Was she in a dream? Had Gabe just offered to break her out of prison?

Her heart hammered as the hopelessness disappeared and elation took over like a balloon soaring among the clouds, flirting with birds in flight.

Out.

She was going to escape this hellhole, and Gabe was going to help her do it!

As she fully processed his words, reality set in and the balloon spiraled downward for an imminent crash landing.

A prison guard wanted to break her out of jail in exchange for information, which basically amounted to nothing but white noise? Who was he kidding? He wouldn’t have that kind of power.

Of course, he didn’t know about her lack of solid information, but he’d be breaking the law worse than she had if they went through with his plan.

What is the catch?

He must think she’d found a huge secret piece of evidence to bargain for her release.

“You want to help me get out of here?” she asked just to make sure she’d understood his side of the negotiating chip.

He nodded.

She wanted to say yes, to jump at the chance to leave the bowels of hell. Yet, the distrust between Fae and shifters had gone on for so long, it had almost become bred within them at conception.

And frankly, not one of them had ever given her a reason to think the group hatred was overrated.

However, she couldn’t think of a time in her life when a shifter hadn’t been a scum-sucking piece of crap to her. The ones at work, Jake, Cat—the bobcat shifter, Danica… Nope, she’d never met one she could even remotely trust.

Gabe had been kind to her, but that didn’t mean his endgame wouldn’t make her life even more difficult. For all she knew, he had brought her donuts and croissants and spent hours talking to her to soften her up for answers. Then, when the time was right, he would snap her in a trap, and she’d find out he and McAllister had been working together all along. McAllister obviously wanted to make sure she didn’t see the light of day for a very long time. What better way than getting a life sentence for breaking out?

No. She wanted to trust Gabe and agree to his terms, but she needed to consider this plan from every angle and figure out his motive no matter what decision she made.

“I need to think about this,” she said, realizing the phrase had sort of become her mantra. Too much was happening too fast right now.

He shrugged. “Okay, but I’m out of here in a few minutes. I’ve got two days off. I need an answer when I get back.”

She nodded. The urge to beg him to take her along was overwhelming. Yet, she could end up in more trouble if she acted on impulse—which was exactly how she’d gotten herself into this mess. From here on out, she’d consider her decisions rationally.

“What happens to me after I give you the information?” she asked. “Do you haul me back in here?”

He shook his head. “No. You just… vanish. Go do your own thing. Live another life. Preferably not in Seattle, but that’s your choice.”

He disappeared from sight and returned a few minutes later. She wanted to give him an answer but couldn’t.

“Doing anything fun on your days off?” she asked, hoping to live vicariously through him if only for a couple of minutes.

“Yeah. I’m heading deep into the forest… spending two days with my pack. I’m going to roll and dig in the dirt, hunt, and drink some beers.”

She flinched as she considered the bunnies and other prey that would lose their lives.

“See you later, Avery. We can help each other. It’s all gonna come down to trust.”

He walked away but came back into her view a moment later.

“And, if you say anything about my little proposal, I’ll deny it and make sure your time here will be even more miserable.”

Had that been a threat, or a simple glimpse of her future if she blew the whistle? Typical shifter. He suggests breaking the law, and if I decide to be a good citizen and report him, I’m the one to suffer. What the hell is wrong with everybody these days? The world has turned upside down. She had no intention of mentioning his plan to anyone, and her cheeks flamed with anger.

Avery studied the floor as his footsteps echoed down the hall toward the elevator. If she met his gaze, she knew he’d see the fury there. Probably best to not let on that he’d upset her.

Male voices spoke in low tones, and she assumed the other to be the night guard; however, she didn’t recognize his voice. She hoped he’d be more talkative than the regular night guy.

Trust. That was the issue, the part she needed to figure out. Could she trust Gabe?

Hours later, no matter how hard she thought about it, the answer still eluded her.

“You’re going to have some company down here,” the guard said as he handed her the dinner tray through the slat in the bars. With his rounded gut, balding head, and salt and pepper beard, she pegged him somewhere in his late forties, but she couldn’t figure out what paranormal type he belonged to. At least she was certain he wasn’t a shifter.

She stared at the grey meat and green beans while her mouth watered for one of Gabe’s croissants, or a simple salad. She hadn’t bothered to tell anyone she was a vegetarian, so the meat kept coming. Thankfully, she didn’t have a need to identify it. The kitchen always destroyed the protein of the meal.

However, she’d just been allowed to shower and wouldn’t let a gross slab of meat ruin her uplifted mood. It never failed to amaze her how some soap and hot water could change attitude for the better.

Setting the tray on her bed, she turned back toward the guard, her curiosity now overriding the hunger pangs.

“Really? Who is it?”

She hadn’t spent enough time upstairs to get to know anyone, but she also wanted to keep the guard chatting since she liked the company.

“Wasn’t given a name. She’ll be down later, I’m told. Enjoy your dinner.”

He spun on his heel and left the cell area. She stared at the plate. With a sigh, she picked up a fork and ate a green bean. Curiosity was getting the best of her. It seemed silly for her to even think about it, but she allowed her mind to wander, a fantasy about her new neighbor being someone who liked to talk… someone who wasn’t dangerous. Preferably, she’d be a Fae, but chances of that were slim. Her brief introduction to the prison society involved meeting just about every paranormal entity but Fae. Besides that, Madge had confirmed that she rarely saw her own kind in prison. Surely her new roomie being a Fae wasn’t even possible.

Avery ate the rest of her vegetables, drank some milk, and pushed the meat aside. It made her sick just looking at it.

A short time later, the guard came and took the tray. Avery got comfortable on the bed, waiting for sleep to come. She wished she had a book or something to do to escape her thoughts, even for a short time. Yes, she should consider Gabe’s offer, but she often found that answers to complications in her life often came when she was distracted by something else, or after a good night’s sleep.

If Gabe was working with McAllister to get her sentence extended, she had to admit, it was a very intricate plan. Gabe had gained some of her trust, despite the wariness of their two species about each other. He’d brought her food, opened up to her, and kept her company for hours. He’d even allowed Madge to stay and chat a while. He seemed honest, but that could very well be the way he was supposed to come across, especially if he was McAllister’s ally.

When it came right down to it, Avery had never met a shifter she could trust. It had been proven over and over again.

Other issues needed to be considered as well. What happened once she was out? She’d been so shocked by his idea, she hadn’t given any thought to the aftermath. If she provided him the information he wanted, then what? Did they go after the vampire together, or did Gabe call McAllister and have her hauled back into jail? The guard claimed she could simply walk away, but what if he’d lied?

Honestly, there wasn’t much to go back to, except her friendship with Victoria. She assumed all of her belongings would have been thrown away or sold when the landlord didn’t get his rent. Of course, he’d have to wait the proper amount of time to legally get rid of everything. Same with her mom’s place. If Avery were out of prison, she’d be starting fresh with nothing, as well as be a fugitive. Not the same as being exonerated. Never actually free again.

In a way, it sounded like a relief. Maybe Gabe could even get her a new identity, and she could move away from Seattle, forget all her bills, and become a new person.

She grinned as she thought of names for her new persona. She’d always liked the name Gwen. Anna was nice, too. Both had a ring of royalty to them, which she liked. She could be the Queen of Transience.

Groaning at her own joke, she listened as the elevator door opened. Avery craned her neck to catch a glimpse. She heard two distinct sets of footsteps.

Was she going to meet the other person who had earned a spot in solitary confinement?

Avery got to her feet and gripped the bars as they approached, still unable to see anyone.

If someone else was sent to solitary, and Avery agreed to join Gabe in his escape, how would they do it? It would seem that breaking out of a prison would be difficult enough, but to add another person who could report them seemed to only complicate the plan further. Another thought came to mind—what if her new neighbor was sent there as a spy?

She gasped as a guard came into view with the new prisoner. Danica stood at his side, her once pretty face now lined with an angry welt of stitches down her right cheek, the rest of it black and blue, her left eye almost swollen shut. Danica’s hair was matted around her shoulders, giving her a crazed, feral stare, as if she’d just arrived from the forest after spending months in wolf form.

Avery took one long stride away from the bars, and Danica grinned at her, a smile that would send a chill down anyone’s spine. The shifter didn’t seem to be in any pain and stared at Avery as if she’d just won the lottery.

New abrasions and stitches only added to her unbalanced, demented appearance, and Avery’s stomach rolled, the need to flee stronger than ever. She could probably scratch through the concrete walls.

“Hi, Avery,” Danica said. “I told you I’d see you again.”