Page 28 of The Sharpest Edges

That’s where they’re going. Maybe not all of them, but the riot could be a cover for what Jaxson plans to do while everyone else is busy. He has a life sentence. Nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying to escape.

Normally, Dean wouldn’t give two fucks about this. Let Jaxson screw himself even further, no skin off his nose, but there’s not a chance he’ll allow any of the inmates into that infirmary with Ava. Not a chance in hell. There’s little time to form a plan before the red light on the outer door turns green and everyone sprints toward the exit like a herd of wild animals.

“He’s got someone on the inside…” Dean mumbles.

People bottleneck at the door in a swirl of chaos. No onehas any idea what to do or where to go except Jaxson, who runs past the mess and down the hall only to get hit in the face by a guard’s baton. Dean takes the opportunity and bolts toward the infirmary, shouldering people out of the way like a linebacker. The open hallway is filled to the brim with prisoners. The swirling red light on the wall signaling an emergency is enough to give someone a seizure, and it only stirs up the others even more, providing a nightclub visual to encourage their aggression.

He knows the way like the back of his hand after multiple visits. Two turns and one long hallway later, he’s greeted with the sight of that new guard opening the infirmary door with shaky hands and rattling keys.

There is a flicker of Ava’s shocked face over the other man’s shoulder right before Dean grabs him by the shirt collar and flings him back into the hall. He lands a punch to his nose, hearing a satisfying crack as those tiny bones crumble, and then grabs the dropped keys off the ground.

“Dean? What’s going on?” Ava calls out.

He looks to his left to see her in the doorway, speaking through a crack, ready to shut it. Then, he looks to the right and finds Jaxson and three others at the end of the hall running straight for them.

“Inside, go, go, go! Help me shut it!” He rushes past her and into the infirmary, turning on his heels to shoulder the door closed while she attempts to latch the deadbolt and safety lock.

The others are fast and four fingers get caught in the doorframe, prompting a scream. The metal rattles on its hinges as they try to break through, bouncing against Dean’s shoulder. He turns to brace both feet on the end of the bed that’s shoved up against a far wall, using it for leverage tooverpower the effort on the other side. He slides down to the ground on his ass once Ava flicks the locks shut.

“Anyone else in here?” he asks, getting to his feet again with a hard exhale.

“No. It’s just us. What’s happening out there? Why did you punch the guard?”

She saw him knock out that little shit and still didn’t shut the door in his face, but she’s second-guessing her choices right about now if the way she looks at him, all wide-eyed and panicked, is any indication.

Adrenaline does him no favors when it comes to the harshness in his voice, but he tries to calm himself. “There’s a riot, and he’s in on it. Jaxson and his men really, really want in here so they can escape out that back window.”

He moves past her to find the bars still locked, just as they should be.

“I’m the only one who has the key,” she says quietly. “The guards can get in the room but I keep the key to the bars in my bag…”

That sniveling rookie was about to take those keys from her by force if he had to, and that makes Dean want to go back out and punch him a second time.

“What if they get in here? Should we barricade the door?” She glances around the room to assess what furniture they can use as a barrier.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright. No one’s getting through that now that it’s shut.” He lands a gentle hand on her arm, stopping her in her tracks. “I’m not letting anything happen to you.”

“That’s why you came here?”

“Of course it is. You think I care if Jaxson escapes? I’d be happy he’s gone. Came here for you.”

There is no telling if the others would have ignored Ava in their escape attempts or made a side mission out of hurting her, but he wasn’t about to take the chance and the reality of what could have happened swells tears in her eyes. She’s been attacked here before, right in this very room, and she would have every right to be afraid of him too. He is a loose inmate in her personal space, locked in here with her for who knows how long.

She isn’t afraid of him, though. The situation has her close to hyperventilating, no doubt reliving long-buried memories, but she doesn’t move away from him, only closer.

They are alone and relatively safe and so he does what he’s wanted to do almost every time he sees her. He opens his arms in invitation.

She steps into his embrace without any coaxing, nestling against his chest and holding him tight. The slight tremble in her frame quakes between his arms, her hair soft where he rests his chin atop her head.

Dean still ain’t good at this sort of thing, but she is safe and whole right here under his fingertips, feeling every bit as good as he always imagined she would. It’s a gift to hold her after weeks of wishing he could and he won’t waste the chance. The pounding on the door continues to thump in the background. Shouting on a bullhorn and gunshots of rubber bullets mix with the music of the warning siren. It all fades to the background, nothing but white noise unable to compete with the cacophony of his heartbeat.

“I’m so glad you’re here.” Her words disappear into the fabric of his shirt as she melts into him.

“Me too.”

She is warm and soft and he can’t help but inhale the scentof her, like vanilla and sugar, wondering if she might taste as good as she smells.

He fantasized about her a hundred times, usually in the shower, but he’d always been too disgusted by his surroundings and lack of privacy to do much about it. He thought of sweeping his tongue into her mouth and then working his way down between her legs to taste her there. He’d wonder if she would come quietly with a whimper, or if she’d gasp his name with wild abandon as he worked her with his mouth. He always felt guilty for thinking of her like that, but never had the willpower to stop.

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