Chapter 28
twenty-eight
Jo
“What the hell happened to you?” Sam is on me the moment I enter West’s office for our session.
I freeze. I had been so worried about being late I didn’t even think to check myself before coming in here.
I can only imagine how I look. I’m sure my hair is a mess, and I’m willing to bet I have some pesky red marks on my neck.
My eyes widen slightly when I catch the barest whiff of his comforting coffee and whiskey scent, but I quickly school my features.
“Sammy-boy,” I tut, giving him a disapproving look.
“That’s no way to make a lady feel pretty.
” Moving past him, I take a seat across from West, who is looking at me with horror in his eyes.
I hate it.
“Jo,” West’s voice is tight as his eyes dart down to my neck. “Who did that? Was it Vasiliev?”
“What?!” My head snaps to him as I snarl. “Kole would never. Any time his hand finds its way to my throat, it’s because I want it there.”
“Then who?” Sam is in my face now, his brown eyes full of fury. “Don’t you dare say you tripped, Jo.” It sends a little flutter through me, having him this angry on my behalf.
“It doesn’t matter.” My voice comes out weaker than I want, and Sam’s eyes flash with something distinctly alpha.
“Why doesn’t it matter?” West asks softly, leaning forward. Fuck. Chamomile and mint. Why the hell can I smell them? It’s making my brain all…happy.
“Because you can’t do anythin’ about it.” I give a tight smile. “It’s my word against his, and Brooks is all too willin’ to believe that I’m the main aggressor in these fights. It’s better if he doesn’t know.”
“You can still tell us,” Sam says, kneeling down in front of me.
I shake my head. “Plausible deniability.”
They both freeze. “Plausible deniability?”
Sudden anger overtakes me.
Anger at Banesworth for putting me in this damn situation. Anger at myself for getting caught off guard. Anger at Daddy for selling Mabel to those monsters in the first place, and anger at these two drop-dead gorgeous, infuriating men for trying to make me talk about something I obviously can’t.
“I’m not gonna say anythin’ else about it,” I snap. “And if you have a single decent bone in your body, you won’t breathe a word of anythin’ to anybody. I have it handled.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Sam mutters, pushing away and taking up residence on the wall.
“Isn’t this supposed to be my therapy session?” I glare at him. “Why am I hearin’ about what you’re afraid of?”
His jaw tics, but he doesn’t answer as he crosses his arms and looks away.
“Jo,” West sighs, running a hand over his cropped hair. “I know it’s hard to believe, but you can trust us.”
I bark a humorless laugh. Trust them? How the hell am I supposed to trust two men on the same payroll as the one who is blackmailing me for free use of my body? I had hoped that I could, eventually.
Trust them, I mean.
But if today has made one thing clear, it’s that there are only two sides in this place, “us”, and “them”. And as employees of the Thornfield Asylum for the Criminally Insane, Sam and West land firmly on the “them” side.
“I’m a patient. You guys work for the men abusin’ us. You may not participate, but you’re not doin’ anythin’ to stop it either. Tell me, if I went to Brooks right now and filed a complaint that an orderly has just started blackmailin’ me for sexual favors, would I be taken seriously?”
Both men stiffen.
For the first time, West looks…angry. “Who—”
“Answer the question, Doc.”
His jaw clenches. “No. You wouldn’t.”
“And that’s okay with you?”
“Of course not!” Sam roars, his chest heaving like he’s holding himself back from something.
“Then why do you work here?” I throw my hands up in the air. “Is the money really that good?”
The two of them exchange a look, and I catch Sam give a slight shake of his head, making West grind his teeth.
“We will…respect your wishes.” West’s voice is tight as he turns his attention to me. It sounds like the words actually pain him to say.
“Good,” I snap, and we spend the rest of the session with my nose in a book, West and Sam having some sort of silent conversation with their eyes. I swear I can feel their gazes drill into me every so often, but I dutifully ignore them.
The minute the hand turns to noon, I grab my shit and get out. Sam and West are speaking in angry, hushed whispers before the door even swings shut.
I don’t make it five steps before Hayden rounds the corner, bounding up to me like an excited puppy.
The sight of him makes the knot in my chest ease slightly, and I find myself smiling up into his sparkling hazel eyes.
“Hey there, Darlin’.” I take his hand as he offers it to me.
“Is this some kind of new escort service you’re offerin’? ”
“Only to you, Fireball.” He grins his lighter flicking open and shut in his free hand. “But, I think someone is worried about you.” He conspiratorially opens the little breast pocket on his jumpsuit, and Turnip pokes her little head out.
I gasp, scooping her out of the pocket and holding her to my face.
“Turnip!” The rat chitters and rubs her face on mine, then proceeds to scold me in rat for taking her back to my room before my therapy appointment.
“I know, girly, I’m sorry,” I tell her, letting her run up to my shoulder.
“I thought it would be better, but I was wrong.”
Hayden gives me a brief look of incredulousness before he shakes his head and takes my hand again. “She…she’s really smart. She must have used the air vents to get to my room, because when I went back in there after breakfast, she was squeaking in my air vent.”
“I know she is,” I coo, rubbing under her chin while Hayden and I walk to lunch.
“You really don’t know where she came from?” He asks. It’s not an accusation, the question seems to be more out of curiosity than anything.
“I bet she belongs to someone,” I say, turning my attention to him. “She has that little collar, and she sniffed out a bunch of bugs hidden in my room when I first got here.”
He wrinkles his nose. “Gross. What kind of bugs?”
“The electronic, listenin’ kind.”
Hayden’s brows furrow. “Why would they want to spy on you? Though, you are a bit of an anomaly.”
I shrug. “That’s all I can think of. There’s no way they know—” I stop myself, shaking my head as I check our surroundings. There's only a few people in the hallway, but I lower my voice anyhow. “—Why I’m really here.”
Unless Banesworth has anything to say about it.
We enter the cafeteria, and I scoop Turnip off my shoulder and into my pocket as an idea hits me. “Hey Darlin’? I gotta go talk to Fuzzy real quick, alright?”
Hayden frowns at me, but nods. “Sure. You want me to grab your lunch?”
A smile takes over my face as I grab his cheeks and pull him down into a kiss. “Aren’t you just the goodest boy? That would be amazin’.” His cheeks flush red and he nods before getting in line for food. I make my way around the back, letting myself into the kitchen.
“Hey Fuzzy?” I call out, then a loud clatter in the corner of the room has me whipping around. I turn just in time to see Nurse Helaena coming around the corner, her cheeks flushed and her hair mussed.
My brows shoot up as she spots me, seemingly uncaring about her state of disarray. “Oh, Jo! How are you, Sweetie?”
“Jo?” Fuzzy’s gruff voice calls out from behind Helaena, and then he’s coming around the same corner, adjusting his belt.
I can’t say I’m surprised. Fuzzy is…well he’s really fuzzy and gruff, but he’s not a bad looking guy, and Helaena is beautiful. Plus they’re probably the only two employees I completely trust around here.
“Really, you guys?” I wrinkle my nose. “In the kitchen?”
Fuzzy barks a laugh while Helaena flushes pink. “We…we would appreciate your discretion.”
I wave her off. “It’s none of my business.” Then I turn to Fuzzy. “I need to ask you about somethin’…sensitive.”
Fuzzy takes a minute to check the rest of the kitchen for anyone lurking, then crosses his arms, nodding at me. “Go on.”
I take Turnip out of my pocket to let her sniff around for bugs. Fuzzy’s mouth gapes open. “Is that—”
“Yes, it’s a rat. She’s not dirty, she’s just checkin’ for bugs.” I roll my eyes, then add, “The listenin’ kind.”
Fuzzy and Helaena watch in awe as Turnip returns to me, not finding anything. When I turn towards them, I realize I don’t know if I should speak yet.
“Um…” My eyes dart to Helaena. I mean, I trust her, but this seems like information that should stay between people who know Declan.
“She’s good.” Fuzzy says, waving me on. “Declan is using her as an informant now.”
My brows shoot up. That’s…unexpected. “Well, I need somethin’ from Dec. Somethin’ that will knock out an alpha…maybe two-thirty pounds?”
Fuzzy is shaking his head. “Sorry kid. I can’t help you there. I don’t have any way to get contraband in or out. I’m here specifically—” he catches himself and shakes his head. “Well, let’s just say I’m observing only.”
Dammit. I really thought Fuzzy would be able to help.
“I might…” Helaena starts, then clears her throat. “I might be able to help. I mean, I have access to all the typical patient drugs.”
My brows shoot up. “You’d help me?”
She nods once, her eyes hardening in determination. “Yes. And I know just what you need.”
My stomach flips in excitement. “That’s great! Just—” I wince, “make sure it’s not the same stuff you gave me to ‘calm me down’ when I first got here. It did not work.”
“Oh,” she lets out a little laugh and covers her mouth, “that’s because it wasn’t the medication. It was a saline solution.”
A small sound of disbelief escapes me. “Did you want me to attack Banesworth?” I ask on a laugh.
“Maybe a little bit.” She holds her thumb and pointer finger an inch apart. Shit, I liked Helaena before, but I like her a whole lot more now. Then she turns back to business. “When do you need it by?”
She doesn’t ask me what it’s for, or why I need it, which I appreciate. “Just…by the fights on Saturday.”
Helaena purses her lips. “Okay. Just…come to me an hour or so before the fights, and say you don’t feel well. Brooks will tell me to give you whatever is needed to get you in that ring. I’ll give it to you then.”
“Can, uh...can we make sure the syringe is small enough to fit in Turnip’s mouth? I’m gonna need her to hold it while I’m fightin’.” It’s not a fool-proof plan, but it’s all I got right now.
“What about your boys?” Fuzzy asks, crossing his arms. “I’m sure they’ll help you with whatever you need.” My heart warms at him referring to them as “my boys”.
I shake my head. “This can’t come back to them. I can’t risk it. I’ve done this before, I know how to not get found out.”
“So it’s true?” Helaena asks, her voice turning to a hushed whisper. “They really only caught you because you left clues leading back to you?”
I give her a nod. “Every single one. I never woulda been caught if I didn’t wanna be. I learned from the best.”
“So someone is getting…” she looks around the room again before leaning in close and whispering even quieter, “murdered?”
“It’s safer for you if you don’t know.” I give her a gentle smile and pat her arm. “But…you definitely won’t be upset about whatever does happen.” The sight of Banesworth choking her against the wall is one that haunts me regularly.
She smiles like she knows exactly what I’m thinking of.
Yeah, I definitely like her.