JUDE
I’m fucking dreaming. Viola can’t be here.
And yet she is.
Like some kind of creep, I watch her sleeping, unable to take my eyes off her. I’m still in shock over what she told me about Sinner. No one fucking told me. What did I expect? I cut off all ties with Duke’s lawyer and even my grandfather. I had to, or someone was going to figure out that guy in solitary that I switched with wasn’t me.
But Sinner. Fuck.
He’s got to be alive.
He’s the best of the three of us, always harping on about my bad habits, cleaning up after me. It can’t fucking end like this. He can’t be dead, or why the hell did I take the rap for this shit? Maybe coming in here was a mistake?
I let out a breath and run my hand through my hair. My nerves are shot to pieces, making my fingers tremble, reminding me just how much a mistake it was to let them lock me away. They pump me so full of shit, somedays, I can’t see straight, never mind save Byron. Because the whole reason I’m here is to find him and get him out.
No one deserves to be in this hellhole.
Viola frowns in her sleep, her brow furrowing in a too fucking cute way. She might be a crazy killer, but that doesn’t mean she deserves to be here either. Her father made her that way, and it rips at my heartstrings to see her like this.
She moans again, making me instantly hard again.
This girl will be the death of me.
I wait for her to settle and then bang on the door. It’s dark outside, from what I can see through the tiny, barred window in Viola’s room. Roberts is waiting to let me out. I told him to give me twenty-four hours, and he did, the cocksucker. He had no choice, given the dirt I have on him.
He doesn’t escort me back to my room. He takes me to the dispensary, where I have a stash of what I need from Jordan waiting for me to collect. I give Roberts half, which he accepts with a grunt, and then I take the rest back to my room. I should go back to Viola, but I need a time out. I’ve been so used to being on my own these last few months that I just need a minute and a few chill pills to get my head on straight. The effect of the pills isn’t as good as it once was, and it takes longer. So I take a few more than I should. Suddenly, the calm and relaxed feeling starts to melt my bones, pulling me down into a state of immense pleasure. Finally, I drift off into a damn good night’s sleep.
“So this iswhat you hooked on?” I crank open my eyes to see a pissed-off brown-haired glowering down at me. She’s got her hair in a ponytail, and she’s wearing scrubs, just like everyone else in here, totally different from what I found her in yesterday.
“How did you know how to find me?” I smack my lips a few times, mouth dry as fuck, as I sit up and take her in. The brown hair doesn’t suit her. Already I miss the blonde. And where did she get those fucking scrubs?
She rolls her eyes in her head. “Don’t insult me.” She perches on the end of the bed, making the thin mattress shift with the extra weight. These beds are so shit, but at least they’re clean. She tosses something small and blue at me. I know what it is before I’ve even caught it. She found my stash of benzos.
“What the fuck, Jude?” she hisses.
“Who gave you the pajamas?” I say, slipping the benzo into my pocket, changing the fucking subject.
“One of the nurses came in this morning. She knew who I was. I’m assuming Jordan has her on his payroll too?”
I nod at her. “Most likely. He has fucking almost everyone.”
“If he’s that connected, why is he still in here?”
“Griffin didn’t want him out. There was some kind of disagreement between Jordan and Griffin’s brother, Midas, before he died.”
“Midas was Finn’s dad, right?”
I nod at her. “With Graham gone, Finn moves up to take his seat as one of The Five.”
She scowls. “Is that why Lorcan is pissed that I killed Griffin?”
“Kristian killed Griffin.” I correct her.
“I ask him to. The fucker deserved to die.”
“Fucking Amen to that,” I intone.
She gives me a look. “You’re not annoyed?”