This is probably the first time Kade has been called unpretty, Violet thought with an edge of hysteria.
Everywhere signs warned restricted access. Ferro led the way past the double doors that housed the morgue. Violet shivered.
He’s not in there.
But Ryan and Jessup would be waiting on the other side of the rear exit. Mia said there were usually only one or two employees in there at any given time. Violet took note of where the stairwell came out, almost across from the morgue. Good.
Squeezing into the elevator scared the hell out of Violet, who held her breath as the door slid soundlessly closed. The lurch of her stomach had nothing to do with the quick lift of the car to the third floor. The door opened to a security station armed with a guard. Violet bet the wall separating the small foyer and the prison consisted of bulletproof glass. Maybe even magick-proof glass, if there was such a thing.
Ferro signed in for both himself and Mia. The guard on the other side of the glass punched in a code that Violet memorized. Once the door slid open, he gave a respectful nod to Ferro, but his eyes narrowed as he assessed Mia. Could he sense Violet? The door closed with a loud clang, snapping against the bubble.
Please hold, please, please, pretty please.
Mia glanced back, her expression tight. Violet saw a flicker of relief at the orb’s sound structure. They followed Ferro down a hall lined with cells, two guards monitoring the area. One greeted Mia with a nod that indicated recognition. When Violet had hoped Mia could use her connections, she explained that once she’d chosen not to remain in the prison, the staff cut ties to her. A necessary prejudice, she said, as the prison and psych ward staff didn’t mix with the other Guard staff.
Several prisoners sat or stood around in their cells, coming to attention when they caught sight of Mia. Violet had seen movies where the convicts hooted and hollered when a woman entered their domain, but these prisoners did not. Mostly men, one woman, and more empty cells than filled ones. No Kade.
They turned the corner, finding another security checkpoint. This man wore a white uniform, and his shaved head reflected the harsh fluorescent lights above.
“I see you’re back,” he said to Ferro, then took note of Mia.
“Beckett, this is Kavanaugh’s sister. She wants to see him.”
Something in his eyes softened with pity. “I would say good to see you again, but it doesn’t seem quite appropriate, does it?” His mouth tightened when he looked at Ferro as he stood and pulled out the keys.
Violet sized him up. He was big, muscular, but she could take the Deuce. Mia had described the cuff that the orderly would use to restrain an out-of-control inmate. It hung from his belt and gleamed with Lucifer’s Gold.
There were no other prisoners—or were they considered patients here? No other staff either. That would make things easier. Violet took note of the emergency exit door that led to the fire escape.
Three cells down, Ferro stopped and faced a window reinforced with wire mesh. Mia gasped, throwing her hands against the glass. The bubble shimmered as she lost her focus on it.
“Mia,” Violet whispered. The bubble started to disintegrate.
Mia jerked her head to Violet, who stood beside Ferro. The bubble snapped together again. Only then could Violet turn to look at what had upset Mia so badly.
She couldn’t gasp, couldn’t breathe. Kade, bound in a straitjacket, banged his head against the wall and uttered words that made no sense. They funneled out through a speaker.
“Bore…bore.” He let out a groan. “Don’t leave, no. No!”
Ferro pressed the button, which muted it.
“This is from a reaction to a drug?” Mia nearly shouted to Beckett, her hands curled at her sides.
“We had to get him under control quickly,” he said in an unconvincing tone. “But he’s been muttering nonsense since we brought him here.”
“What drug? What did you give him?” Mia asked in the same high-pitched tone.
“Just a standard pharmaceutical. I’ve never seen a reaction like this before.” He consulted a chart. “It’s?—”
Kade threw himself at the window, hitting his forehead so hard that it cut the skin and left a bloody smear across the glass. His eyes were wide, but they flickered with recognition at Mia. Violet saw the stark fear in those eyes and…something else. She blinked and focused on them. Not the mist, but something dark moving across his irises. Mia saw it, too. And from her horrified expression, she knew what it meant.
“That’s enough,” Ferro said. “It’s hard for me to watch him. I imagine it’s much more painful for?—”
The bubble disintegrated at the same moment Mia sent a wall of hot, sharp magick at Ferro. He stumbled and fell, taken by surprise. Violet Catalyzed and rammed him before he could even begin to get to his feet. He skidded down the hall, arms and legs flailing.
“Open one of the empty cells, Beckett!” Mia ordered, pinning him against the wall with a magick “net.” She grabbed the cuff, unsnapping it the way she might have many times in her stint here, and tossed it to Violet.
Beckett nodded and pulled out a card like the one Mia had used. He swiped it in the lock of the cell beside Kade’s, and the door opened.
