Page 29 of No Escape

My partner slips past us with his chest heaving, and I pick up the little omega, using my hand on her lower back and the other on her hip.

I bring us fully inside the room as the heavy door closes and clicks when the lock engages.

That feels a lot like the lamb just got locked away with the lions.

* * *

Saylor spins around at the sound of Omen dropping the heavy bin onto the floor of our room. She doesn’t move away, and I frown down at her, trying to determine why she’s still invading my personal space.

Nearly everyone I come across can sense the threat, and they keep their distance accordingly, but not this tiny woman. Fine, she’s average-sized or a bit taller than average, but I’m a giant. Everyone seems small compared to me.

“What happens now?” she asks as Omen collects the drinks and food he grabbed. He lines it up on the small two-person table just inside the doorway.

He chuckles, shrugging. “Now we see how long they intend to punish us this time.”

“What’s in the bin?” she asks, grimacing.

I’m still surprised he risked stopping by one of the supply rooms, but he mustreallywant to impress our guest.

“This?” He does an over-the-top presentation, gesturing to the container. “Just a few courting gifts, facility style.”

“Christ,” I mutter, bringing a hand up to unclip my mask.

I never got to eat when she did.

It might be dangerous to be around the omega unmasked, but I’m starving.

If I’ve learned anything over the past year, it’s that I stay mentally clearer when I keep my body as close to homeostasis as I can get it.

It’s why I’m so rigid with my schedule.

I exercise, eat, and sleep at set times to ensure my system knows what to expect.

This place is claustrophobic with just the two of us. I don’t have the first fucking clue how we’re going to manage with three.

The room isn’t tiny.

It’s not spacious either.

The wall to the right is fully see-through. It’s made of some type of impenetrable glass or plastic that I don’t know the name for, but it’s got a glaze that protects it from breaking.

The far-left wall is the same material and has a view of the cell on the other side. That one is currently unoccupied, but it’s only a matter of time before someone takes over it, especially if the omega sticks around. They’ll want to be able to watch her, even if they can’t touch.

If you’re standing in front of the entry door, the small two-person table is directly in front of you.

Ripping off my mask, I toss it down next to the bags of food.

Omen shoves the bin behind the chair in the area between the glass wall and the first loft.

That’s the bed I normally sleep in. It’s a cubby design and takes up most of the wall directly across from the door where you enter. The right side has a ladder for climbing up and down, and the bottom is a solid five or six feet in the air, but the ceilings in the cells are closer to ten or twelve feet.

Under the loft is a dresser of my things, a mat for working out, several sizes of hand weights and resistance bands, and a leather lounge chair.

That might not be the right name for it.

It has no arms and it sits directly on the floor.

I’ve heard Omen call the one under his loft a gaming chair, but mine is where I lounge, so it’s a lounger.

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