Chapter 30
Sounds of shuffling, along with grunting and groaning, filled my semi-conscious brain.
“Get up.” The hiss sliced through, waking me. The unfamiliar raspy voice. I sat up and smacked my forehead into the ceiling. A dull throbbing radiated outward, and I clamped my hand over my temple. “Hurry the fuck up.”
Sleep had been close to impossible. I’d spent half the night trying not to toss and turn so I didn’t piss off my bunkmate, while also struggling to ignore the echoes. Finally, exhaustion took me out.
I bit my lip to stop my whimper and climbed down, blinking my grogginess away. She was in my face as soon as I was on the floor.
“If you’re not at attention when the guards do their rounds, we lose privileges. If you were the reason . . . It wouldn’t go well for you. You owe me.” Her rancid breath wafted across my face. “Get yourself together, I won’t help you again.”
I nodded once. Understood and noted.
Last names were shouted out, and each responded in a timely manner. I shuffled closer to the gate where my roomie stood.
“Rivera,” the guard barked.
“Here,” I croaked just like everyone else.
A high-pitched buzz echoed throughout the cells. The gate slid open with a hard bang. I sat up quickly, gawking at the rush of footsteps hurrying.
My cellmate, a woman our neighbor had called Diana, left the cell with a towel over her arm.
I waited a beat for the rush to clear and slid out slowly.
With everything illuminated, and from this vantage point, I could see that the layout was almost a hexagon.
In the middle, there were multiple tables.
A slim, metal staircase that sounded as flimsy as my bunk bed was to the right of the wall, leading to the second floor.
The neighbor and Diana had been talking about what they were doing today, and from what I could glean of their conversation, showers were difficult to have.
A crowd gathered on the far side, and the smell of food filled the area. I hovered near a table, sweeping my attention over different groups of women.
All shapes, sizes, and colors.
I didn’t want to call attention to myself, but based on the looks I was getting, I didn’t think I had much of a choice.
“They’re looking at you, if you’re wondering,” a small woman about half my size murmured, her skin a peachy rose.
“Didn’t miss it,” I murmured. She hovered, so I might as well pick her brains. “Are there phones here?”
She scoffed. “Please, if you expect to get a phone, you need to be faster.” She waved toward an entrance, leading into a hidden hall. A line stretched out.
Overwhelm crowded my thoughts. How did I find myself here?
I clutched my stomach, breathing.
“Are you hungry or something? You’d better hurry up and get in line, or you won’t have time.”
Her words sounded muffled. “Do you have any money in your account?” She jerked her chin toward some screens. “Hey,” she shouted, waving her hand in my face. I shook myself out of it and focused on her.
“Yes,” I croaked, having no idea what I’d just said yes to.
“I’ll show you.” She rolled her eyes. I followed her to the back of a dwindling line. “Oh, we got lucky.” She kept on chattering, her words blending together. We reached the front of the line. “Type in your number.”
I typed it in, my finger coming away greasy. I swiped my palm on my thigh.
“Holy shit!” She smacked my shoulder. “You’re rich?!”
There was ten thousand dollars in credit. It shocked me so much, I didn’t move.
She whistled and nudged me. “Why did you look so worried? You have bank!”
Those bastards already knew I was in here.
“I need a cigarette,” I muttered.
“Eesh, those are like gold in here. But you know what, you can prob get anyone to trade your slick with them, they’d give you a whole pack. Then you wouldn’t have to worry—”
“Did you just say slick? As in my-my—” I staggered over my words.
“Yup, like your cum.” She tapped her nose. “It serves as an aphrodisiac to any Betas fucking Alphas in here. Makes the males crazy.”
All I could do was blink.
“You!” The shout was so loud it echoed. Since I was watching the rosy-cheeked Beta, I watched her eyes widen, then she took off at a sprint.
Before I could turn, my hair was grabbed, and I was yanked back so fast, I tripped over my feet.
A hard fist rammed into my side, and I grunted, bending from the force of the hit.
A brunette woman, a few years older than me, held a fork up. It arched toward me frighteningly fast. I just managed to put my hand up before the prongs pierced my eye. Instead, the embedded in my palm. Everything blurred around me like a filter had been placed over my eyes and my vision narrowed.
My strangled scream cut off, and the woman leaned close.
“You should have gone after fish your own size, kid.”
The words ripped me out of my stupor, and the world started moving again. I slammed my fist into her face, and she staggered back. While she gathered her bearings, I took the fork out of my hand and held it up to meet her attack. She prowled closer, looking for an opening to attack.
“Bourne Pack paid you, didn’t they?”
She didn’t respond, not that I was expecting her to, but if I kept her talking, her meaty fist wouldn’t be smashing into my face.
“It’s nothing personal.”
She came at me again and avoided her grip, squeezing the fork harder.
“Inmates,” a bellow ripped through the encouraging shouts from the onlookers, and everyone dropped face-down onto the floor.
“Down. Down. Down!”
The fork slid out of my hand and clattered on the ground.
I followed what everyone was doing, watching the rush of guards swarm.
One of them headed for me, and I tensed on the ground.
My arms were wrenched behind my back. He smashed my cheek into the concrete, snapping cuffs on my wrists.
Every inch of my body hurt like seven hells.
But at least I was alive.
“This one’s going to need the infirmary,” he called to his partner, and I was lifted. My arm was wrenched back into an uncomfortable angle, and I struggled to stay on my feet with the world spinning.