Page 97 of No Escape

I lie awake, worrying about Omen and Valor, for God knows how long. I’m either asleep or just about there when I hear something that makes my eyes pop open.

We don’t have much sound crossover from the other cells—if any—but the hallway is a different story. The glass windows on either side of the door into the cell aren’t soundproof. When I was locked in with Valor and Omen, I could sometimes tell they were going to deliver food because I’d hear the sound of shoes hitting the flooring in the hallway.

Hearing the same sound when I assume it’s the middle of the night gives me some hope they’re returning Valor and Omen to the cell.

I’m a little concerned that I smell strongly of Shaw. It might cause some tension, but I’m going to give them all a pep talk about shutting up and getting along so we can all make it out of heretogether.

Carefully extracting myself from the bed, my entire body lights up when I spot Omen outside the glass.

The door opens and McCabe sticks his head in, quickly glancing between me and the other side of the room where Leo and Shaw sleep. He waves a hand, and my forehead wrinkles as I approach. As soon as I’m within reach, he grabs my wrist and firmly tugs me out the door before shoving me to the wall.

“W-What’s happening?” I ask as McCabe rips the door open once more. He yanks Omen around by his cuffed hands and shoves him toward the open door while he unlocks and releases him from the cuffs.

“Don’t do it,” Omen says, shaking his head violently. “He’s completely gone. You won’t recognize him at all. It’s not safe.”

“Shut the fuck up,” McCabe growls, shoving Omen into the cell and slamming the door. He immediately rips a key card out of the top of the handle.

I didn’t even realize there was a spot for that, but Omen pounds against the wood of the closed door, and it makes me jolt. He’s yelling something, but it’s muffled and hard to make out.

The British MI6 agent turns his attention to me.

“W-What’s going on?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest. I’m barefoot and only clothed in one of Valor’s T-shirts.

“Come on, if you want to save him. We have to hurry…” McCabe spins around, his boots squeaking against the floor as he curses and takes off down the hallway.

My heart races, but I shove off the wall and follow. “You mean Valor?”

He gives a curt nod, continuing on at a ridiculously fast pace. “He’s been lost to the fog since you saw him at the court. He’s in full-blown rabid territory. Normally, they wake up pretty lucid after they’ve been tranqed, but not this time. He killed all the inmates they had with him in holding.”

“Isn’t solitary confinement meant to…” I frown, realizing how frantic I sound. “I don’t know…be solitary!”

“This isn’t a prison. They call it the hole for a reason. Sometimes you’re alone, but if a big cluster of alphas act up all at once, they might not be in there by themselves.” He takes a right and heads down the next corridor, and I follow, mostly because I don’t know what else to do. “He and Omen are supposed to have three weeks left before their stay renews, but the higher-ups are done with his shit. They put a call in to his benefactor, who agreed.”

“Agreed with what?” I hiss, making a mad snatch for his arm.

The alpha stops dead in his tracks and turns back to me, shaking out of my hold. “The only reason I’m even risking this is…” He pauses, and my heart races. “I get it. If I was there, I would have done the same damn thing. There are a lot of people who deserve to rot in here, but I’m not convinced he’s one of them.”

“I don’t even know what happened to get him institutionalized,” I say as my body trembles. It’s freezing, but my reaction might be due to fear.

“Jesus Christ,” McCabe mutters, studying my face. “You need to make a choice. Omen wasn’t wrong. He’s as far gone as I’ve ever seen him…” His head shakes. “But they’ve already called the doctor. She’ll be here within an hour. So, you need to tell me if you want to be taken to him or if you want me to return you to the cell.”

My head tilts.

Maybe my brain is slow and fuzzy because I was asleep five minutes ago, but I have no idea what’s happening.

“What is the doctor coming to do?” I ask as my blood runs cold.

“They’ve had enough of his blackouts. He’s on this morning’s schedule…” He grimaces. “They’re going to put him down.”

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