The door shuts behind her, and I’m once again locked in my room. I can only hope that she passes along my message to Collin and that if I’m not allowed to stay here that I can find a job pronto in Boise, because if there’s one thing I know—there’s no way I’m leaving him.
Chapter 35 – Collin
A loud knock comes on the steel door to the cell encasing my cage. The guard stationed at it flips some scanner on his wrist device just as a female calls out, “Supper time.”
The guard unlocks a panel in the door and leans down. He grabs the tray, then says, “What are you doing down here? Shouldn’t you be scrambling memories?”
My entire body stiffens from where I’m sitting on the floor in my cage. I bolt upright. My hands close around the bars as a female responds, “I should have been, but plans changed. Is he in there?”
The guard casts a glare my way. “Still here. He won’t be going anywhere.”
A pair of eyes appear through the narrow slit the tray came through. I can feel her watching me. A full minute passes before she returns her attention to the guard. “He’s kind of quiet for a rogue.”
The guard shrugs. “He’s on his best behavior. Trust me, it’s not that unusual, especially in rogues that have evaded us for so long. They’re smart fuckers. Don’t let him fool you.”
She clears her throat and says in a hurry, “Well, I have a message for him. I promised I would try to pass it along.”
The guard, still holding my tray, sets it down. “Kelly what the hell are you talking about? We don’t pass messages to inmates.”
She rolls her eyes. “Yeah, I know, Dane. Don’t bust my balls about it, but it seemed harmless enough.” She slips a piece of paper through the slit, and my hands are gripping the bars so tightly now that my knuckles turn white.
“Is it from Brianna?” My question comes out hoarse and desperate sounding. Damn. So much for playing it cool, but when it comes to Bri, my usual suave demeanor vanishes.
The woman watches me again, Kelly, or whatever her name is. Her laser-like focus is studying me, taking all of me in. I don’t know what she expects. Maybe I’m supposed to lunge against my constraints or eat my own limb or whatever fully crazy rogues do.
I try to picture how the beast would have reacted if I’d been in this position two months ago. It’s definitely possible that he would have forced a shift and lunged toward her. The smell of human flesh, when he hadn’t consumed it in days, could drive him a bit mad.
But my wolf is no longer a beast.
Now, his emotions align with mine. All either of us think about is Brianna and if she’s okay. If anything, it’s such a consuming distraction that I rarely think about my own future or what’s to come.
I dip my head so I can meet Kelly’s stare. “Is that message from Brianna? Have you seen her? Is she okay? Please, just tell me what you know.”
My enhanced senses catch her intake of breath. She rights herself before mumbling, “She may be right about him.”
“What was that?” the guard asks her.
“Nothing. Never mind. But if you’re okay with reading him that message, his girlfriend would appreciate it.”
The guard sneers. “You mean his hostage?”
Kelly sighs. “I know it’s weird, okay? But she insists that she’s his girlfriend, and that they’re fated mates.”
The guard shakes his head. “Poor stupid woman. She’s been manipulated and doesn’t even know it.”
I slam my hand against the bars. “Don’t call her that! She’s a hell of a lot smarter than you!”
My outburst makes both of them go quiet. They share a confused look before Kelly says, “Anyway, I better get outta here. Don’t want Wes catching me.”
They say their goodbyes before the guard brings my tray over. He uses the proper safety equipment so he stays out of touching range. I have to pry the tray through the small opening at the bottom.
But I could care less about the food. “Please tell me what the note says.”
He unfolds it and reads it quietly. My gut is twisting as each second passes, and I’m about to snarl in frustration when the guard frowns before reading it again.
I don’t think he’s going to tell me what it says, but then his brow furrows and he replies, “It says she