Jess
Gabi stared at me in disbelief after hearing Thorn's explanation of who I was. “You've dragged an outsider into this?” she hissed, and although the question was directed at Thorn, there was no denying the threat in her voice that was directed solely at me.
“Well, what was I supposed to do, Gabi?” Thorn asked, sounding just as exasperated as he had when he had asked that question to Dorian. “She overheard me on the phone. I couldn't exactly let her walk off after that. Anyway, she's been my cover in some ways. No one gets suspicious about a young couple looking to book a motel room for a night or two, but they do get suspicious when a guy like me shows up on his own on a motorcycle and needs a place to stay.”
Gabi frowned and turned her gaze back to Thorn. “You may have compromised our mission enough as it is,” she snapped. “Who exactly is this Emmanuel guy that you thought might have ratted you out?”
“That was for something else entirely,” Thorn said defensively. “He doesn't know about the packages or anything like that.” When Gabi continued to stare at him, clearly expecting an explanation, Thorn rolled his eyes. “He's Jess's ex-boyfriend, I guess. Sort of. They weren't really dating. Anyway, he showed up here not too long ago and I ended up punching him in the face. I thought he might have sent you here to arrest me for assault or something like that.”
Gabi looked even more dismayed. “And what happens to me if the cops show up here and find me talking to the two of you?” she asked. “How are we going to explain that? I'm in uniform, after all.”
“Why are you dressed as a cop anyway?” I blurted out. “Wouldn't it have seemed less conspicuous if you had just come in your normal clothes?”
“I just got off work,” Gabi snapped. “As Thorn should've known, I'm a prison guard at the prison where Katia is being held. How did you think we were going to get the packages to her anyway?”
“Wait, the packages are going to Katia?” I asked incredulously, staring at Thorn. “She's trying to get out of prison, isn't she? And you're helping her!”
Thorn scowled at Gabi. “See, she didn't know everything about the mission.”
“Just enough to jeopardize it,” Gabi shot back. “What do you think Katia’s going to say when she finds out you’ve dragged this girl into the mess as well?”
I could feel panic rising inside of me again. “Look, I don’t really have anything to do with this. He kidnapped me at gunpoint; I’m the victim here. As a prison guard, I would have expected you to have better morals than to harass an innocent bystander.”
There was a long silence where they both just stared at me. Suddenly, I wondered if Gabi might reconsider her role in this. If I could only make her see how wrong this was… There must be some good inside her if she had decided to become a prison guard. I couldn't see why she had gotten herself tangled up with the Sigma Saints to begin with, unless it all had to do with money…
“What are they paying you?” I suddenly asked her.
“What do you mean?” Gabi asked.
“To work for the Sigma Saints, to help Katia Sin escape,” I said. “What are the Sigma Saints paying you? I know they want their national president back. I assume they've offered you quite a bit of money. But maybe we can make some sort of a deal.” I didn't want to use all my inheritance money paying her off, but I also thought that might be a fair trade off in exchange for my life.
But Gabi sneered at me. “It's not about money,” she said. “The Sigma Saints aren't paying me anything. I'm paying them, and I'm helping to organize this.”
“But why?” I asked. There had to be some sort of reason…
“Katia Sin has my kid sister working as a prostitute for the Sigma Saints,” Gabi said finally. “She's promised that if I get the package to her, she'll let my sister go.” She bit her lip, momentarily looking human. “Jamie deserves something more in life than to be passed around as a prostitute by a bunch of crusty biker dudes.”
“Oh,” I said quietly. I looked towards Thorn, hoping he would help me out a little, but he was still staring impassively at Gabi.
“I want you to deliver the first package to me tomorrow,” Gabi said to Thorn, her tone level. “I'm working near where Katia is being held, and I should be able to get it in to her. The rest of the packages will be delivered to me at work over the course of the week. As for where to make the deliveries, you'll come in during visiting hours. There will be a man there at the desk who will want to check your package to make sure that there's nothing in it that the prisoners can't have. You'll hand over the package; he'll confiscate it. I've already taken pains to ensure that it's Romeo Barrows on the desk checking packages. I'm sure you've heard his name around the Sigma Saints before; he's been useful to us.”
Thorn grunted a confirmation. “Who am I there to visit?” he asked. “Surely you don't want to link Katia to any of this.”
“Of course not,” Gabi said, giving him a look of disgust as though she couldn't believe he even had to ask. “You'll be there to see your ex-fiancée, Grace Talbot.”