key out of her pocket, she unlocks my prison door and pulls it open. I step out tentatively, too nervous to say or do much else. When I don't move in the direction she wants fast enough, she puts a hand in the middle of my back and nudges me forward. "You do remember how to walk, ja?"
"Of course," I say with more sass than I mean to.
I hear one of the brothers chuckle from the darkness.
I'd lay money on Declan.
The woman sniffs. "The doctor does not like attitude from his patients," she says through clenched teeth.
"The doctor sounds like a real charmer," I say under my breath.
Another chuckle from the darkness, and the woman clucks her tongue disapprovingly. "I am Nurse Schmidt. You will follow the rules and mind yourself, or suffer the consequences."
I stop walking and turn to face her. "Listen up, Nurse Schmidt," I say with as much derision in my voice as I can muster. "I won't be here long enough to care about your rules. You've kidnapped me, unlawfully detained me, and kept me against my will. I'm a US citizen, and I'll be contacting the Embassy immediately for aid. So, save your spiel for someone who gives a flying fu—"
I'm absolutely not expecting the hard slap against my right cheek. The force of it jars me, and I hold my hand over my now-throbbing skin, trying to breathe through the pain. Her hand must be made of steel, because my face feels like it's just been hit by a damn crowbar.
I’ve only ever been hit in the face once before, and that was in sixth grade when Susie Larson thought I stole her school lunch. I didn’t. She left it at home. When she realized her mistake, she tearfully apologized. Turns out her grandfather died that week and she was having a hard time. We became best friends after that, weirdly enough. But that didn’t hurt anything like this woman’s face hit does, and I worry my cheek bone might be fractured.
I hear a low, menacing growl from the twins' cell, and the nurse's face flinches in fear before returning to the stoic unemotional mask she wears. "There will be no back talk. And if you think the Embassy can help you, you have a lot to learn."
I like to imagine I'm a badass. At least I did before that day. Since then, I've been a shell of myself, walking through my own life like a shadow. But something about this woman, this place, this whole damn situation reignites the fire that once blazed in my soul. I'm ready to fight, and she's the only one close enough to engage. So. I. Engage.
When my fist lands on her cheekbone with a very satisfying crunch, she's definitely not expecting it.
Unfortunately, neither is my fist, which now feels as if it's been smashed by a mallet.
The woman, however, looks unfazed. Her neck didn't even snap to the side. There's no redness on her pale face. No evidence to show I just solidly clocked her with a right hook.
In fact, she smiles. It's a cold, heartless smile that pulls at her lips but leaves her eyes expressionless. "Are you finished?" she asks.
I don't know how to respond. This is…unnatural. But then, everything about this place is.
“Come,” she snaps.
When she begins walking down the darkened hall, I have a choice to make. Follow her, or return to my cell.
Neither option sounds appealing, but I choose to follow. At least it'll give me a better chance of figuring out where I am and how I can get the hell out of here.
“Be careful,” Dean whispers at my back as I walk away.
We pass other cells on our trek to the end of the passage.
It's hard to see anything through the shadows that linger, but I hear scraping coming from somewhere and it sends chills up my spine. "Are there other prisoners here?" I ask, my voice echoing in the silence.
"There are no prisoners at all," she says, not turning to look at me. "Our patients are well-cared for."
"Right. The cells really have that Club Med vibe."
The nurse doesn't respond, and I find my own bravado fading fast as we approach a tall rusted metal door with multiple locks.
I swallow against a dry throat and press my hand over my stomach as I realize I desperately need to use the bathroom.
She pries the door open and it leads immediately to a towering spider-web covered staircase. I climb the steps warily,