Page 29 of Okay, I Regret a Little
“This is crazy. I hope the witches wake up and turn on her like Scar and the hyenas.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“You’ve never seenThe Lion King?It was my favorite movie when I was a kid. Scar is a lion who convinces the hyenas to kill the king and his son for him. He takes over Pride Rock and nearly ruins it. Simba isn’t dead, though. He’s off with Pumba and Timon. He comes back to save the day. He doesn’t want to kill Scar. He tries to banish him, but the hyenas find out he was using them and tried to throw them under the bus. In the end, they eat him.”
“Movies were silent when I got busted. I hear they have sound now. Your parents let you watch some violent shit when you were a kid.”
I started giggling.
“It’s a kid’s movie. There are musical numbers and a happily ever after at the end.”
“After the regicide, attempted child murder, and the cannibalism? What the fuck, Rei? How is that a movie for kids?”
“That settles it. When we bust out of here, you’re watchingThe Lion Kingwith me.”
“It’s a date,” Wren said. “Rei, what the fuck are you going to do about Faust? I don’t want him stopping us, but you will break his little wolf heart in two if we get out of here. You’re it for him. Once you leave, he’s never getting another mate. He’ll never fall in love.”
I slumped. The Faust problem was seriously ongoing. Hauser thought I should tell him, and I trusted Hauser with my life. What was worse? Breaking his heart for a little while until I could get to a phone and call him or putting him in a situation where he had to choose between me and going to jail if we blew it?
“Hauser thinks if I’m going to do this, I should ask for his help. I can’t do that, Wren. I am starting to care for him, but I care about you, Dakarys, and Rajack too. I’d be putting Faust in this position to go down with us if we got caught. I’d be responsible for caging his wolf. I can’t do that to him. I’ll get a phone and call him when we are far away. He can forgive me and join us, or he can stay mad at me and not.”
Wren slipped her hand in mine.
“I think we are all starting to care for you, too, but if Faust joins us, he won’t share you.”
My face was drawing closer to Wren’s. I closed my eyes and went for it.
“Let me worry about Faust.”
I pressed my lips to hers. Wren let out a little growl and pounced. She snaked herself around, so she was straddling my lap. I’d never quite been kissed like this before. She was kissing me like this was the last time we would see each other, and she took my breath away.
I got caught up in the moment and forgot where I was. I started tugging on the zipper of her prison jumpsuit when half my cellblock started hooting and hollering. I looked up, and Whisper and Candra both had their faces up against the bars of their cell, watching us.
“Damn, perky tits,” Whisper said. “If I knew you were into women, too, I would have tried harder. We had a betting pool if it was going to be Rajack, Dakarys, or both. I guess we all lost. Which one of you is the bitch?”
Wren rested her forehead on mine and let out a little growl.
“You’re such a clit blocker, Whisper.”
“I’m saving your life, dumbass. Do you want a guard jerking off to the two of you fucking like bunnies? They will brag about it to their friends. Word could get back to the witches you’re sleeping with the enemy. I know you’re plotting. The two of you are always whispering. I caught a little snippet that it was the witches and not the eagles that did Astrid like that. The foxes liked Astrid. All this started when Venus showed up. Let us help.”
Wren and I exchanged looks. She slid off my lap and rested her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her close. I barely knew Astrid. I was just trying to survive in here. I had this feeling Astrid and Wren had been more than just coven members. I needed to be here for Wren just like she was here protecting me.
“Okay, confession. Venus ordered the hit on Astrid and had the witches carry it out. We suspect she provoked you into giving her that beating so she’d be in medical when it went down, and no one would suspect her,” I said.
“That bitch!” Whisper growled.“No onemanipulates the beatings I give out. When she gets out, I’m going to give her another on my terms.”
“Watch it, Whisper,” Wren said. “Don’t start a war with the witches. You were here for the whole situation with the eagles. They’ve got a guard on their side now.”
“Who?” Whisper demanded.
“Brody is in their pocket now. You know what he’s like. If you go for any of them, he’ll throw every single fox in solitary to rot.”
Whisper and Candra started laughing.
“There’s only one way Brody would help them, and the rest of the prison won’t stand for it.”
“Will you trust me I’ve got it handled? Just sit back and watch them implode.”
