The next day passed with Avery in her cell and Danica in hers. However, the separation didn’t stop Danica from talking. She taunted, teased, and cajoled Avery the whole day.

Although Avery didn’t answer, she could only assume the shifter hated the silence and needed to fill it with chatter. Or, she truly was out of her mind and chose to irritate Avery as much as possible.

Avery was able to tune out most of what Danica said, but one bit of information caught her attention.

“I had Cat attack me and ruin my face, so I could get near you,” she whispered just loud enough for Avery to hear. “Do you see how important it is for me to kill you for what you did to Jake and me? He’ll never take me back as ugly as I am now, but I’ll know that I did it to avenge him, to show him I would do anything for him.”

If that were the case, Avery knew she’d never escape Danica. For her to insist Cat cut her face open and claim the other woman was a threat pointed to complete mental instability. There would be no reasoning with her to make her see the truth. Danica had a twisted reality set in stone if she’d taken those steps to show Jake how much she loved him.

The guard who had been on duty and allowed Danica access to Avery’s cell hadn’t been seen again. Avery assumed he was scheduled off, or had been a substitute brought in for the purpose of helping Danica. She lay awake throughout most of the night listening to the quiet, hoping another officer wouldn’t take up Danica’s cause. Instead of considering Gabe’s offer of escape, Avery found herself unable to concentrate, her body tense. She jumped at every noise, including the sound of Danica moving around in bed.

When Avery awoke the next morning, she sighed with relief. The guard had kept his distance from both women. During the shift change, her eyes widened in surprise to see Gabe walk by her cell. His gaze met hers for a brief moment, but he continued on without a word, a furrow in his brow, his mouth in a thin, hard line. He didn’t appear happy, and she guessed his weekend had been cut short.

“What are you doing here?” she asked in a low voice as she took her breakfast tray from him.

“Got called in,” he muttered but didn’t offer any other explanation as he stepped in front of Danica’s cell.

“What the hell happened to you?” he asked her.

Avery took her food and sat on the bed, listening closely. Would Danica lie?

“I was attacked by someone upstairs,” she said. “My life’s in danger, so they brought me down here.”

Gabe stepped back and studied Avery, then back at Danica. When he met her gaze again, Avery shook her head, hoping he’d understand the woman had gone off the deep end.

“Uh-huh. I think it’s interesting that your assault on Avery got her into solitary, and now you’re here. This isn’t some revenge plot, is it?”

Avery picked at her eggs and beans and nodded, thoroughly sick of green beans. Always, green beans. They must be overstocked.

An idea came to her as she picked through her food.

“Of course not,” Danica answered. Avery knelt on the floor with her tray. She took the beans and arranged them on the concrete, hoping she didn’t seem like the crazy one now.

She tuned out Gabe and Danica while they discussed the validity of the shifter’s claim. As she arranged the green beans, Avery hoped Gabe would glance her way and read the communication she was trying to put together.

Frustration built when she ran out of the vegetable. She bit her lip and furrowed her brow while trying to condense the message.

Finally, she was done.

Help – Talk 2 U

She stared at Gabe, willing him to turn toward her. After some bickering with Danica, he did.

Avery pointed at the floor, and he took a step closer to her cell, a confused expression on his face.

He tilted his head as if he were unsure of what he was seeing, then met her gaze. She hoped he understood the seriousness of her message and wouldn’t blow her off. She’d made a decision regarding the offer Gabe had made, and she only hoped it still stood.

Gabe stared at her again for a brief moment and nodded.

“Okay, Danica,” he said. “Got it. You’re nothing but a victim, and I’ll make sure you’re treated as one.”

“What does that mean?” she asked.

Avery picked the food off the floor and put it back on the tray.

“It means I’ll make sure you get treated properly.”

Avery handed Gabe her uneaten food. “I’m not hungry,” she murmured, hoping Danica wouldn’t hear her. “It’s been rough with my new friend here, and I’ve lost my appetite.”

She held up her scraped hand for the guard to see, the one that had hit the wall when she pulled Danica’s hair. The scab was dry and cracked every time Avery tried to make a fist.

Gabe arched an eyebrow at her but said nothing.

Danica started to speak, but Gabe cut her off. “Enjoy your meal, Danica. I’m done listening.”

Avery had no idea how they would talk with Danica mere feet away, and she also worried that Danica would offer Gabe the same deal she’d bargained with the other. Would he say yes? At this point, the shifter guard was her only ally, and she couldn’t afford to lose that.

Two hours passed, and a different guard appeared, one Avery had never seen. He and Gabe spoke in low tones by the desk. She struggled to hear what they said, but her effort was futile.

Moments later, both men walked past her cell to Danica’s.

“Let’s go,” Gabe said.

“Where?” the woman asked.

“Upstairs. You need to have your face checked out by medical.”

“My face is fine,” Danica growled.

“We’ll let the medical staff decide that. Extend your hands so I can cuff you.”

A moment later Avery heard the cuffs snap shut and the bars slide open. Her heart leapt to her throat as she realized this might be his way of getting Danica out of earshot so they could have a brief conversation.

“See you in a few, Danica,” he called as he strode past Avery’s cell, paying her no attention.

She listened for the elevator doors and heard them open, then close.

Gabe came into sight and placed his hands on his hips.

“What the hell’s going on here?” he asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said, approaching the bars. “Danica is after me. Another guard was down here… I don’t know his name. They had sex, and next thing I knew she was in my cell trying to kill me. I got his baton and then”

“Wait a minute,” he said, holding a hand up in front of her as if that would stop the flow of words. “You’re telling me one of the guards slept with Danica?”

“If you want to call it that.”

She nodded, realizing she was talking very fast. It was as if all the anxiety she’d had the past twenty-four hours spilled out onto her tongue.

“And then he let her into your cell?”

“Yes.”

Gabe ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. “Jesus. And here I was questioning my ethics.”

She took a deep breath, feeling as though she were about to step off a cliff.

It all comes down to trust.

“Gabe, I’m in. I want to go with you to find out who stole your pack’s relic, and who killed my mom.”

He stared at her a long time before answering. “And you came to this decision because of Danica?”

She wouldn’t lie to him. “That was part of it, but not all. You’re right. I’m not getting out of here anytime soon. McAllister’s made sure of it. I have information that can help you. You can get me out of here. We can work together.”

“You sure? You weren’t before.”

“I needed to weigh my odds about whether I could trust you. What if you’re working with McAllister to get me an even longer sentence? The detective knows that I know things about his case. What if he wants me put away not for fifteen or twenty but for fifty or a hundred years? Me getting caught breaking out of prison would be the perfect way to do it.”

“And what if you’re working for the system to search for corrupt guards?” he asked.

From what I’ve seen in my short stay, I could bring this place to its knees.

“But I’m not. You’ve read my file. And besides, I haven’t turned you in when I had every opportunity to while you were gone.”

She’d never admit it out loud, but Danica’s presence scared her to death. If the woman could spread her legs and get access to Avery, anything was possible. She figured she could either die in here from old age or due to one of Danica’s attacks—or she could take the chance on Gabe and find her freedom.

He sighed and then nodded. “We leave tonight. This isn’t going to be easy, so you’d better get some rest.”

Nothing more was said, but his boots against the concrete floor sounded louder than they ever had.

Avery didn’t bother to ask how he would protect her against Danica. He was offering to break her out of prison, so she imagined Danica would be the least of their worries at this point.

Her arms and legs trembled with a mixture of fear and excitement while her heart pounded in her chest. Avery paced her cell and shook her hands, trying to expel the nervous energy from her body.

“One thing at a time,” she whispered.

Gabe thought she had important information, but she didn’t. When he found out she had nothing more than a couple of addresses that would never amount to anything, what would his reaction be?