“Good. I’ll sign up Officer Lucius as her CO. She has experience with wildcards and I know you have your hands full with Twelve currently.” She straightened out her already flat shirt and smiled at me. “I won’t keep you from her any longer. I want a two week report on her progress once she starts classes.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I got to my feet and strode to the door, heading out into the corridor and walking back in the direction of the office I’d left Twelve in.
My chest tightened the closer I got to her and the mark on my inner arm prickled uncomfortably, like it was warning me to fucking behave. I growled irritably then unlocked the door and pushed into the room.
She was still in place on her chair, but I glanced around the room for evidence that she’d moved even though she was chained to the damn table.
“You look suspicious, Officer. What in the world could I have gotten up to in here?” She batted her lashes innocently and I pushed the door shut, locking it tight as I tried to contain my temper. She’d had my coffee and cinnamon bun for one. Not that I was complaining. There was a reason I’d gotten four of them when I didn’t even like cinnamon. Not a reason I was going to admit to however.
“Knock it off with the innocent act,” I said, deadly calm. At least, that was how it sounded and I had to give myself mental kudos for keeping my cool with her externally for once.
“It’s not an act though. I am innocent,” she said, looking offended and I pinned her with a glare, striding forward and splaying my palms flat on the table as I towered over her.
“This bullshit doesn’t fly with me, Twelve. I know you.”
“Oh you know me, do you?” she said tauntingly, leaning back in her chair. “Or is it that you want to know me? That you just can’t stand how I get under your skin, how you yearn for my blood, my body, my puss-”
“Enough,” I hissed, leaning forward to unlock her cuff from the table and buy myself a moment to think. “I know you were up to something down in Psych, I know you were using me to get down onto the maintenance level, so what is it you’re after?”
She just shrugged and I bared my fangs. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, sir. You should really take a few days off, I think you’re getting burned out. That pretty face of yours won’t stay pretty for long if you don’t get your beauty sleep. My aunt Bianca always said-”
“Stop wasting my time,” I snapped.
“Beauty routines aren’t a waste of time. Look at how I turned out when I was stripped of mine?” She poked at her ribs, pointing out her thinness since her time in isolation and guilt ripped up the middle of me.
I fought to keep my expression neutral, snatching up the course binder from the edge of the table and slamming it down in front of her, needing to change the subject. I was losing the grip on my cool head already and it was infuriating as hell. Why did she affect me so deeply? How did she manage to drive her way under my flesh like a sharp nail intent on piercing its way through my black heart? “I have hand-picked your courses to correct your behaviour.”
“Have I been a bad girl, boss man?” She twirled a lock of hair around her finger, fluttering her lashes and I was sure she was piling on the falseness just to enrage me.
I ignored her, flipping the book open to the first course she’d be attending. “Group therapy,” I announced with the hint of a smirk as I pointed at the picture of a circle of serene-looking inmates holding hands. “You will be encouraged to talk about your dark and dirty secrets in front of your peers. And keep in mind I will be conducting reports on your progress, speaking with your counsellor to ensure you’re making an effort. And if you’re not, I’ll write you up to the warden.”
“Figlio di puttana,” she cursed me and my smirk grew.
I flipped a few pages and pointed to her next course. “Guided by the Stars,” I read the program title. “You’ll learn how to identify the tug of the stars and how to surrender to their will and make better