“Just breathe. We’re gonna get out of here. He’s gonna get us out of here.”
“Yea… Okay.” He nods again, breathing out steadily, visibly composing himself.
I try the door, the both of us examining the structure of it.
“Seems like whatever that crash was shifted the foundation or something.” My eyes drop to the floor. “If we can try to chisel the cement at the bottom, we can probably get it open.”
“We stashed tools in here.” Jasper darts across the room.
He comes back with some stuff, dropping it onto the ground by our feet. I’m all set to start bashing, when he gasps, “Hang on!”
Shuffling. Foosteps, I think.
And then a whistle, followed by, “Guys, it’s me. Are you okay??”
Jasper collapses into the door, slamming his eyes shut. “God,fuck, Simon… Jesus, thank God you’re alright…”
“Are you praying in there?” Hancock mutters, like the smartass he is.
Jasper laughs. He actuallylaughs. It’s not a very common occurrence, and it’s freaking adorable as hell.
“Let me in!” Hancock whines.
“Can’t,” I tell him. “The door is stuck. What happened out there? Can you see anything??”
He’s quiet for a moment of heavy pause that I can feel through the steel. “The guard tower… It fell on the prison.”
Jasper peeks at me. Our faces go ashen.
“The East Wing is… gone.”
“Gone?? What do you meangone??” I gasp.
Jasper picks up one of the tools and starts smashing it into the concrete beneath the door.
“Wiped the fuck out, man,” Hancock gripes. “It’s a fucking mess. I was gonna try to get closer, see what I could see, but I wanted to check on you guys first.”
“Did you find my phone?”
“No. But mine isn’t working. I can’t get any signal… Velle wasn’t in the East… Right?”
My heart is so far up in my throat, I’m choking as I rip my walkie off my holster. Pressing the button only gets me a busy tone.
“The lines are jammed…Fuck!” I slam my fist against the door. “Simon, I need you to go to the prison. I need to know if Rook and Velle are okay…”
“No fucking way,” Jasper stops what he’s doing to bark at me. “He’s not going alone. It’s too dangerous.”
“I’m not a baby,” Hancock grunts. “I can handle it—”
“Simon, stop,” Jasper snaps, turning to me. “You know damn well The Ivory’s men are gonna be all over the prison, if they aren’t already.”
I cover my face, whimpering into the leather covering my palms. “Jake, we need to get back there… We need to help.”
NowI’mthe one freaking out… And he’s talking me down.
“Take a breath, Joyful,” Jasper says. “You were right before. We have to be smart. Velle and Rook are warriors. They’re all good. If anything, we should wait for them to come get us. ‘Cause you know that’s their number one priority right now… Getting you.”
Scrubbing my hands over my face, I lock eyes with him, nodding subtly.
