Hours had passed since they’d deposited Danica in the cell right next to Avery. Thankfully, with solid walls between them, she couldn’t see the psycho. Regardless, Danica wanted Avery to know she was there and wasn’t going anywhere.

The small, grey space that she’d once considered hellish was now her only protection against the shifter who wanted her dead.

“Just you and me down here together,” Danica whispered for what seemed like the millionth time. “I can’t wait until we get to spend some time alone because I’m going to kill you for ruining my life.”

Avery closed her eyes as she lay on the bed and wished the guard would tell Danica to shut up. She longed for the silence she had once found oppressive and depressing.

Realistically, she knew Danica couldn’t get to her. It was physically impossible for her to leave her own cell, let alone come into Avery’s, but death threats were still death threats.

She rolled over and shut her eyes, determined to get a few hours of sleep.

“I’m going to kill you with my bare hands,” Danica whispered. “I won’t even have to shift into my wolf form. I’m going to take your scrawny ass and rip it to pieces. I’m going to avenge Jake.”

Avery snorted. Jake had tried to sexually assault her and got kicked out of the pack. Danica had killed the pack leader in revenge. How in the world was Avery responsible for her issues?

She knew the more she interacted with the crazed and belligerent woman, the more likely the shifter would keep taunting her, yet, she couldn’t let that one pass.

“Jake is a rapist and not worth avenging,” she replied. “You’re better off without him.”

For a brief few moments, silence filled the air, and Avery thought she would finally be able to get some sleep.

“You filthy, lying bitch!” Danica screamed, causing Avery to shoot to her feet and huddle against the back wall of her cell.

“You two need to shut up!” the guard yelled. “I mean it! Danica, put your shit aside and go to sleep!”

He hadn’t even bothered to walk over, obviously not wanting to miss a moment of his late-night radio programming on Chupacabra.

Avery climbed back into bed and shut her eyes. The silence stretched on, finally allowing her to sleep.

Avery was fully conscious but thought her mind was playing tricks. She could have sworn she heard soft moans as if someone was having sex.

She listened for a moment and heard a man’s grunt, as well as the squeak of bedsprings.

What the hell?

Slowly, she rose to her feet and pressed against the bars, focusing intently. From Danica’s cell, she definitely heard the noises of someone having sex. Based on the tenor of the two voices, it was consensual.

Danica and … who? The guard seemed the likely answer.

Her stomach clenched as she flushed, embarrassed to be witness to the whole thing, if even only hearing the interaction. Why was Danica proclaiming her love for Jake and promising retribution for the wrongs Avery had supposedly committed, then turning around and screwing a guard?

It didn’t make any sense.

What could Danica gain? Better food? Maybe some time with Jake?

Avery returned to bed and gently lowered herself to the mattress, trying to be quiet so she wouldn’t disturb the lovebirds. As she lay fully horizontal, one of the springs poked her in the back, causing her to grimace. If she moved over and dislodged it, her bed would definitely make noise and alert the lovers, something she didn’t want. She was already at the top of Danica’s shit list and chose to avoid that situation with the guard, too. Interrupted sex was never a good thing.

Instead, Avery stared at the ceiling and tried not to think about how it would feel to have a man’s hands on her body bringing her pleasure. Hell, right now, she was so lonely, she imagined a hug from Victoria would bring her to tears. She never realized having those she loved touching her was so important. Thinking about her mother, and the way the woman would always brush her hair behind her ear, then pat her cheek, made her heart ache. It had always annoyed Avery, especially when she was having a good hair day, but now she’d give anything to have Melia frustrate her one last time.

A louder groan came from next door, indicating the grand finale. After a moment, Danica’s cell bars opened, then shut. Afraid to move, Avery tilted her head just enough to see if her initial assessment of the situation had been correct. The guard hurried past her cell as he buttoned his pants without a second glance and headed toward the desk.

Danica’s cell was quiet, and a few moments later, the radio at the guard desk flipped on. Avery rolled over to face the wall, a story of a Chupacabra eating someone’s sheep lulling her back into a restless sleep.

Heavy. The weight on her chest was crushing her. Talons wrapped around her throat, causing her to gasp for breath. She tried to fight for consciousness; yet, the constriction only intensified, making it impossible.

Avery moved her head from side to side and reached up to try and fight off whatever had pinned her down. Her hand became entangled in hair, and she pulled. For a second, she was able to force air into her lungs, and she gasped, finally able to open her eyes.

Danica stared down at her.

How had the shifter gotten in her cell?

The question didn’t matter because Avery realized she was now fighting for her life.

She gasped for breath again, this time wrapping her fist in her attacker’s tangled, black locks and pulling with all her might.

Danica screamed, her head wrenching to her left as Avery’s hand scraped down the cement wall to her right. She gave the hair one last tug, and Danica’s head slammed into the wall, stunning her for just a second.

She rolled to her left to try to push Danica off the bed. As the woman fell to the ground, Avery got to her feet. A quick glance at the bars told her what she’d feared: they were locked in. The guard smiled at her from the other side.

What was this? Some sort of fight club?

Danica stilled for just a second but bounced right up and lunged at her again.

The tiny cell didn’t allow much room to maneuver, but being so small, Avery managed to slide to the side, sending Danica into the bed frame.

The shifter was like a hungry, feral wolf that had prey in its sights and wouldn’t let up, no matter what. She glared at Avery, her lips pulled back to reveal canine teeth. Thankfully, she couldn’t shift into her wolf form, or Avery would have had her throat torn out by now.

An overpowering need to get away from the crazed woman was strong, but there was nowhere to go. The guard seemed to be enjoying the spectacle as they danced around in a circle, one trying to kill the other.

How long will he let this go on? And why is he allowing it? Did she pay for this visit with sex?

Danica attacked again, and this time without any room to maneuver. Avery was pinned between the bars and the shifter, Danica swinging violently at her sides. The woman stood almost a foot taller and definitely outweighed her. A few fists connected with her gut, sending shockwaves of pain everywhere. It had become crystal clear that she needed to fight back, that she had no one on her side to help. She was on her own … and had been since her mom’s murder.

Avery grabbed a fistful of Danica’s hair again and yanked it down this time, causing the big woman to bend forward. As the shifter reached for her hands, Avery brought up her knee and slammed it into Danica’s nose. The coppery stench of blood quickly flooded the cell. Danica’s howl of pain echoed throughout solitary confinement. Avery shoved her away, then followed up with a solid kick to her opponent’s knee.

She’d hoped those moves would have incapacitated Danica, but it appeared she failed. Danica lunged at her again, blood smeared down her chin and running from her nose. Avery quick-stepped to the side, realizing the longer this fight went on, the more upset Danica became. Despite her own rising anxiety, she had to keep her wits about her. The shifter had promised to kill her. Based on the savage gleam in her eye, she had every intention of fulfilling that vow—right there and then.

How was a small Fae supposed to survive against someone so much bigger and stronger?

Danica stared at Avery, her breath sawing in and out of her lungs, teeth bared, blood now smeared across her whole face.

“You’re going to die today,” she whispered.

Avery took a quick inventory of the cell, trying to locate something she could use as a weapon, her heart thundering. She hated being in solitary confinement, and her future appeared incredibly bleak, but she certainly wasn’t ready to meet her maker. Not yet.

One glimpse over her shoulder at the guard, and hearing his chuckles, scared her even more than the crazed shifter in her cell. The jerk was not only allowing this to happen but obviously encouraged it. Avery vowed to survive this if for no other reason than to make sure he paid.

A flash of an idea came to her, but it would be risky. If she took a second too long, Danica would be on her.

Without another moment passing, she reached through the bars and grabbed the guard’s baton from his belt. He’d left the strap unbuttoned after his tryst with Danica. Avery was so quick, he didn’t realize it had happened until she’d turned back to face Danica.

“Give me that!” he shouted as he tried to seize her through the bars. She slid to her right, now completely trapped between the cop whose arms weren’t quite long enough to grab her, and Danica.

She gripped the baton with both hands, like a baseball bat. With Danica’s height and weight advantage, Avery didn’t stand a chance. But now, the odds had evened, and she may live to see daylight.

Danica scowled at her, studying her while Avery was ready to swing if the crazed prisoner so much as flinched. Sweat dripped down her face and stung her eyes, but she didn’t dare blink or take time to wipe them clean. She couldn’t allow Danica an opportunity to get the upper hand, not even for a second.

“All right, enough!” the guard yelled as he unlocked the door and slid it open. “This has gone on long enough, Danica!”

He pulled out his Taser and pointed it between the two women.

“Drop the baton,” he ordered.

Avery almost complied but decided against it at the last second. “Not until she’s locked up in her own cell.”

The guard motioned Danica to follow him out, now pointing the Taser gun at her. “Come on. Let’s move. This little joke you wanted to play is out of hand.”

Danica dragged her feet out of the cell, then disappeared around the corner into her own. The guard stretched out his hand toward Avery.

“Lock her cell!” she screeched, her voice high-pitched and laced with terror.

He nodded, and she tossed the baton at his feet after she heard the key turn.

Avery threw her hands in the air and plopped down on the bed, not wanting to get Tasered or beaten.

The guard bent down and grabbed the baton, then shut her door and stormed away.

Solitary confinement block went silent as if nothing had happened.

Avery lay on her bed, the tears of fear and anger now flowing freely, wetting the flat pillow. She balled both fists up and slammed them against the bed, hating her life and how far she’d fallen. This was her reality, and she needed to find better ways to deal with it. Crying didn’t solve anything and was surely taken as a sign of weakness by Danica and the guard.

Danica had traded her body for access to Avery. She had all the power … for now.

Her back to the wall, Avery kept her eyes on the bars. If Danica had been willing to do that, how much farther would she go to get access?

One thing was certainAvery’s chances of getting out of prison alive had just decreased dramatically.

It was time to seriously consider Gabe’s offer.