Page 16 of Enemy of the State

I say nothing, turning back to the cameras. Jace is the only other soldier here with access to the footage, but Thompson would have access here, too, and if he asked to see something, I wouldn’t be able to refuse him. While he’s never asked to see footage before, I don’t want to risk being unprepared.

I’d much rather face the consequences of showing him a tape of deleted footage than the punishment that would come with presenting evidence that I’ve been tending to the wounds of a prisoner.

Without asking, I know he’d tell me to let the gangrene or infection set in. If it were any other inmate, I’d have no problem with that,but something about Louhi isdifferent,which is why I’m skipping the mandatory gym time—yet another thing I could get in trouble for; add it to my tab—to erase the proof of my questionable actions.

“Hey, no shade, man,” Jace comments, and I sigh, dropping my forehead into my palms as I lean forward on my elbows.

“She’s fucking with me,” I grumble.

He huffs, the sound full of mirth. “I think that’s just who she is.”

Therein lies my problem.

Navigating to yesterday’s footage, I scroll through the list of cameras until I find the one that reads: CELL EIGHT. Even if Thompson wasn’t coming here today, I’d only have forty-eight hours to erase the footage before it’d get stored on the government’s server somewhere.

“I’ll meet you in the gym when I finish this.”

“You know I’m going to force you into doing an extra set of squats for every one you miss just for making me put up with Borman and Stuco.”

I chuckle. “That’s fair. Just toss on some Knocked Loose to drown out the sounds of them metaphorically sucking each other’s dicks.”

He grunts, and I know if I turned around, I’d find a grimace on his face at the prospect of subjecting himself to Knocked Loose. Instead, I keep my eyes fixed on the screen as I appear, opening Louhi’s cell.

A second later, the door to the barracks opens, then closes, leaving me with only the past for company. Less than a minute later, the sound of a true throwback seeps under the crack at the bottom of the door as “Monster” by Skillet serenades me from where he blasts it from the gym.

Knocked Loose would be a better choice.

After isolating the time slot where I tend to Lou, I delete the ten-minute chunk of footage, praying that no one will ask about it. It’s not the first time I’ve deleted myself caring for herand, unfortunately, it probably won’t be the last—even if I want it to be.

With the weight of that footage lifted from my shoulders, I jump to the active feed, planning to check on all the fuckers in Block One before joining Jace. God knows I don’t want to have to do more than one or two extra sets of squats.

Where I expect to see Lou working out, I find her leaning against the back wall of her cell, staring directly into the camera. It feels like she’s looking at me, her face cast in shadow, her dark irises seeming to stare into my soul. I can’t tell if she’s blinking at this distance, but I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the little witch wasn’t.

The way she’s staring at me is unnerving, sending a chill down my spine, the room suddenly feeling icy.

Moving my curser to the top corner, I’m about to exit out of the feed entirely when Louhi smiles, the expression unlike any I’ve seen from her before. No, the smile she wears now bleeds seduction, tempting me to watch what she does next.

And I do.

On screen, Lou’s hand leisurely glides up her torso, her graceful fingers slipping around the column of her neck. Her touches appear gentle as she caresses her skin, skating down to trace her exposed collarbone with the backs of her fingers.

What the fuck does she think she’s doing?

My dick lengthens inside my boxer-briefs as I lean forward on the squeaky swivel chair, swallowing thickly as her other hand comes up to squeeze her breast through her uniform top.

Oh, fuck.

Rubbing at my jaw, I tell myself that I shouldn’t be watching this. Anyone could walk in and catch me.

She likes to fuck with me, and Jace was spot on when he said that’s just who she is, so is that what’s going on here?

Or is she just horny andbored?

Like I’m the King Cobra and she the snake charmer, I watch, transfixed, as she slips her hand into the waistband of her black uniform pants. I suck in a breath and hold it when she promptly removes her hand, sucking her middle finger into her mouth.

My cock jumps, and I grit my teeth to mute my groan, begging myself to shut this down, to turn off the monitor and walk the fuck away from this woman. Nothing—absolutely nothing—good can come of this.

Her lips part, her eyes still fixed on the camera as she swirls her tongue around the digit, sliding the pad of her finger deeper into her mouth.

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