30. Madison
Madison
ONE WEEK LATER.
Oak Park Prison—a non-government-mandated maximum security facility with heavily guarded grounds that now housed Adrian behind its tall barbed wire fencing.
This prison hadn’t been around long, newly designed and built to cater to the various needs of Alpha-Six.
Pulling up to the guard shack at the main gate, I rolled down my window and held up the ID card I’d stolen from one of their officers.
Alistair Drake did one thing right when he established his underground SWAT division. He gave every one of his members full access to the prison and its inmates—too bad he didn’t account for someone like me impersonating one of them for nefarious reasons.
It took me several weeks to procure everything I needed to gain access to Adrian: an Alpha-Six uniform—or something that looked as close as possible to it—the ID card, an accurate facility map to study the prison’s layout, and Adrian’s current cell number and location so I would know exactly where I would need to go and which checkpoints I would hit along the way.
The officer on gate duty didn’t even bat an eye at the black and gold card I held, already knowing what status it represented here.
A satisfying smirk pulled at my glossy red-painted lips as the gate opened, allowing me inside.
I drove across the prison grounds, bypassing the main visitor lot and parking around the back of the massive building where the employee entrance was located.
The stolen ID belonged to Heather Pierce. Fortunately, she was blonde, just like me; however, Heather’s hair was much shorter, so I pulled mine back into a low, messy bun to conceal some of its length and avoid suspicion.
I preferred to wear tight skinny jeans or leggings over these horrible dress slacks.
Nonetheless, I had to play and fit the role if I were to do this right, so sucking up my pride, I topped my thrown-together ensemble off with a pair of black, polarized aviator sunglasses to round out the arrogant asshole officer aesthetic.
This was my one chance at taking what I was owed after so long, and I couldn’t fuck it up. The single opportunity I needed to make up for years of pent-up rage and damage that motherfucker had caused me.
Redemption, retribution, and revenge were at my fingertips.
After passing through the doors, I reached the first of what I assumed would be many security checkpoints throughout the facility. There were at least fifteen from what I had previously counted on the map.
It would be a long and slow process to get my ass in front of Adrian, but if I did this right, I could make it through every single one of them without issue or triggering an alarm.
“Keep keys, phones, and all metal in the provided tray. Ensure your ID is visible and unobstructed the entire time you are inside the facility. If you are carrying a firearm, please bring it forward for inspection on your way through.”
The officer’s tone was bored, as if he had done nothing more than read lines off a script all day.
Fuck I’d hate to have his job.
I reluctantly brought a handgun with me, knowing full well that Adrian deserved far more than a single bullet to the head for everything he had done.
I wouldn’t make my revenge quick and dirty— fuck no —I was going to take my time with him. Make sure he felt every single drop of pain he put me through.
Always his good fucked up girl.
Following the guard’s instructions, I removed every detectable piece of metal from my person and placed it into the provided tray.
I discreetly held my breath as I handed off the gun for inspection and passed through the scanner, praying I wouldn’t set it off with the scalpel I had concealed within the lining of my jacket.
“Thank you, Officer Pierce.” Another guard spoke as they returned my badge and belongings from the tray .
I nodded in silent response, collecting the rest of my items before navigating to the next checkpoint. The less contact I had with any of the working Alpha-Six-sanctioned guards, the better.
I was positive that more than one guard here knew Heather, and I’d be entirely fucked if they caught me red-handed impersonating her.
This prison was massive compared to how it looked on the outside. When I memorized the layout, I knew it would take at least thirty to forty-five minutes to reach the cell block where Adrian was contained.
It was late. The sun had already set by the time I entered the prison, and due to the delay in passing through each security checkpoint, it was almost eleven by the time I reached the final one.
The last time I reviewed his cell assignment, he was alone. Eli Wilder had previously been designated as his roommate, but it seemed as though that arrangement had dissolved within a matter of hours after it was decided.
Eli was now being held in solitary for god knows what—my best guess was protection from Adrian—him and every other piece of shit in here he owned.
I was no stranger to the lives Adrian had manipulated and destroyed.
This prison wasn’t a punishment for him; if anything, for what he had planned, it was just a minor setback in the grand scheme of things. Adrian had far too many connections to be held here for longer than a couple of months, so I needed to act before he disappeared without a trace again.
I expected myself to feel nervous once I had reached Adrian’s cell, but in reality, I was more than ready to bite the hand that fed me all those dirty, fucked up lies.
I had him right where I wanted him.
Adrian’s cell block didn’t have open bars as I had initially predicted—which worked out in my favor, making his execution a far more private and intimate endeavor.
As I passed down the row of occupied cells, I observed how oddly quiet it was, questioning if the cells themselves were soundproof—similar to solitary.
Holding Heather’s ID card up to the black scanner across from Adrian’s door, I heard the audible click and release of the bar lock—my moment had finally come.
Before any patrolling guards could acknowledge what I was up to, I slipped inside his cell and shut the door behind me, locking me in with the one man I had fought so hard to escape.
It was dark inside his cell, the only light source coming from the small, barred rectangular window. By the time I could inspect my surroundings, a shiver had snaked its way up my spine.
“Hello, sweetheart.” Adrian crooned from the far corner of the cell .
I could see his dark figure lounging on his cot, arms relaxed behind his head, and ankles crossed as if he didn’t have a single care in the world.
Within seconds, my vision turned red with seething, blind rage toward the nightmare that lurked in the shadows.
“You know how much I hate that word.” I hissed as I stepped further into his cell and away from the door.
“What? Sweetheart?” He huffed with a chuckle as frigid as his heart. “I remember you loving that nickname. Melting in the palm of my hand for it… or should I say more specifically—coming.”
Adrian sat up slowly, his figure still nothing more than a haunting silhouette—a nightmare against the cold cement wall, illuminated solely by the full moon that penetrated through the bars from outside.
I slid my hands into my jacket pockets, never tearing my eyes away from his. All I wanted to do was put a bullet in his head right where he sat, but I knew drawing out his death would be far more gratifying.
“You don’t own me anymore, Adrian.” I bit out, pushing enough malice into my words that it met my eyes with the fire I felt burning within me. “The Madison you so easily manipulated for all those years is gone.”
“Is she, though?” He cocked his head to the side like the predator he was and smirked before abruptly launching himself at me.
Startled, I fell back, swept off my feet as a hand wrapped around my throat, and my body was slammed against the hard wall .
“Tell me, sweetheart. If I were to slide my hand between your delicious thighs right now, would that pretty tight cunt already be wet for me? If I remember correctly, the combination of anger and pain turns you on, does it not?” His voice raked over my senses, and I clenched my teeth at the sound, my stomach twisting with disgust for everything he represented.
Feeling around inside my pocket, I gripped the handle of the small scalpel I had managed to sneak through all the additional checkpoints successfully. I shifted my weight to stab Adrian in the back of his shoulder blade.
His savage green eyes lit up with excitement as he caught my sudden movement, and he immediately grabbed my wrist with his free hand, overpowering me as he slammed it against the cement.
I tightly gripped my fist around the handle as if I had no other weapon—clinging to it as if it were my last line of defense.
“Ah, I see you did come to play. Not a disappointment after all. I knew my good girl wouldn’t come to me without a fight.”
“Fuck you, Adrian.” I gritted out through my teeth, unwilling to let him see me breaking on the inside.
I had fully convinced myself that I would have the upper hand on him after he'd spent weeks behind bars, but he was still just as strong and cunning as before.
Prison did nothing to lower his morale.
And why the fuck did I think it would?
“Gladly, I’ll even let you keep the blade. Make it interesting.” His lips grazed along the side of my neck, and I swallowed heavily. “You always smell so damn good…” He groaned. “What do yo u think? Want me to fuck you just like old times? Make you come until you no longer hate me.”
Adrian angled his head to face me, my eyes connecting with his as I bit down hard on my cheek—enough to taste iron.
My shallow breaths began to quiver with every set of emotions I was feeling, ranging everywhere from frightened to pissed the fuck off.
“I thought I taught you not to hesitate; now look who has the upper hand.” Adrian teased, his thumb caressing the pulse point on my neck.
“Go ahead.” I breathed, looking dead into his eyes. “Kill me. End the nightmare you started. I’m done being afraid of you.”
“Now, that would be too easy, and I invested far too much of my precious time into you to let you simply die just because you asked for it.”
Adrian’s words were just another form of his sick, twisted torture.
I struggled in his grasp, my stomach in my throat as I felt his hands tighten around my neck and wrist.
I didn’t dare remove the other from my pocket; there was a good chance that he had already precalculated every possibility—analyzed every threat I posed against him.
No matter how hard I fought, Adrian would never let me go—physically or spiritually.
I was his prize to show off.
A trophy .
Damned to be his for as long as he walked this god-forsaken earth.
When I didn’t respond, Adrian lost his patience, ripping me from the wall by my throat and slamming my entire body down on his hard cot.
He climbed over me, straddling my hips and pinning my free hand against my side. Adrian didn’t leave any opportunity for me to fight back—my resistance only strengthened him, fueling his desire to take what he believed to still be his.
This was the moment I looked back on the stupid decisions that got me here and wondered where the fuck I went wrong.
Why did I believe that I was capable of taking the life of the one man who practically taught me how to do it?
Fuck sake, Mads…
Here I was, a strong, vicious woman, being overpowered because of fucking impulsive stupidity.
Chyler may as well carve that in bold print on my tombstone.
“Adrian.” I gasped as his palm pressed against my windpipe, slowly cutting off my air.
“Did you really just sneak your way in here for a half-assed attempt at killing me, Madison? What would your poor CIA boyfriend think—” He growled as he bent his body forward.
I could feel him growing hard against my stomach with the movement.
“When he sees his precious toy bloody and mangled on the floor of my cell.”
“That you need a fucking lesson in keeping your fucked up hands off what isn’t yours.” A sharp voice, all too comforting to hear, cut over Adrian’s as my eyes snapped to focus on the doorway where two figures stood silhouetted beside each other.
Adrian didn’t have a chance to speak before the cell door was forcefully kicked open, and an ear-piercing bang rang out in the tiny cell. I watched as he collapsed to the floor almost immediately.
Biting back the urge to shed a single tear as a pitiful whimper passed my lips, I released the scalpel I had white-knuckled in my hand before launching myself off the cot and into the arms of the two men I needed most.
Marcus and Dean.