Page 32 of Okay, I Regret a Little
“Shit is about to go down in the mess hall. I need every available guard in riot gear.”
I rarely had forewarning when a riot started. Sometimes, I was trying to break up fights and call for backup at the same time. Hopefully, my asshole coworkers could get here fast because an entire table of eagles got up and was headed towards the witches. I jumped off my perch and tried to stop them.
“Go back to your table or get to work if you are finished eating,” I barked.
Inmate 69087 was the leader of the eagles, and he had been here a long time. He was also this smug fuck who only got this job because Astrid and Wren wiped out most of the stronger eagles.
“I have business with the witches.”
“Like fuck you do. Go back to your table.”
I was in this standoff with the eagles. My back was to the witches.
“Die, guard fucker!” someone shrieked behind me.
I whirled around just in time to see a vampire with a shiv flying at the witch table. Shit. Control of the situation was officially lost. Where were the other guards? It was just me in here. Brody finally came flying through the door, and that didn’t make me feel any better. He was worthless as backup.
He had his shock baton out and saw the vampire headed straight for the witch that said she fucked him. He looked devastated.
“Karin!” he cried, running at the vampire.
What exactly did he think was going to happen?
Brody shocked the vampire, and all hell broke loose. Brody wasn’t helping. He was only trying to save the witches. Yeah, most of the people here were gunning for them, but some people were using the riot to settle old scores.
I glanced over to Rei, but I couldn’t find her. The sphinx and the gargoyle were protecting Wren. Where the fuck was my mate, and why wasn’t Wren with her? That was the whole reason I didn’t rip her throat out when I found her in bed with my mate.
Finally, guards started spilling into the mess hall in riot gear. I had backup, and I could focus on finding Rei. I needed to get her out of here. The witches needed to focus on not getting a shiv to the gut, but I didn’t trust them not to make an attempt on Rei.
I saw a flash of white. Rei was right in the thick of things and squaring off with Brody. Idid notneed to get fired for killing Brody in the middle of a prison riot because he hurt Rei. What was she doing?
Brody had this grin on his face like he would get shock happy and beat the shit out of her. Even the guards knew about the bad blood between Rei and the witches. He was firmly in bed with the witches now, and a prison riot was the perfect time to take out their enemy.
Bodies, punches, and food were flying everywhere. I was trying to shove my way to Rei. She was just standing there with this insane look on her face. What was she doing? Why was she going after him during the riot? As far as I knew, Brody hadn’t done shit to her. I’d made sure of that. She still had her magic. If she killed a guard, she was never getting out of here. She’d never get out of solitary.
A wolf and a vampire slammed into me as I made my way to her. I nearly went down, but I righted myself. I saw Brody raise his baton, crackling with electricity, and I would not make it before he hit her. Rei was still just standing there.
I don’t know what happened. I’d never seen it before in the entire time I’d worked here. The lights flickered, and Brody’s baton just exploded in his hand. His body jerked from the shock, and he went down.
Someone knocked into Rei, and she landed right on top of him. I finally got to her. She was fine and stupid Brody was still alive. It was going to take a while for his eyebrows to grow back, but he wasn’t dead.
I was pretty fucking sure the baton exploded because of Rei and her handcuffs. But why? Rei had a problem with Venus, but she wasn’t a killer. I got she was friends with the sphinx and gargoyle, but she wouldn’t go after Brody to save their lives. She was cunning and smart. If she wanted to save her friends, she’d go after Venus. She was like me in some ways. If she killed for the first time, she’d go for the source, not the guard the witches were manipulating.
I yanked Rei to her feet and shielded her with my body. I couldn’t leave my post and get her to safety with a riot going on until she took down Brody. Getting a downed officer out of the line of fire, especially one like Brody, who was universally hated, was a decent excuse to get her out.
I picked Brody up and heaved him over my shoulder.
“Follow me,” I growled.
Rei looked super proud of herself as we dodged bodies trying to make it out of the mess hall. I couldn’t take her with me. There would be consequences for this riot, and I didn’t want her to get any.
“Go back to your cell and wait. If anyone asks, you had a stomachache and didn’t eat breakfast this morning. When things get back to normal, we need to talk.”
We did. I had a million questions for her. I said I wouldn’t pressure her for anything, but we needed to talk about Wren. And I needed to know why she provoked Brody and made his baton explode.
I still had no idea what the fuck she was that she could do that, but I told myself I wouldn’t ask again. She could tell me when she was ready.
I just hoped she was ready soon because what the fuck?
