by T. Aleo
He gives me a dry look. “I won’t get out. Clearly. Someone will catch me.”
“No, no, they won’t. I’ve got a plan.”
He doesn’t seem impressed by my proclamation. “You do?”
Swallowing hard, I nod. “Sure do.”
He rolls his eyes. “And how does this plan play out?”
I clear my throat, my uncertain gaze locked with his challenging one as silence stretches between us. “Well…” I pause, looking down as I rack my brain for a plan. Just like that, it dawns on me. “Hopefully, I can find the code before my father comes home with JJ and Oceanus. Then we can go up through the bastille, you shift into Cyrus, and we go to my room. You go through my window, out onto the lawn, and take off. No one is ever on my side of the house because it faces the river and they feel no one can get in. Shift into the Olympic swimmer of your choice, and you’re good.”
He chuckles as he shakes his head. “You came up with that on the fly.”
I grin. “No. I’ve had it planned out for days.”
“Sure,” he sings, and his voice is laced with disbelief. “And if your father is home?”
His question has me pause once more, racking my brain further. I know he isn’t going to like what I say, but it’s the only way. “Cyrus is supposed to be talking to my father when he gets back. He thinks I need more space. Surely I can get some, and I’ll tell JJ to go get lunch or something. Or maybe I’ll just get Cyrus to ‘watch me,’ which really means he’ll be busy eating.”
“Or getting high,” he suggests and I pause.
“What?”
He grins. “What? You don’t know that Cyrus is a stoner?”
I think that over for a moment. “No wonder that guard didn’t seem fazed by the idea I was high,” I say out loud, and Ryland laughs. Well, learn something new every day. Shaking my head, I say, “Anyway, I’ll come down when I’m off to see the other prisoners, I come get you, you shift into Colin—”
His hand comes up, stopping me. “Colin Conner, my half brother?”
I nod slowly. “Yes.”
“Your ex.”
I bite into my lip, and I’m unsure why I don’t want to answer that, but I don’t. “Yes.”
“Why him?”
“’Cause my father knows we have history, and as much as he doesn’t like him, he won’t question him going to my room, nor will JJ.”
His face darkens, his eyes blazing with anger as he holds my gaze. “Because you two have been to your room before?”
“No, not my room.”
“But you have been with him?”
I swallow hard as I nod. “I have.”
Nodding, he turns, his shoulders taut as he motions me on. “So I change into your ex, my brother, and then what?”
“You’re mad.”
He scoffs. “Mad? Furious, actually.”
“Ryland, you were dead—”
“You think I don’t know that?” he roars, causing me to jump. “It kills me to know he’s touched you. I hate him, Rebekah, for the simple reason he’s had you and I haven’t.”
Silence stretches between us, our gazes locked, our breathing hard. I have no clue what to say. I won’t apologize, I did nothing wrong, yet a part of me wants to apologize. I look away for only a second, and when I look up, he’s standing in front of me. I gasp as his hands come out, and he brings me in close, his fingers threading through my hair as our foreheads touch only slightly because of the bars.
“I’m sorry, my sweet Bekka,” he whispers against my lips. “I wanted to be the first and last man ya ever touched.”
Pressing his nose into mine, he swallows hard as his eyes search mine. “That would have been ideal,” I whisper.
He smiles, his eyes burning into mine, and my heart hurts. “What was the rest of your plan?” he asks, his breath so sweet on my lips that my eyes fall shut slowly.
“Same as before, you jump out the window and swim off, away from this place. And don’t you dare come back for anything.”
When I open my eyes, his squeeze closed, his face twisting in agony. While I know that when he does jump out my window and disappear into the river, I’ll never see him again. I wonder if it pains him as much as it does me. As his eyes open, they are so soft—not as hard and dark as they usually are—and I’m curious to know if he’s thinking the same thing I am.
“As much as I want out of here,” he whispers, his breath harsh against mine as I find myself frozen in place, “I can’t fathom saying good-bye to you.”
My eyes drift closed as I nod, my nose moving against his, my breath coming out in spurts. “I can’t either. I just got you back.”
“I’d stay if I could, and I will, until I know you’re really safe. That Christiana and Thomas will stay away. Know that I’ll do everything I can to protect ya, but no one can ever know your family has had me here.”
“I know.”
“And ya know I don’t want to leave.”
“I know.” My voice breaks, my heart doing the same as tears try to escape my eyes. It isn’t fair; I don’t want him to go. I don’t want to never see him again, but then… Opening my eyes, I meet his as I say, “Maybe I can leave once the formula works, and I can come to you.”
His lips curve, his eyes holding mine as he nods. “I’d love that.”
“We can finish what we started.”
“Finish?” he asks, his eyes darkening. “No, never finish. It will just be getting started once more, and when that happens, you best believe it will never end, my beautiful Rebekah von Stein.”
My lips curve even more. “Yeah?”
“Yeah, because you’ll be mine forever,” he whispers, his brogue thickening with the words and making me breathless.
Searching his eyes, I can’t even begin to understand how he doesn’t realize I’ve always been his. Is it right? In other people’s eyes, no. But in mine, it’s perfect. So much time has passed. So many hours, days, months, years, and yet, as I stare into his eyes, no amount of time can ever diminish what I feel for him. “I’m yours already.”
As his face breaks into a grin, my eyes shut as I press my lips to his, needing the feel of him. As much as I wanted to believe that the kiss from yesterday was just us rekindling a memory, I know that isn’t the case. Our bodies are meant to be one, our lips fit together, and the bond we share can never be broken.
I will find him once I am cured.
And I will be with him.
I don’t care what anyone says.
He is worth leaving my family for.
After kissing Ryland for what seems like hours, I leave the bastille reluctantly, but I know I have to meet Cyrus. As much as I want to stay down there—and see how much can be done even with a set of bars between us—I know that would be naïve of me. It’s already going to be hard letting him go. Having sex would complicate things even more, and I can’t be that stupid. I know I’ll find him again, without bars, and then I’ll get what I want.
And what I want is every single inch of Ryland Kelley.
As a grin spreads over my lips, a little pep is added to my step while I head toward the sparring room where Cyrus will be waiting. As much as I hate the trials my father puts me through, I can’t wait to get started once he gets home. He has to find the cure soon. Surely he will. I need it. I need to leave this place and find Ryland once I free him.
I consider running toward my father’s office, but I’m worried that would be a waste of time. I might need to wait until everyone is sleeping. Or supposed to be sleeping, at least. When I enter the sparring room, Cyrus is already in there, a pair of shorts hanging loosely on his waist as he punches the heavy bag. Sitting down, I take off my shoes and then my shirt, leaving only my shorts and sports bra. When he notices me, Cyrus pauses, holding the bag as he looks over at me.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” I say, standing up and stretching my arms over my head. “Did you get some sleep?”
He shakes his head. “No, Father called.”
I pause midstride. “Oh?”
“Yeah, Jonas has decided to go rogue, Father is pissed, and they’re coming home a day early,” he says, almost like it isn’t the worst news in the history of ever.
He’s probably high.
My heart jackhammers as I ask, “Rogue?”
Cyrus shrugs, coming toward the middle of the mat. “He doesn’t want to leave his girl of the week. Father is pissed because he needs Jonas home for more security detail on you, but Jonas says this girl is the one. I even spoke with him.”
“Oh, wow,” I say, and I think I’ve heard everything he said, but my heartbeat is making my ears hurt. “So they’ll be home when?”
“Tomorrow evening.”
Oh, God. I think I’m going to puke. My heart is out of control. I thought I had more time. I thought I had at least until Monday.
Shit, how am I going to pull this off with my father, Oceanus, and JJ home?
“You okay, sister?”
Glancing up, I nod. “Yeah,” I say, laughing it off as I beg my heartbeat to calm a bit.
It doesn’t.
“Just not ready to be on lockdown once again.”
Cyrus’s face is pained as he looks away. “I know. I’m going to talk to Father.”
I smile. “Thanks, Cyrus.”
“Yeah, yeah, don’t think it’s ’cause I like you or anything.”
“Oh, never,” I laugh as he pushes me, but then I whip around, kicking him in the ribs.
He doesn’t flinch, just grins. “Don’t want to warm up?”
I shrug. “I’m warm, plus I’m ready to blow off some steam.”
He looks confused, but he doesn’t question me as he comes at me, his fist flying toward my head. I fight him off, not giving him a clear hit but getting in three of my own, which, I find, pisses him off. As we fight, though, my head isn’t in it.
I have no time. I have to break in to my father’s office, get into the filing cabinet, and find the code. But what if it’s not in there? What if only my father knows the code, and it’s in his head?
Shit.
When Cyrus’s fist connects with my jaw, my head whips to the left, but I duck, taking his legs out from underneath him. His big body hits the mat hard, but he’s only down for a split second before he’s rushing toward me. Why did I say I wanted to do this? My jaw is now throbbing, which means it probably left a mark, and I am still nowhere near figuring out this code.
When Cyrus’s foot comes up to kick me, I take him by his ankle and swing it away, throwing him off balance as he falls on his face. He slams his fist to the mat, and I let out a long breath. “Did you know that there are codes for the bastille? I mean, the jail cells.”
As he gets up, frustration flooding his features, he flashes me a confused look. “Yeah. Why?”
“I saw them today,” I say, batting away his hand. “I brought breakfast down to the boys.”
“I knew it,” he shouts, slamming his foot into my thigh. “Stop giving them all our food!”
Ouch.
I kick him back. “We have enough.”
I flinch a bit as I move out of the way, light on my feet as I watch him. “Whatever.”
“Do you know the codes?”
His face scrunches up more as he shrugs. “No. Why would I?”
“No reason,” I say, swinging my fist into his jaw when he gets too close. Backing away, he glares.
“You gonna bust out your boys?”
I laugh. “No way. As much as I hate for them to be down there, they have to serve their punishment.”
Cyrus shrugs as he spins around, kicking my hip. Yup, that one is going to suck tomorrow. Breathing hard, he bounces on the balls of his feet, his eyes dancing with the challenge of taking me down.
“I wonder why codes, though. Father can’t even remember stuff without writing it down, so why would he use codes?”
Cyrus gives me a look. “He does write them down, Rebekah. And last I heard, the code is the inmate’s birthday. I don’t know if that’s still true.”
I pause, my hands slowly coming down. “I thought you said you didn’t know?”
“I don’t know if it’s true, I said,” he reminds me, and I bite my lip.
“Hm, okay,” I say on an exhale, shrugging my shoulders to seem indifferent.
If his assumption is true, though, it won’t work for Ryland. There is no file on Killian, I’m sure, so what could the code be? I’m so lost in my own head that I don’t even see Cyrus coming toward me until it’s too late. He lands a hit, but then I jump at him and try to climb him to wrap my legs around his neck. But he sees me coming. He throws me across the mat, and I land on my butt before rolling over and getting up. When I do, though, the side of his foot connects with my face and everything goes black.
Falling hard to the ground, I feel my heartbeat in my ears, my face is throbbing, and all I see are stars. Bright flashes of light are physically hurting my brain. Closing my eyes, I open them and then repeat, the flashing light slowly going away as Cyrus comes over me. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I mumble, but as I continue to blink, the light is gone, and I can see.
But only out of my right eye.
Looking up at the ceiling, I blink a few times, hoping the sight in my left eye comes back.
It doesn’t.
Nor has it for the last twenty-four hours. I’m starting to think it’s a lost cause, which is nerve-racking as hell. Because of the swelling, the redness, and the ache, I didn’t work last night. Plus, Cyrus wouldn’t let me. He made me sleep, and in a way, I’m thankful for it. I needed it, but I still tossed and turned. Along with worrying about the pain and blindness in my eye, I kept going over and over how I’ll free Ryland. When we passed my father’s office to get to my room last night, two guards stood outside it, so I know there’s no way I’m getting back in there. Plus, my father will be home in a few hours. Time is the enemy right now, and I’m really unsure what I am going to do.
But one thing is for sure, I have to see Ryland before my father gets home since I don’t know when I’ll be able to again.
Getting up, I close my eyes from the pain. Everything is still aching, and it concerns me. Cyrus really got me, which means my father will be injecting concoctions into me once he gets home. Yay. As I stand up, my feet hit the ground and I groan, my back and hip hurting. I’m not playing with Cyrus anymore; he’s mean. Jerk. Limping toward my bathroom, I wash up, very careful around my swollen eye, before getting dressed slowly, cringing at the little jolts of discomfort in my face.
Reaching for my backpack, I put it on and head out of the room. No one is by my door, but at the end of my hall sits a guard who is playing on his phone. He doesn’t even look up as I pass. Rolling my eyes—well, at least, one of them—I head down toward my father’s office. I’m pretty sure I can’t get in, but that doesn’t mean I won’t try. Guards watch me, but none speaks to me as I make my way along the hall, down the stairs, and through different rooms. When I reach my father’s office, two guards are standing there, and they look up as I approach.
“Ms. von Stein?” one says, and I nod toward the door.
“Excuse me,” I say, going for the door, but he stands in my way.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but you’re not allowed in there.”
“But I need to get a book about my eye,” I say, moving my hands up to my face and through my hair to pull it up. “I want to start research on why it isn’t working.”
But he shakes his head. “I’m sorry, but I have strict rules not to allow you in here.”
“Even for a book?” I ask, my brow coming up, and he nods.
“Yes, ma’am.”
I glare. “So you’ll stop me if I go in there?”
He eyes me. “Yes?”
He doesn’t sound sure, and I almost think I’ve got this in the bag, well, until I ask, “You’ll put your hands on me?”
The other guard looks up at the one I’m speaking to as his eyes widen. “Well, n
o, ma’am, I won’t, but I will get your brother.”
While I might have enough time to find what I need, I don’t want to piss Cyrus off. He is being good to me and has given me freedom; I can’t mess that up. Which means I have to find another way in, and that might cause an issue when my father gets home. Or I could just go in. As I stand there, looking from one guard to the other, I don’t think I can do that to Cyrus.
I can’t lose his trust.
“Tattletale,” I mutter before turning and walking away.
Annoyed, I let out a long breath as I try to figure out what I’m going to do. I knew this wouldn’t be easy, but it makes me wonder why I’m not allowed in there. What could be in there? Shaking my head, I feel unsure because I’ve been allowed in there before. While my father’s there, but still, what is he afraid I’ll see? As I rush down to the kitchen, my heart starts to pick up in cadence. Does he know about Ryland? No, he couldn’t. It must be something else. Maybe that he knows I’ll find out about Ryland.
I don’t know, but I can’t worry about that. I need to get down to see Ryland. I don’t know when I’ll see him next. This might be the last time, except when I go to release him.
Not that I want to think about that right now.
Lunch has been put out, and I can tell Cyrus hasn’t been by yet, so I take very sparsely for the guys and Ryland. When I have my bag full, I hurry to the hall and climb down after making sure my shoe is holding the door from closing. Going down the ladder, I hit the ground with a wince, and I swear, once I’m better, I’m kicking Cyrus’s ass. But then I pause. Why am I in so much pain? It isn’t usually like this. I fight all the time with my brothers, but today, I’m hurting.
I can’t think of that right now either.
Shaking my head, I head down the hall quickly, going toward the guys. When they see me, they all light up, even Reggia.
“Rebekah, once more?” Mr. Grun asks, and I smile as I hand him a sandwich.
Reggia grins. “I like that her lover boy is down here. We reap the benefits,” he teases, and I scoff as I roll my eyes.
“No, my father is coming home today. I’m unsure when I’ll be back, so I wanted to feed you.”