Hunted (The Half-Breed Prison Book 1)

by Jen L. Grey

  "What?" He shook his head and pushed me hard against the wall. "Did I give you permission to talk to me?"

  "Didn't realize I needed permission, and the name is Lexy." I had no clue how Aaron could stand to be around this man; dad or not.

  "Obviously, you haven't learned respect around here, you half-breed." The warden emphasized the last word as if it was a foul word. "It appears some of my workers are going soft." His eyes flickered to Aaron then Doug. "I'll have to make sure everyone remembers their place."

  "Oh, don't worry." If this asshole thought he could force me into silence, he had another think coming. "They all remind us who we are. Only we still pretend we have feelings and a place in this world too."

  The warden's hand shot toward me and grasped my neck. He tightened his hold and stared into my eyes.

  I could tell he wanted me to struggle, to cry out for air, but I forced my body to not respond. I wouldn't allow this self-righteous prick to get his satisfaction. I thought I hated Mac with all my being, but this douchebag took his place within minutes of us meeting.

  "What the hell is wrong with you?" He tightened his grip and watched my face intently.

  The doc spun around from his microscope, and his mouth dropped. "What the fuck are you doing?" He rolled over in his chair and panted. "You can't injure her yet."

  "But she's ..."

  "That's why I asked you here?" The doc pointed at Aaron. "Get her away from him."

  Aaron didn't hesitate and pulled me from his dad's hands.

  I took in a deep breath, allowing my lungs to fill once more. That guy would've killed me or damn near come close.

  "What the hell is going on here?" The warden glared at Doug and then back to Aaron.

  "She's the one we've been waiting for." The doc took a few more deep breaths as if he had just run in a marathon. "George is going to be here the day after tomorrow."

  "Are you serious?" The warden smirked and rubbed his hands together. "This may all come to an end?"

  "You better remember what you promised me." For the first time, the doctor looked malicious and dark. He had always looked crazy but not evil … until now. "Or I won't do it."

  "Of course." The warden nodded his head. "I'll get on it now, and you'll have the money transferred to your account before you begin the transfusion."

  "Good. Leave." The doctor’s eyes landed on me as a broadening grin filled his face. As he snapped on his rubber gloves and picked up needles, his eyes glazed over.

  I wanted to ask what they were talking about, but it wouldn't have made a difference. They weren't going to tell me, but it seemed as if the doctor was going to be sitting pretty in two days. I wondered how much killing me paid.

  "Sit now." The doc pointed at me and at the seat that I had sat in last time. "Strap her in. I want to get a few more samples, and then we'll be ready for the big day."

  Aaron sighed and avoided my eyes as he forced me in the chair and secured my feet and legs. "If you don't need me, I'm going to head out. I need to get prepared for both George and your special requirements." The warden nodded at Doug and then glanced at Aaron. "Make sure she stays safe, but keep her firmly in place. She doesn’t have a problem running her mouth."

  At least he wasn't acting too strange in front of his dad. He played his role well. Something told me that he didn't have the best childhood growing up, which was sad. My adoptive parents did their best with me, but now I understood they weren't equipped for it. I'd finally texted them last night, telling them I was safe and would try to be back home soon.

  When the frantic messages began coming through, it made me feel horrible. Despite the fact that I had to turn it off to conserve the battery. I hadn't meant for them to get thrown into this world, but hell, none of us made that decision. I had to set things right with them after I got out of here.

  The doctor slamming things on the small table beside my chair startled me from my thoughts.

  "Pay attention, specimen. You know the routine." He motioned for me to hold my arm out. "I'm getting a few more vials. Nothing like it's going to be in a few days." He laughed as if it were a funny joke.

  I laid my arm out, ready to get it over with. Similar to every other time, he stuck me with little regard for my pain and discomfort. It amazed me that the needle hadn’t broken off in my skin. Luckily, it didn't take long for him to get the amount of blood he needed this time.

  "Make sure she doesn't get any major injuries." Doctor Doug rolled the vials in his hand, focused on them as if they were gold. "We can't risk anything happening to her."

  "Got it." Aaron nodded and grabbed my arm as I stood. "Does she need to work today?"

  "Yeah, we should get some more work out of her." He pointed at the door. "Keep an eye on her until she goes into her cabin for the night."

  "Come on. Let's go." Aaron opened the door, and I slipped on out.

  He didn't have to encourage me to leave the doctor’s office. I hated his office the most—the smell, the torture, and pain. At least out in the fields, I was in the sun and around nature.

  We walked in complete silence until we made it to the normal dirt paths that would lead me to my cabin.

  I wasn't sure how to approach this, but I needed Aaron to be willing to tell me the interior layout of the big building. Jess and Cole weren't able to get their hands on blueprints.

  When we reached the carrot fields, I paused. There were no other guards close by, and I knew this may be my only chance. "Hey, can you somehow tell me or draw the layout of the big building so I can share it with my parents?"

  He licked his lips and glanced back at the building we'd come from.

  Crap, could his dad have gotten to him after all? That seemed impossible when we were this close.

  "Yeah, I'll figure something out." He nodded to the field and spoke louder than normal. "Now get your ass back to work."

  I wanted to tell him where he could go, but when I glanced in the direction of his eyes, Pete was heading our way and getting closer. I couldn't make a scene, so I turned and headed back to do my job.

  "What are you doing out here?" Deissy appeared beside me. "I thought you were heading to ... you know."

  "Yeah, I already went there and back." It was nice to be working and using my muscles. Laying around gave me more time to think, and that was the last thing I needed to do.

  "Good, I was tired of covering for your sorry ass." Deissy winked at me and began working on a section right beside me.

  When I planted the last little bit of seeds I had, I glanced over to her. "Are you done or need some help?"

  "Nope, on my last section." She covered the seeds with more dirt and then wiped her hands on her dingy brown shorts. "Let's go eat."

  "You don't have to tell me twice."

  We strolled through the rows and out to the main path. To my slight surprise, Aaron was still there. He was standing off to the side with his arms crossed as he watched everything around him. When his gaze landed on me, a small grin filled his face.

  "Loverboy is here." Deissy giggled as we turned in his direction.

  "Don't make a scene." The last thing we needed was for more people to pay attention to us.

  As we were passing Aaron, he cleared his throat and approached us. "Hey, my dad wants me home earlier tonight. When you finish dinner, go straight to your cabin. The guard knows to let you in early."

  "Okay." This wasn't good. I had counted on him taking me so I could get the building layout.

  "Then get moving." His tone took on an edge, and he clutched my arm a little more harshly than normal.

  Right when I was about to tell him where to go, he placed something in my bag. "That's what you need. Now go. I'll find you soon."

  And just like that, we had the information we needed. Tomorrow night was when I'd find out if I was going to survive all of this or die trying.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Finally, it was the day of our break out attempt. All day, I'd been anxious. Last night, I'd take
n a picture of the map Aaron had slipped into my pocket before flushing it down the toilet.

  We had a plan, I had to find a way to tell Aaron. It worried me that I hadn't seen him this morning.

  "Still no sign?" Deissy’s words startled me.

  "Dear God." I took a deep breath and tried to calm my racing heart. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

  "Someone's awfully wound up today." Deissy chuckled and glanced back toward the dirt road where guards stood watching us.

  "Yeah, you're right." I had to get my shit together and fast. "And no. No sign." I wasn't sure what to think of it all. I hoped his dad didn't have anything to do with his disappearance.

  "Well, it is what it is." Deissy kicked at the ground and shrugged. "I'm assuming there was no way to change the plan."

  "Seeing as tomorrow is the day they drain me, there really isn't any other option." I hated all of this with a passion. I didn't know what my blood could do, but apparently it was a big deal.

  "You two, come on." Sol strolled over to us and tilted her head in the direction of the cafeteria. "We need to eat."

  "True." It wasn't doing any good stressing over it. We still had a plan and needed all of our energy to get out of this hell hole.

  "You don't have to tell me twice." Deissy's stomach growled loudly. "I'm starving."

  My stomach was in knots, and the thought of food made me want to vomit. Regardless, eating was necessary to get through tonight and potentially tomorrow. I had to be realistic about the possibility that I might not make it, which churned my stomach more. "Let's go." I hadn't meant for my tone to sound so conflicted.

  "No. None of that." Sol wrapped her arm around my shoulder and tugged me toward the cafeteria. "Come on."

  "Yeah, we need our energy." I was going to have to force myself to eat, which wasn’t going to be easy.

  "What for?" Jenee's voice made me pause mid-step.

  Of course, she'd choose now to harass me. It was as if she had a beacon of perfect timing. "Tomorrow." I turned on my heels, heading toward the dirt road.

  "Anything special going on tomorrow?" Jenee arched an eyebrow as she caught up to me. "Something I should be aware of?"

  "Not everything is about you." She went around butting her nose in other people's business. She should take a hint.

  "It's funny that you say that to me." She grabbed my arm, forcing me to stop. "Since you seem to think the world revolves around you."

  "No. I don't." It was like she thought I purposefully sought out drama. I’d rather have avoided it, but drama always sought me out. "In fact, I wish I could blend in."

  "Yeah, right." She snorted and dug her fingers deeper into my skin. "You love all the attention."

  "What's going on here?" Knox's cold voice stopped Jenee in her tracks. He traipsed over to me and took my hand, intertwining his fingers with mine.

  I couldn't believe he had just done that in front of Jenee. Maybe he was as committed as he had promised this morning.

  "Have you lost your damn mind?" Jenee's eyes widened, and her head jerked from side to side. "You can't be entertaining the thought of sleeping with her."

  "She's my mate, so I plan on doing more than that." He reached over and used his fingers to brush some hair behind my ear. "Come on. Let's go eat."

  Deissy and Sol glanced at each other with huge smiles.

  Great, I was never going to hear the end of this. Despite that, my lips turned upward into a stupid-ass grin.

  We took a few steps toward the cafeteria before Knox slowed down. "Oh, and Jenee." He glanced back at her over his shoulder. "There won't be any fighting now. You got it?"

  "Wait until the guards find out." She huffed and stomped her foot on the ground.

  "Didn't take you as a snitch." Knox shrugged and tugged me forward once more. "You start doing that shit, and we'll see how long you last."

  "That's right." Sol lifted both arms in the air. "Snitches get stitches."

  "What are we? Stuck in some kind of B-movie?" Deissy looped her arm through Sol's and laughed. "People don't say that shit in real life."

  "Well, now they do." Sol glanced over and winked at me. "So it's official."

  "Yeah, we need to hurry and eat. Need to make sure we have our game plan ready." Knox picked up the pace, and we all jogged to the cafeteria.

  As we headed out after eating, my nerves were on edge. I hadn't seen Aaron, and he was essential to the plan. As I made my way through the doors and back outside, I stopped in my tracks. There, right across from me, stood Aaron.

  "What's wrong ..." Deissy stopped mid-sentence when she realized what I'd seen.

  He was standing in a circle with several of the guards who worked the night shift. He had a box in his hands, and the guys were taking donuts out of it.

  "Thanks, man." One of them held up the donut and took a large bite. "You keep this shit up, and we'll want you permanently on the night shift."

  "Nah, that ain't happening." Aaron laughed and glanced my way. "Sal got sick somehow, and they needed someone to fill in."

  "Glad it's you then." Another guard took a large bite. "Not many of us bring in stuff like this, so thanks."

  "No problem." He nodded in my direction. "What do we do with the ones who get out early?"

  "Keep an eye on them to make sure nothing out of the norm happens." He shrugged. "Those four have been hanging out here lately. We gotta keep an eye out and make sure there’s no funny business happening. We don't need any babies here or anything."

  "Yeah." Aaron's voice was a little lower, but the others didn't seem to notice.

  "When they go to bed, it gets pretty boring though." The tallest guard slapped him in the back. "Sometimes we nap. Let's get going to our posts since they're already finishing up."

  "Alright, let me go throw this box away." Aaron walked through their circle and made his way toward me. His eyes met mine. "When it's curfew time, I'm going to distract the others. Go hide in the woods. Do you understand?" His eyes landed on all four of us.

  "Got it, but what about Knox?" Sol had a cabin close to us, so usually the same guards locked us in and let us out in the morning.

  "You're going to have to do something to piss them off." Aaron stared him right in the face.

  "Ha, you're enjoying this too much." Knox stood still and glared at him. "That's your big plan. Have them put me in the hole?"

  "Yeah, it's right by the fucking woods." Aaron stepped through the door and threw away the box. When he turned back around, he whispered. "We’ll get you on our way out."

  "Fine." He grumbled as he took my hand and guided me to the road. "But if you leave me behind, I'll be pissed."

  "We won't do that." I glared at Aaron as I said the words.

  "Aaron, are they bugging you?" One of the guards headed our way.

  "Yeah, this guy thinks he can hold that girl's hand." Aaron pointed at Knox’s hand in mine. "I told him to let her go, but he told me to fuck off."

  "You've been here long enough to know the rules." The guard glared at Knox. "There is no messing around."

  Knox chuckled and shook his head. "I guess we're doing this."

  It wasn't cool the way Aaron threw him into the situation without a warning.

  "And why can't I mess around with her if I want to?" Knox lifted his chin in the air and stared the guard down before punching him in the mouth. "We have needs too."

  “Fucking half-breed,” the guard said, wiping blood from his lip. He strode forward into Knox’s space and punched him back. The sound of his fist connecting with Knox’s jaw almost had my breakfast making a return.

  When he came at Knox again, hands fisted and ready to swing, Aaron stepped between them, facing the guard.

  “Hold up,” Aaron told him. I’ll take him to the hole where he’ll have plenty of time to think about what a dick move that was.”

  He turned to Knox, grabbed his arms, and handcuffed his wrists together. “You’re going in.” Then, he turned to us girls. “You three h
ave anything to add?”

  I swallowed hard. “No. I’m good.” I hated that Knox had to go through this, but it seemed like the only way.

  "Fine, I'm taking him." Aaron nodded his head at us. "They're good. Can you keep an eye on them for a minute?"

  "No problem." The other guard gave him a quick salute. "They usually hang near the woods, so there will be one set of eyes on them at all times."

  "Sweet. I won't be long." Aaron walked off, dragging Knox by the handcuffs.

  "Let's go." Deissy and I made our way to our normal hang out area.

  We rushed past the guards, and within seconds, we were in our normal spot.

  "I think Aaron might have enjoyed that way too much." Deissy sat on the ground and ran her hands along the grass.

  "Yeah, some of that was a little too real." Sol flipped her dark hair over her shoulder and lifted her arms above her head, stretching.

  "Well, I'm ready for this night to be over." Stress was a bitch.

  "Me too, girl." Sol sat on the ground and took a deep breath.

  Silence descended amongst us.

  As we entered the cabin, Aaron was right behind us. He opened the door and followed us in.

  "Look, I can't stay here long. I'm going to pretend to lock the door, but I'm not going to. Wait exactly five minutes then run into the woods. Remember your parents are going to meet us in the corner of the woods." He turned around and then paused. "Oh, and here." He handed us two badges. "This will unlock your powers, do not use them unless they’re desperately needed." He walked out of the door, and I heard the keys rattle, but the door didn't lock.

  The badge felt heavy in my hand. Within seconds of holding it, the dark mass inside me resurfaced. The familiar buzz ran under my skin. I couldn't believe that I had actually missed this feeling.

  "Oh, how I've missed this." Deissy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her bright hair had always been beautiful, but her powers made it more vibrant, which I never would have believed was possible. When she opened her eyes, the gold inside them glowed, making her appear angelic.