and I can't stop my smile. Being in his presence warms me up inside, though it does surprise me he has a posse covering for him. He carries a lot of sway in this joint.
The overweight guy spits and it lands on my cheek. "Fucking cunt. She's a god-killer, we shoul—"
I sneer at him, wiping my cheek with the sleeve of my top. Dickhead.
Rowan locks an arm around the guy's neck and squeezes. The man’s eyes bulge and he’s frantically clawing at Rowan’s arm.
My heart pounds in my chest because if this turns into a bigger fight, there's a helluva good chance Rowan will end up in solitary again and I can't have that. I need his help.
“Please, Rowan, let him go.” I give him what I hope is a pleading look. “We need to talk about something really important and breaking these guys’ necks won’t help.”
“You heard the lady.” Rowan chuckles and pushes the man away from him. “But if I catch you messing with her again, you’ll wish all I do is break your limbs.”
The three of them pale and nod, but it doesn’t stop them from sneering back with a look of contempt in their gazes. My guess is they are lower demi-gods than him not to balk at his threat.
Rowan rakes a hand through his dark hair and flashes me a smile that makes my knees weak. “So what do you wish to talk about, beautiful?”
“Not here.” I grab his shirt and tug him back inside with me. “We have to find the others.”
He stops, and I spin around. “What others?”
“Nelos and Xanth.” I push my hair out of my eyes, dreading that this will turn into a huge argument.
“Nelos is a maybe, I’m only working with him because of you. But a guard, one of Hades’ off
spring, no fucking way.”
I sigh. “We don’t have time for this,” I lower my voice.
“Look, if you want me to do something that naturally goes against my instincts, I’m going to need more than you pouting lips trying to sway me. I need details.”
“I’ll explain everything to you all at one time. Please don’t make me have to repeat myself three different times.”
He stares at me with doubt, a brow rising. Not that I can blame him, but time just isn’t on my side.
Two fucking days. That’s what I have left.
“Please just trust me on this. Can you do that for me?” I plead, taking his hand in mine. “If you don’t agree, then you walk away.”
Rowan's expression is empty, giving nothing away. I bet he’s exceptional at poker. “Little bird, I’m half tempted to throw you over my lap and spank the answers out of you for thinking in any way that me walking into anything blind makes me happy. So I want you to know I am putting faith in you, and depending on how this ends, you may still end over my lap.”
I blink at him, unsure how to respond at first as I unpack his words in my mind. But he gives me no time as he quickly follows up his comment.
“All right. Are we doing this?”
As though he had a sixth sense, Rowan leads me to the laundry room and that’s where we find Nelos sorting through clothes on their duty. Two other prisoners are with him, but the guard is watching a movie on his phone and doesn’t notice us peeking inside.
Rowan motions to him, but it’s not until he looks past Rowan to me that Nelos’ eyes widen. I motion to my ripped shirt and he snatches a clean one up before slipping across the room unnoticed by the guard to us.
“Shaye, are you okay?” he asks in a whisper outside the room, cupping the sides of my face, then glaring over at Rowan.
“Not really.” I take the orange prison shirt for him and trade it for my ripped one.
Sinful Gods: Paranormal Romance (Hell's Playground Series Book 2) Page 10