I shuffle until my back hits the freezing wall.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
Aiden arches one eyebrow. The corner of his mouth tugs upward into a cheeky smile. “Would you rather stay?”
“N-no,” I stammer. “But my dad?—”
“Let us worry about him, Little Ghost,” he replies, then taps his wrist. “Now move, unless you’d prefer us to drag you out by your hair?”
I scurry to my feet. Eli grabs my arm; his grip is firm, like he’s afraid I’ll slip through his fingers.
We follow Aiden down the hall. Heckles from surrounding cells goad and taunt us with each step.
“Who is that slut?”
“Eli! Come back!”
“Save yourselves!”
“I’ve been keeping my bed warm for you, Aiden,” a girl coos. She presses her face against the glass of her room’s window. “I’ve missed you.”
Aiden stops sharply.
She licks her lips, pleased to have drawn his attention.
“Hi, baby,” she purrs. “I knew you’d come back for me.”
It’s hard to make out fine details through the murky pane, but she looks beautiful. Thick black hair and big brown eyes, framed with long eyelashes.
“Come back for you?” Aiden laughs cruelly, then his expression turns somber. “You can rot in here, for all I care.”
Her face crumples. “But we had something special. I?—”
“Enough, Charlie,” he hisses. His glacial stare makes her squeak. “You helped pass the time, but you’re just another used pussy, and not even a good one at that.”
“So you’re hooking up with this princess whore, huh?” She narrows her eyes in my direction like I’m a piece of shit on her shoe. “What’s so special about her?”
“Look at her like that again, and you’ll regret it,” Aiden warns. “Show some fucking respect and fall in line.”
Charlie whimpers like a wounded puppy and shrinks away from the window. All the while, Eli stays silent, only tightening his grasp on me.
“Ouch,” I yelp as he constricts my blood flow.
His grip eases, but he doesn’t let go.
Aiden speeds off again. I take two steps for every one of theirs to keep up with their relentless pace.
“Won’t someone see us?” I ask.
“No one who’ll tell,” Eli replies as Aiden swipes an access card to make a door open.
So much for the new security provisions that should make the building an impenetrable fortress.
“I thought you preferred to move around in the walls,” I mumble.
It’s not the time for jokes, but anything will help to make light of this crazy situation.
“Your father isn’t the only one who runs Sunnycrest,” Aiden says. “When he’s away, everyone else knows who is in charge.”
