by Jamie Begley
“Move your men back,” Ice yelled as Jackal keyed a number into the keypad.
After the door opened with a loud buzz, Jackal went through first, waving for Max to go through with the guard. Ice maneuvered her through the doorway when half of his men had passed to the other side. The flight of steps they came to looked daunting as they climbed downward.
They had gone down one flight when they stopped. Whatever was happening was at the front of the line, so Grace couldn’t see.
“Hang on. The shit is hitting the fan.” Ice’s menacing voice left no doubt that something had gone wrong.
She closed her eyes tightly, counting in her head to remain calm, when Ice picked her up. In the next instant, Grace thought she was falling down the steep steps. Clenching her eyes even more tightly shut, she prepared to die. Mentally, she was screaming inside her head while her lips remained silent.
As she was caught by another set of arms, her eyes opened in surprise to see Max. Jackal now held the guard in his hand as they went through an opened door on the side of the steps where chaos was reigning. Prisoners were everywhere, running up and down the halls, yelling and screaming.
Gunshots rang out.
“I guess they're through fucking around,” Ice commented as he took the lead, entering a large room. “Max, Jackal, stay with her until I can get these assholes under control.”
Max carried her to one of the tables, sitting her down in a chair. From her position, Grace saw Ice through the glass windows as he shouted at the other prisoners. Several of them had fallen to the floor with gunshot wounds. Ice, Buzzard, and two others managed to shut one of the doors, encasing her and them in the section of the prison.
Grace glanced around the room, seeing no way to escape. She was trapped in a large room with at least thirty prisoners having failed their escape. Something told her she wouldn’t make it home for Thanksgiving.
Chapter 6
“Today’s my lucky day.” Church’s loud voice startled Grace as he came into the common room. She sat still, like a mouse with a snake staring at her hungrily.
He came to where she was sitting, leaning his beefy hands on the table as he lowered his face toward her.
“You got anything to say to me?”
She was tempted to mouth off to him, but Max’s warning hand on her shoulder had her remaining silent.
“I didn’t think so. I’m surprised you haven’t pissed yourself. Maybe you have. Let me check.” He straightened, coming to her side.
“Back off.” Jackal stepped in front of her, blocking Church from touching her.
“You think you can stop me?” Church tried to bulldoze his way past Jackal, only to find himself abruptly lying on the floor. Jackal had moved so fast Grace had barely seen him deck the large man.
“I only say something once. I don’t repeat myself.” Jackal stood over the man, waiting for him to make another move.
“Calm down, brother. There’s plenty of her to go around.” Church leered at her as he got to his feet.
“I’m not your brother, and she belongs to Ice.”
Church’s face turned ruddy. “That bitch is mine.”
“Ice doesn’t share. You have a problem; take it up with him.”
While Church swung around, her own eyes searched for Ice, who was coming through the doorway with Max.
“You got a problem?” he asked, stopping in front of Church.
Church’s head jerked toward Jackal. “He said she’s your bitch. She’s mine. I don’t mind sharing, though. You can have her when I’m finished.”
Ice’s eyes went to her before coming back to rest on Church. “Now, I have a problem with that. We can deal with that later, or do you not want to get our asses out of here without getting killed?” Ice’s sarcasm had Church hesitating then nodding.
“Later,” he warned, moving aside.
Ice ignored him, coming to kneel down next to her. “You okay?”
It took a moment for her to find her voice. “Yes.”
“Stay by Max and Jackal. You need to take a piss, tell me. I don’t want to hurt you, but I’m not going to let you make trouble for me, either.” His hard gaze showed he would feel no compunction in hurting her if she didn’t listen to his warning.
Grace grabbed his arm as he was about to rise. “Please, let me go,” she begged.
“No.” Before she could say anything else, he moved away. She refused to let her frightened tears fall. She sat numbly and watched as the men gathered to the side of the room and talked with lowered voices. Then Fade broke away from the group and systematically destroyed all the cameras.
The three guards were placed in different areas of the room as the prisoners made their plans. Grace tried to listen but couldn’t hear anything. Ice seemed to be doing most of the talking with the other men cutting in frequently. The men at last seemed to come to an agreement and took their places around the room and outside in the hallway.
Buzzard dragged in two prisoners who had been shot. Neither of their wounds seemed bad, but the one they dragged into another room didn’t seem to be moving.
“Is he dead?” Grace’s voice trembled.
“As a doornail,” Max joked, sitting down next to her.
She glared at his insensitivity.
“Don’t feel too bad for the bastard. He was in here for raping his fourteen-year-old neighbor.”
Any sympathy for the man died at Max’s response.
“Most of the men have been trying to stick him for the last two months. He was set to get out next month,” he went on to explain.
Grace didn’t reply. In many ways, the judicial system sucked, and the prisoners had their own sense of honor.
While the men settled down, she wondered what they were waiting for when one of them turned on the television set on the wall.
The news was on. There was a reporter outside the prison’s wall, reporting the attempted escaped. Grace swallowed hard. When CeCe or Ross heard the news, they would immediately call her parents. They would be frightened for her safety and get on a plane immediately. Grace worried about them; it would be hard for them to deal with the danger she was in.
The reporter drew her attention.
“No one knows how many hostages they have. It has been estimated that there are three guards and a local teacher from the college who are on site, teaching a computer course. Nothing has been confirmed.”
A groan slipped past her lips.
“Family?” Max’s compassionate question had her throat growing tight.
Grace nodded, unable to take her eyes off the television. “My parents and brother. They’ll be worried sick.”
“I’ll keep you safe.” Grace turned to him, about to plead. “I follow Ice’s orders.”
Grace returned to watching the television, using it to distract her from what was happening around her. The same news kept repeating itself, however, and she quickly became bored, beginning to feel uncomfortable.
“I need to go to the restroom,” she whispered to Max, ignoring Jackal’s silent presence next to her.
He stood up, and when he did, Ice left the men he had been helping, using whatever they could to block the windows.
“She needs to use the restroom,” Jackal told Ice.
Her face turned red in embarrassment as Ice took her arm, leading her to a door on the side of the room. Opening it, he motioned her inside. She walked in, seeing a toilet and sink.
“Hurry up.”
Grace jumped as he closed the door behind her. She used the toilet as fast as she could, afraid he would open the door, then hurriedly washed her hands. As soon as she turned off the water, the door opened. Their eyes met as she walked toward him. He didn’t try to hide his gaze from traveling down the length of her body, lingering on her breasts.
Ice didn’t move away from the doorway as she drew closer.
“Don’t worry so much. I’m not going to let anyone touch you.” His words weren’t reassuring.
Grace took a step back waiting f
or him to move from the doorway, not wanting to get too close. “Does that mean you, too?”
“I don’t make promises I can’t keep.” Giving her a cold smile, he moved away from the doorway, giving her room to slide by. He took her back to the table where Jackal and Max were waiting.
“Be good.” With his warning, he went back to fortifying the windows.
“There’s no way they’re going to let you men out of here.”
Their amusement showed, but they didn’t talk to her, both watching the television screen.
In the brief minutes she had been in the bathroom, the news had updated. Now it showed the many police cars and tactical teams surrounding the prison.
A man was giving a statement, and across the bottom of the screen it stated he was in charge of the prison.
He quieted the reporters before speaking, stating without emotion that, inside the prison, there were four hostages, three of which were guards and lastly her. He released her name and said her family had been notified and were in transit, bringing her fears to realization. Her parents and brother were on their way to the scene she was watching on the television.
He ended by saying he would give more information when available.
“Short and sweet,” Ice said, coming to the table. “Want to bet he’ll be looking for a new job when this is over?”
“Won’t touch that one,” Jackal said. “Church settle down?”
“For now. He’s not happy and will be waiting for the chance to take control. Nothing we didn’t expect.”
“It helps that most of his men are locked away in their cells.” Jackal grinned. The scar that ran the length of his cheek made him seem even more sinister. She didn’t want to know how scary he would look when he was actually happy.
“Hungry?” Max asked. Ice didn’t seem to care if she ate or not. Max, on the other hand, wanted to make her comfortable and not as afraid.
“Yes,” Grace admitted. She had planned to get something to eat after class, which was two hours ago now.
“I’ll get it.” Max left and Ice took his seat. It only took a few moments before he was back with a soda and a pack of peanut butter crackers for her. She opened them gratefully and bit into one.
“Aren’t you going to eat?”
“No.”
Grace realized that, with them trapped inside, there wouldn’t be much food available. They could get water out of the bathroom sink, but the food was probably limited to a lone vending machine. With thirty men closeted in the room, it wouldn’t last long.
She tore open the package and pushed a cracker toward each of the three men. The men didn’t try to pick it up, just stared at her.
“Eat it,” Grace encouraged. “I’m not that hungry,” she said, taking the last one for herself. She told herself she got the extra cracker because it was their fault she was there.
Each of the men except Ice picked up their cracker, chewing it while they watched the news footage. Grace reached back over and took it back; she didn’t know why she had given the asshole one in the first place.
Grace almost choked on the last bite of the cracker when CeCe’s face filled the screen.
“Ms. Clark, you are a teacher at the college. Are you acquainted with Ms. Andrews?”
“Yes, we both teach in the computer department. Not only that, but we're good friends.” CeCe smiled seductively at the camera.
“Can you tell us how she may be reacting to the dangerous situation she has found herself in?”
“I’m sure she’s very frightened. We all are for her. Her boyfriend’s on his way to the prison.”
“Boyfriend?” the reporter latched onto the new information.
“Yes, Professor Jones. He teaches in the English department. He’s very quiet-natured, but you know what they say about still waters running deep.” She winked at the camera.
“I’m going to kill her,” Grace said through clenched teeth.
“You have a boyfriend?” Ice snapped.
“No! I went out on one date with him last weekend,” Grace explained, not knowing why. It was none of his business.
His angry posture didn’t relax as CeCe kept talking.
“Your friend has a big mouth,” Jackal said, listening as CeCe told everyone the black car in the parking lot the helicopter footage kept showing was Grace’s.
“Do you think they’ll make their escape?” CeCe asked the reporter.
The reporter didn’t know how to answer, turning the microphone away from CeCe, who refused to stay quiet. “If you can hear me, stay strong, Grace. I know you’ll come out alive. Make friends with your captors.” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
Grace covered her face with her hands.
“She’s a friend of yours?” Ice asked.
Grace heard the men laughing. “Not anymore.”
Ice shook his head, rising from the table. “Too bad she wasn’t the one sent to teach the class.”
A noise from the hallway had him turning on his heel and running out to see what was happening.
Smoke began coming down the hallway. Men tore their shirts off, stuffing them in the cracks and the bottom of the door.
Ice came to the doorway. “Bring Jackson.”
Jackal immediately jumped to his feet, going to the table at the back of the room where he jerked the guard to his feet. Jackal and Fade both dragged the man into the hallway to the one camera facing the steel door.
Ice took him from Jackal, placing a cord around his neck. “If you don’t stop, I’ll kill him.” Ice began tightening the cord, and Jackson struggled and gasped for breath.
Grace jumped to her feet to run to Jackson, but Max caught her before she could take two steps.
“Stop!” she yelled over the prisoner’s yells of “Do it! Do it!” Ice’s hard face left her no doubt he would kill Jackson. “Stop!”
The smoke stopped and Ice released the gasping guard, letting him fall limply to the floor.
Ice stared into the camera without expression. “Try that again, and next time, it’s the woman.”
Chapter 7
“Come here.”
Grace rose unsteadily to her feet. She had been sitting so long she was stiff. She had been trying to get comfortable for the last hour, and she must have dozed off while sitting up because she hadn’t heard Ice approach. She hadn’t looked at him since he had threatened to kill her. He took her arm and led her to the back of the room.
She didn’t know what she was staring at. Several chairs had been placed in a row with others turned over, sitting on top. A long, blue mat had been laid on the floor.
“Lay down,” Ice ordered, breaking into her confusion. That woke her up quickly.
She jerked away from his restraining hold, but he jerked her back toward him until her breasts were pressed flat against his chest.
“I have to get a couple of hours’ sleep. My men are going to keep watch. Now, lie down.”
His hard voice brought frightened tears to her eyes, but she lay down on the thin mat next to the wall. Lying down next to her, Ice placed his arm over his eyes. “Go to sleep.”
She didn’t know how he expected her to go to sleep with him lying next to her. She lay there rigidly, listening to his breathing slow down, staring at the ceiling as she thought about her parents and brother.
“Go to sleep.”
“I can’t.” Her voice trembled, despite trying to clear her throat several times.
“Fuck.” Ice rolled over, taking her in his arms and pillowing her head on his shoulder. “I’m not going to touch you; I prefer women begging me to fuck them not cringing in fear.” His low voice comforted her, even though his words were crude and he was the one responsible for her being trapped inside the prison.
Grace, unable to control her fears any longer, let her tears escape. Her body shook as she cried. Ice pulled her closer, soothing her by running a hand up and down her back until the storm had passed and she lay quietly exhausted next to him.
“
Better?”
“Yes, thank you.”
She felt his chest shake against her.
She raised her head, looking questioningly at him. “What’s so funny?”
“You are. You’ve kept it cool all day.”
“I didn’t want to cry in front of everyone.”
“But it’s okay to cry in front of me?” Grace felt the sudden tension between them at his question.
She pulled away slightly, relaxing her head back on his shoulder. “I trust you,” she admitted softly.
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Maybe because of Church, and because you gave me that note telling me to stay away. You tried to warn me, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“I should have listened.” Regret filled her voice.
“Yes, you should have, but it’s too late now.”
“I know. My family will be worried sick.”
“They’ll get through this, and you will, too. If you let me get some sleep.” Ice took his arm away, rolling over to give her his back.
“I’m going to hold you to that promise.” She stared at the tattoo on his back, Predators was inked in bold letters with a large Grim Reaper underneath. Grace wasn’t reassured by his promise.
“You do that.”
Grace closed her eyes. This time, she managed to fall asleep.
Sometime later, she woke when a tiny flicker of sunlight shown on her face. Sitting up on the matt, she heard the men talking and moving around the room. She got to her feet, coming from behind the barrier to see Max and Jackal were both standing nearby.
“I need to use the restroom.” Jackal turned his head.
Ice, who was talking to Fade, broke away and came to her.
“She needs to go to the restroom,” Jackal told him.
“Okay.” While Ice walked across the room with her, she felt the prisoners’ eyes on her with greater intensity this morning.
She paused before going into the restroom. “Did something happen while I was sleeping?”
“No. Why?” Ice’s voice was curt.
“The men are all staring at me.”
Ice surveyed her critically. “Your hair came loose while you slept, and you took off your jacket. You look like you’ve just been fucked. The men haven’t had a woman in a long time, so they’re going to stare. As long as they don’t touch, you shouldn’t have a problem with it.”