the tattoos on Gustard’s neck which were peeking out above his perfectly ironed uniform. He had some fucking gall to look at a serial killer like that. But even Gustard wouldn't do anything to him in front of the guards. Especially after Plunger had just reminded all of us what happened to people who riled him.
Sin arrived next, stretching his arms above his head and smirking around at all of us. “Hey team.”
"That's all of us, right?" Rosa said. "Let's go."
"We're waiting on two more," Cain said dryly.
"Officer Hastings said it was a team of nine," I blurted and Cain shifted his eyes to me, his gaze full of dislike.
"Well, he was wrong. There's eleven on this work detail," he growled. "You got a problem with that, Sixty Nine?"
"No, sir," I muttered, but shared a brief look with Rosa. Whoever showed up was going to have to be trusted with our secret. And who knew which motherfucker was about to exit the Mess Hall?
Shit, this is not good.
Ethan Shadowbrook appeared, striding over to Cain then glancing at Rosa with his jaw flexing.
"Oh fuck no," Rosa growled, her spine straightening. "I'm not working with him." Fear flashed through her eyes because this was much more than that. If he was on this job, she was going to have to trust him, let him come with us. And though I'd feared what it would mean for her leaving her mate behind in this place, that didn't mean I wanted the decision taken out of her hands.
"If you refuse to work with him, then you can go back to cleaning on the maintenance level, Twelve," Cain said, looking amused as fuck over her glaring at Ethan.
By the stars, this is not how this is supposed to go. And who is the last fucking member?
I glanced at the Mess Hall, the rest of the inmates already taken to their jobs or back to their cells. Who the fuck were we waiting for then?
“I can’t wait to get renovating,” Sin said, tossing Rosa an obvious wink when Cain wasn’t looking. She kicked him in the shin and he bit his lip like he liked that. Asshole.
The door eventually pushed open and Pudding lumbered out, strolling toward us at a casual as fuck pace before slowing to a halt in front of Cain. "Reporting for duty."
Rosa looked surprised, her eyes darting from Pudding back to Ethan as another snarl built in her throat. I mean, Pudding wasn’t exactly a threat, but he was slow as shit and I didn’t know if he was gonna be of any help in this situation. What if he didn’t want to escape? I had no idea how long the guy’s sentence was or really anything about him beyond this prison, but he was a good guy. He wouldn’t snitch on us at least.
"Pick another job," Rosa demanded of Shadowbrook who gave her a cold smile.
"No," he said simply, folding his arms. "This is the only one they'll give me since my privileges were revoked for stealing a cuff key." He said those last words with venom, his glare fixed on her and the accusation beneath it was clear. A growl rose in my throat and Ethan shot me a look which was as sharp as a knife.
"Follow me," Cain barked, striding off down the stairs, clearly done watching this conversation play out.
I kept to Rosa's side as she turned her back on Ethan and we hurried down the stairs together, keeping up with Cain's fierce pace. She gave me a look that said what the fuck are we going to do? and I tossed her one back that said we can't do anything. She growled again, descending into a fiery fury as we reached level six and walked along the corridor to the frosted glass doors of the library.
Cain held one of the doors open, gesturing for us to head in. "You'll be locked in until lunchtime. Eyes will be on you through the cameras. Any infractions and you'll risk losing your job privileges altogether. Any questions? Good. Get started." He shoved a piece of paper into my hands and waited for us to walk inside.
I looked down at it as we filed in, finding a checklist of all the jobs that needed doing. Inside were piles and piles of boxes which I assumed were filled with the new books, and beside them were buckets of paint and brushes, sheets, plaster, and all kinds of things for the renovation. Cain