She gave me hope.
By pressing her mouth to mine.
36
HARPER
When the alarm blared and the lights flashed red, I was absolutely certain the prison had installed some kind of sensor that detected when nurses kissed inmates.
I jumped back from Knox so fast, I nearly tripped over my own feet. My heart lodged somewhere between my throat and the ceiling.
Oh God.
A voice bellowed through the speakers, “Lockdown initiated. All personnel, secure your areas. Lockdown initiated.”
I ran to the doorway, trying to make sense of the chaos. Red lights pulsed against the walls. The alarm shrieked in a rhythm that matched my heartbeat. Somewhere in the distance, I could hear shouting. Boots pounding against concrete.
What the hell is happening?
My training kicked in, cycling through possibilities. Riot. Escaped prisoner. Whatever it was, it wasn’t good.
Heavy footsteps thundered toward us, and then Officer Dominguez appeared in the doorway, out of breath and already reaching for his belt.
“Nurse.” He didn’t look at me. His eyes went straight to Knox. “We’ve got a situation in C-block. I need to secure the inmate.”
“What kind of situation?”
“The kind where I don’t have time to explain.” He unclipped a waist chain from his belt, the metal links clinking together as he crossed the room in three strides. “Inmate, hands at your sides.”
Knox’s eyes found mine. And stayed.
Dominguez worked fast, wrapping the chain around Knox’s waist and cinching it against his prison oranges. He clicked the lock at the small of Knox’s back, then secured one cuff on his left wrist, attaching it to the chain at Knox’s left hip. Then the right. The restraints hung with enough slack that Knox could move his hands, lift them maybe as high as his chest, but no further than that.
Dominguez gave the chain a sharp tug to test it, and the sound snapped through the room like a warning I couldn’t name.
“He’s secure.” Dominguez was already backing toward the door. “Stay put. Don’t open this door for anyone until you hear the all clear.”
And then he was gone. His footsteps faded down the corridor, swallowed by the wail of the alarm.
The door clicked shut behind him.
And we were alone.
Truly, completely alone.
No correctional officer stationed outside the door. No other medical staff in the infirmary, thanks to the doctor running late. Just me and Knox, chained and cuffed, with nothing but an alarm and my rapidly dissolving self-control between us.
Knox tested the cuffs once. The chain pulled taut against his waist, the metal links clinking together before settling.
“Well”—his voice was low, almost amused—“this is new.”
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t make it weird.”
“You’re the one who kissed me, Princess.” A slow smirk curved across his mouth.
