Daddy ignored my question. His voice was tired as he mumbled, “Why are all my children obsessed with showing the world their underwear?”
“Hey, this is hypocritical,” I pointed out. “You didn’t get mad at Ez for doing the magazine shoot.”
“Ez isn’t dancing around a pole, singing provocative songs.”
“I mean, he could. Ivy’s got openings.”
Daddy gave an annoyed sound, before he said reluctantly, “Anyway, this isn’t why I called. I wanted to let you know your Uncle Jonah will be flying out to visit tomorrow. He wants to tell you the latestnewsfrom back home.”
Daddy’s words implied something different than their meaning. Had he found out something about the prison, something he couldn’t tell me over these tapped phone lines? He’d promised to find information to get me and my friends out of here.
That had to be it. It was why he was sending someone to relay me information, because it looked suspicious if Daddy showed up and told me himself.
“Of course. I can’t wait,” I said. “And I’m sorry you saw that video, but I don’t regret what I did. I made an empowered decision and all that.”
“Empowered decision, my ass,” Daddy mumbled. “Remember we agreed tomake good choices?”
“Well, if we did, I forgot. Bye Daddy!”
I hung up the phone before he could lecture me further. No doubt right now he was having a meltdown at his desk. I passed the guard, and he smirked at me. He’d been listening in, the bastard.
“Tell the little freak I want double my pay,” the guard said. “Or I report what I heard to the Warden.”
“You’ll get your money,” I told him sourly. “As long as you keep your mouth shut.”
The guard grinned and inclined his head. Though I was certain he’d keep his word, as long as Ivy shoved money at him, I wasn’t so sure the Warden didn’t know about the club already. I was certain the news had gotten back to him somehow. After all, he knew everything that went on in this place. But it worried me that he hadn’t shut it down and thrown Ivy in Cellblock 9 for it. It meant the Warden thought he could use The Devil’s Playground for his own purposes. I was certain he had people in there who were listening in for information, and that scared the hell out of me.
I was already late for class, and I figured the guards had told my teacher about the phone call, so I decided to skip the rest of it. I knew Ivy was in the mermaid pool this time of day. I headed down there and saw Opal swimming laps with him.
Ivy’s mermaid tail was so beautiful. It was as sparkly as Opal’s, and his scales were a variety of different colors, creating a shimmering rainbow underneath the water. I watched him jump out of the water and do a flip, waving his fin at me before he took a dive. Oberi changed into a narwhal, diving in to swim after them.
Ez sat on a pool chair, munching on Commissary snacks. I sat beside him and dug in his chip bag so I could have a few. Ivy swam up to the pool’s edge.
“I heard you and Chancey joined the Darke Games,” I said.
“Yeah, and according to Marcus, we signed up for nothing,” Ivy bitched. “It’s all a big scam.”
“It’s crazy to say, but the Darke Games aren’t the worst you have to worry about right now,” I said. “My dad just called to yell at me. Someone took a video of me dancing at the club and sent it to him.”
“Dadsawthat?” Ez’s eyes widened. “Woah.”
Ivy completely flipped shit. He slapped his tail against the water. “Dammit! I should’ve known someone wouldn’t play by the rules. This puts the club at risk! We’re going to have to body-search people now and make sure they aren’t carrying any phones.”
“The guards are also asking for more money, so you’d better cough up some cash if you want to keep the club a secret,” I added.
Ivy groaned. “They’ll get paid. That is, if they keep their end of the bargain. But I’m gonna need to find a way to bring in more capital. You want to dance again, Ava? The crowd loved you on opening night.”
“No, thanks. It was fun, but that was a one-time deal,” I said. “I got my kicks.”
“You ruin me, precious.” Ivy turned to Ez. “What about you, sweet peach? If I can’t have Ava, I want her brother, and Iknowyou can twerk.”
Ez sighed heavily. “I’m gaining weight again. I have a medical exemption from the mines now, so they put me on secretary duty in the prison office. It’s a lot easier, but I’m definitely losing my muscles.”
“You look perfect the way you are. You’re like my squishy teddy bear,” Opal said with a giggle.
“Aw! That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me!” Ez brightened.
Ivy tapped his chin. “I couldusea body-positive dancer—” Ivy began, before he was cut off by a vicious cackle.
