“Are you hungry or something? You’d better hurry up and get in line, or you won’t have time.”
Her words sounded muffled. “Do you have any money in your account?” She jerked her chin toward some screens. “Hey,” she shouted, waving her hand in my face. I shook myself out of it and focused on her.
“Yes,” I croaked, having no idea what I’d just said yes to.
“I’ll show you.” She rolled her eyes. I followed her to the back of a dwindling line. “Oh, we got lucky.” She kept on chattering, her words blending together. We reached the front of the line. “Type in your number.”
I typed it in, my finger coming away greasy. I swiped my palm on my thigh.
“Holy shit!” She smacked my shoulder. “You’re rich?!”
There was ten thousand dollars in credit. It shocked me so much, I didn’t move.
She whistled and nudged me. “Why did you look so worried? You have bank!”
Those bastards already knew I was in here.
“I need a cigarette,” I muttered.
“Eesh, those are like gold in here. But you know what, you can prob get anyone to trade your slick with them, they’d give you a whole pack. Then you wouldn’t have to worry?—”
“Did you just say slick? As in my-my—” I staggered over my words.
“Yup, like your cum.” She tapped her nose. “It serves as an aphrodisiac to any Betas fucking Alphas in here. Makes the males crazy.”
All I could do was blink.
“You!” The shout was so loud it echoed. Since I was watching the rosy-cheeked Beta, I watched her eyes widen, then she took off at a sprint. Before I could turn, my hair was grabbed, and I was yanked back so fast, I tripped over my feet. A hard fist rammed into my side, and I grunted, bending from the force of the hit.
A brunette woman, a few years older than me, held a fork up. It arched toward me frighteningly fast. I just managed to put my hand up before the prongs pierced my eye. Instead, the embedded in my palm. Everything blurred around me like a filter had been placed over my eyes and my vision narrowed.
My strangled scream cut off, and the woman leaned close.
“You should have gone after fish your own size, kid.”
The words ripped me out of my stupor, and the world started moving again. I slammed my fist into her face, and she staggered back. While she gathered her bearings, I took the fork out of my hand and held it up to meet her attack. She prowled closer, looking for an opening to attack.
“Bourne Pack paid you, didn’t they?”
She didn’t respond, not that I was expecting her to, but if I kept her talking, her meaty fist wouldn’t be smashing into my face.
“It’s nothing personal.”
She came at me again and avoided her grip, squeezing the fork harder.
“Inmates,” a bellow ripped through the encouraging shouts from the onlookers, and everyone dropped face-down onto the floor.
“Down. Down.Down!”
The fork slid out of my hand and clattered on the ground. I followed what everyone was doing, watching the rush of guards swarm. One of them headed for me, and I tensed on the ground. My arms were wrenched behind my back. He smashed my cheek into the concrete, snapping cuffs on my wrists. Every inch of my body hurt like seven hells.
But at least I was alive.
“This one’s going to need the infirmary,” he called to his partner, and I was lifted. My arm was wrenched back into an uncomfortable angle, and I struggled to stay on my feet with the world spinning.
Chapter 31
Iwhimpered, more from anger and frustration as opposed to the pain of the fork punctures in my palm. The chains, still around my wrists, dug into my flesh with the nurse’s ministrations.
