Darkblood Prison - G.K. DeRosa Page 0,59
set up and as soon as my assignment with the SIA was official, I’d come clean to my parents. They deserved the truth, and now I wasn’t too ashamed to give it to them.
Muffled voices in the other room caught my attention, pulling me from my inner musings. I leaned up against the door and put my ear to the timber.
“… so she’s the one?” asked Talon.
The one? What the heck? I pressed my cheek closer. No answer from Vander. Either that or he gave some nonverbal reply.
“I can’t believe the chances,” Talon continued. “Two whole years.”
“Me neither, man,” Vander huffed out. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you about any of this sooner. I wanted to, like a million times. And listen, T, after what you told me about her, forget what I said, okay?”
“It’s not that easy, brother.”
“Sure, it is. It’s nothing, I swear. Whatever the two of you have going is more important.”
Talon grunted and then more silence pervaded. I waited for another few seconds but when no one spoke, I dragged myself to the shower. I wasn’t sure how long the hot water would last, and I couldn’t miss the chance at the heavenly steaminess. As I soaped and lathered up, I ran the guys’ conversation over and over in my head. What in the world were they talking about?
Chapter Twenty-Three
“You didn’t have to walk me back to my cell. I’m feeling a hundred percent back to normal.” I glanced over at my gargoyle escort and gave him a reassuring smile.
“I’m glad to hear that. You don’t know how worried you had me. Ryder would’ve murdered me if I’d let anything happen to you. Hell, I’m pretty sure your mom would’ve done worse.”
“I’m sorry for making you lie to my parents. But the good news is, soon I can tell them the truth.”
He squeezed my shoulder before we turned down the steps to the first floor. He must’ve seen the anxiety painted on my face. “They’re going to be proud of you, Azara. You’ve really made the best of a terrible situation, and I’m sure they’ll see that.”
“I hope so.”
We reached the first floor and passed two guards on our way to the atrium. The two dragons shot me matching nasty glares as they trudged by, and I recognized them from my arrival at Darkblood Prison. “By the way, when are your gargoyle guards coming in?”
“Next week, finally.”
I’d be thrilled to be rid of the guards under Delacroix’s thumb. Then maybe I’d finally feel a little safer in here. Or not. With the near-death experience and all, I’d forgotten we’d failed our mission and now the demon mob boss would likely want payback. “Does Delacroix know I’m back?” I whispered as we passed the line of inmates at the commissary.
“Possibly. I’ve never been able to figure out who exactly is on his payroll.”
“Great,” I muttered. “I better arrange a meeting and get it over with or my miraculous recovery will have been for nothing.”
“Maybe… but don’t do anything yet. Once my new guards come in, we may be able to keep Delacroix on a tighter leash and you can avoid any future run-ins with him.”
“With him, maybe, but how about his minions? The inmates are another story, and there’s no easy way to turn all of them.”
We walked under the archway of Block One, and a swarm of butterflies took off in my gut. I hadn’t seen Talon since yesterday, and Vander had been there the whole time. We needed to finish our talk, and as much as I wanted to get it over with, I also dreaded it.
When we finally reached our cell, my racing heart sagged in relief. Talon was there but so were Hayden and Dallas. His Triad brothers’ presence would put off the awkward conversation for a little longer.
Logan flashed his wrist over the scanner, and the glass door slid open. To my surprise, he walked into our cell right behind me.
“Hello, little pumpkin! So nice to see you up and about.” Hayden wrapped his big arms around me, and I couldn’t help but snuggle into his warm embrace. I wouldn’t be standing here right now if it weren’t for my angel savior. Fallen or not, his healing power was still pretty miraculous.
He eventually released me, and Dallas pulled me in for a hug next. “We missed you, precious. Don’t ever scare us like that again!”
Talon shot me a smile from his perch on the top bunk then looked down at my gargoyle