Page 56 of Imprisoned

We stay connected, panting, until reality slowly seeps back in. I reluctantly pull away, turning her to face me. Her eyes shine in the dim light, still glazed with pleasure.

“I’ll find a way to see you every day,” she straightens her clothes with trembling fingers. “I don’t care what I have to do. I’ll convince them you need daily psychological monitoring.”

I brush my thumb across her swollen lips. “My clever little doctor.”

“I mean it, Axel.” Her eyes meet mine with an intensity that surprises me. “But that’s just the beginning.”

“What are you saying?” I study her face, sensing something has shifted.

She takes a deep breath as if gathering courage. “I’m going to get you out of here. For good.”

I arch a brow, genuinely surprised. “You want to break me out? Of a maximum security prison?”

“Yes.” The certainty in her voice is absolute. “I’ve been thinking about it since before they put you in solitary. I can’t—I won’t—leave you in here to rot.”

“You’d risk everything? Your career, your freedom?” I search her face for any hesitation.

“I already am.” She kisses me softly. “I want to be with you,” she murmurs against my lips. “Not just for stolen moments in this cell.”

Fuck.

I pull back to look at her, seeing something new in those blue eyes—a darkness I’ve been nurturing, now blooming into something beautiful and dangerous.

“First, I’m going to clear you of these murders,” she continues, her mind working quickly. “The timeline is our strongest defense. You physically couldn’t have been in two places at once. I’m having Martinez pull the footage showing thecontinuous timeline of you being escorted to my office before the murders and not leaving until after.”

“And what about our... extracurricular activities?” I ask, curious how she plans to hide those.

“I’ve got that covered, too,” she assures me. “I’m creating altered session recordings that sound legitimate. As far as anyone will know, we spent those hours in intense therapy. The camera glitched for over two weeks before that session, so all my therapy security footage was gone.”

“And the escape?” I press, still not quite believing she’s serious.

Her eyes gleam with determination. “I’ve been studying the prison’s layout, the guard rotations. Maintenance tunnels beneath the older sections were partially sealed in the 80s. I’ve found blueprints in the archives.”

I stare at her in amazement. This isn’t just talk—she’s planning this methodically and thoroughly.

“I’m moving money too,” she whispers, her voice barely audible. “Setting up accounts offshore where they can’t be traced. New identities, a place for us far from here.”

The possession in her tone makes me smile. She’s becoming more like me with each encounter—more willing to break the rules, corrupt the system, and take what she wants. But now she’s also using that brilliant mind to protect what’s ours.

“You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?” I trace my finger along her jaw.

“I have to,” she says simply. “I can’t lose you.”

Something unfamiliar stirs in my chest—not just desire or possession, but something deeper. This woman will burn her whole world to the ground for me, not out of fear or manipulation but because she chooses to.

“When?” I ask.

“Soon. I need a few more weeks to finalize everything.” Her eyes hold mine, unwavering. “Can you hold on until then?”

I pull her against me, burying my face in her hair. “For you, little pixie? I’d wait forever.”

25

WILLOW

Despite Axel clearly not being the man who murdered the two prisoners, he’s still not been let out of solitary. He would have been kept down there for two weeks tomorrow like an animal. Thankfully, I have managed to find ways to visit him, most of the time unofficially, by bribing the guards.

The fluorescent lights hum overhead as I sort through patient files, trying to focus on work instead of the delicious soreness that reminds me of Axel’s touch. My skin tingles where his fingers gripped my hips, where his teeth marked my shoulder. The memory of being pressed against that cold concrete wall sends shivers down my spine.

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