Julian gives a short, tinkling laugh. “Oh, you silly little thing. I can’t believe he actually thinks you might be a plant, not withthatlevel of complete oblivion.”
I hunch up under the blankets, trying to cover my nose and mouth with Alessandro’s robe, so that at least the stink of the cells won’t make me sick. I don’t know how Julian can stand it, the stone-deep, lingering smells of death and torture and fear. I never knew before I came here what those things smelled like, but I knew them right away, some instinctive understanding.
And now I’ll never forget.
“So what’s he doing now?” Julian demands. I peek out to see him prowling again, like a caged animal behind the bars.
“He said he had a meeting,” I mumble. I’m exhausted, my fear and anxiety making me tired. “Please, Julian—let me sleep a little.”
Julian ignores that completely. “Next time he takes you up there, you must flirt more with him.”
“What?”
“Trust me. You’re completely his type. Come to think of it, Idosee why he thinks you’re a plant. You seem a little too custom-made to be true.”
Apparently Alessandro’s “type” is terrified and useless.
“So try to flirt a little more next time,” Julian goes on. “And show him that you have something he needs, apart from your ass, I mean.”
“I don’t even knowhowto flirt.”
There’s a silence, and when I peek over the blankets again, Julian is staring at me, hands on hips, brow furrowed. “Do you know,” he says, “I believe you, Teddy MacCallum? You really are the strangest little thing.”
“Yeah,” I mutter, pulling the blankets back over my head. “That’s what everyone says.”
* * *
I’m not sure how long I sleep, but eventually I become aware of the rattling of a cell door. I bolt upright, but the door being opened is not mine.
It’s Julian’s.
“He’s letting you out?” I say, rubbing at my eyes. The room seems crowded with men, four men in protective gear—but strangely, no weapons. Julian walks out of his cell, his hands cuffed behind him, and his feet chained as well so that he has to shuffle.
He gives me a wink before he turns toward the door. “Notoutout. One hour of exercise time, apparently.”
“Move,” says one of the guards, pulling him on.
“See you soon, Teddy MacCallum!” Julian calls over his shoulder. I watch the odd little procession exit the cells, and I can hear the chains rattling all the way down the corridor.
For the first time, I’m totally alone down here.
I can feel the rising wave of panic, but taking deep breaths doesn’t help—it just fills my lungs more with death-tainted air, making me gag. I rush to the cold metal toilet and just make it there as the purge starts, those three croissants and coffee all coming back up in gut-cramping heaves.
Afterward, I can’t even get off the floor, I’m so dizzy. I lean against the wall between the small space between the end of the bunk and the toilet, waiting for my head to stop spinning. My thoughts are racing. Alessandro, the way his cold eyes raked over me, sitting there as he shot down every theory theCute Crimscommunity had, the impatience in his voice…
He’s going to kill me, or he’s going to keep me here like he’s keeping Julian here. I’ll get an hour of sunshine every now and then, and I’ll never see anyone else ever again—and it’s all because of my own stupid obsession.
I push up and away from the wall and try to stagger to the bed, trying to suck in lungfuls of air as my chest tightens. I’m shaking all over, the robe coming open as I stare down at the rough concrete floor, at the rusty brown stain spreading out beneath me, and I go down, hands and knees jarring. My ears are ringing, my head buzzing as darkness edges across my vision—
Someone is pulling me up off the floor, but I can’t stand, my knees buckling. They try again and I throw my arms around their neck like I’m drowning and they’re my only hope. My legs go out from under me, swept up by my rescuer, and I squeeze my eyes shut tight, hoping it will help the dizziness.
It doesn’t.
* * *
The next thing I’m aware of is feeling warm and safe. That Alessandro scent is all around me, filling up my nose with heady, welcome goodness. I take a tentative sniff and then a deep breath through my nose, getting rid of all thatdeathfrom the cells.
“You’re awake.”
