“I think Amber would like a word with him.”
Jacqueline smirks. “Fair enough.”
We haul Byron up and lock him in his own chains. He’s barely conscious, a bloody bib soaking through the front of his suit, but he’s alive.
I fish a set of keys out of his pocket and nod. “Let’s go.”
—
Jacqueline “escorts” me to the cell block. I keep my hands behind me and my head down. Luckily, we encounter nobody on our way — they must all be outside working.
When we reach the cells, Jacqueline takes out Byron’s keys and opens the door for Amber.
“What’s going on?” she asks when I pull off her gag. “Is this a trick?”
“No trick,” I say, unlocking her cuffs. “We’re busting out. We killed Jefferson and left Byron in a really bad way.”
“If you’d like to go see him, he’s in the dungeon. You better hurry,” adds Jacqueline.
Amber stretches out, a smile blooming on her face. “Yeah, I think I’ll do that.”
“Watch out for guards,” I warn. “We haven’t seen any, they could be anywhere.”
She thanks us, then turns to go. Once she does, Jacqueline and I start unlocking the other women.
“This isn’t going to be an easy fight,” I say, trying to imagine how a commander would rally her troops. “These are strong, tough men, but we’ve got surprise on our side. We single them out, we lure them away and kill them quietly. We need to take out as many as we can before they know what’s happening.”
“It’s too late for that.”
I turn to the voice and see Darren Prescott, looking like rage incarnate, pointing a pistol at us. Then he fires it.
Chapter 36
Jacqueline falls to the floor, clutching her side. I scream, springing forward, going for Prescott’s gun.
“Stop it!” he says, stepping back. He trains the weapon on me, a vein in his neck pulsing. “Get on the fucking ground!”
No! Goddammit, no!
We were going to win! This was all going to end! How can we come so close, only to lose now?
I sink to my knees, obeying his order but really giving in to my own anguish.
“What did you do?” he asks.
“Jonah’s dead,” I spit. “Byron will be soon, if not already.”
At least that’s something. Like Corbin, they’ll never hurt anyone again.
Prescott sighs. “You stupid cunts. I can get a new warden. I can find another dirty judge. It’s not that fucking hard. But you, Quinn, you’re one-of-a-kind. I’m really going to enjoy torturing you for the rest of your life.”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” says Reed, stalking up from behind.
Prescott turns, but he’s too late; Reed knocks him to the floor with a devastating punch. I hear the crack of a jaw dislocating and the clatter of a gun hitting the cement floor. Reed grabs Prescott by the jacket, kicking the gun away at the same time.
“You’re done, Darren,” he says.
Prescott thrashes, beating his fists against Reed’s arms, to no avail. Reed drives a fist hard into Prescott’s stomach, knocking out his wind.