“One of our guys on staff will switch you with one of the permanents over there during visiting hours, which is tomorrow night. It’s the only time the doors between both sides have foot traffic. There’s a girl who looks just like you in a straitjacket. Brunette, though, you’ll have to dye your hair. She comes here, and you go over there. My guy makes a few adjustments to the system. No one is none the wiser.”
“You said it was a return ticket?”
“After a week or so, we switch you back. If it helps, we made your boy the same deal. That’s how he got into Hades.”
“Hades?”
“Hades. The other side. The underworld. Let’s just say the place you’re so keen to get to has a certain reputation.” He grins.
I frown at him. “If you have that kind of reach here, why can’t you take the trash out yourself?”
“I’m up for review, and so is Raine. One wrong step and we’re dying of old age in this shithole. But I heard you don’t give a fuck. And if you already have a death wish….”
If he’s trying to scare me, it’s not working. “Fine.”
“Just to be clear, Bateman needs to be gone before we let you back out.”
“He’s as good as dead.”
“Good. Looks like we have a deal. Raine will get you the hair dye.” He flits his gaze over at Cal, who walks into the small toilet cubicle attached to the room. Cal comes out a minute later with a damp plastic bag and hands it to Jordan.
“What’s that?”
He opens up the bag, revealing a very large stash of pills of all kinds of colors. “Every day, we’re given drugs to keep us happy. The residents sell those drugs to me for protection, among other things. Antidepressants, antipsychotics, tranquilizers, mood stabilizers, and even good old sleeping pills.” He starts separating the blues from the pinks, whites, and yellows.
“And you’re showing me because?”
“Because…” He picks up a handful of the blue pills with an imprint I recognize on them. “These are your ticket in.”
I raise a brow. “Trancs?”
Eyes shining, Jordan smirks at me. “You know your narcotics. Even better. I don’t need to convince you I’m not poisoning you.” He offers them to me. I look at them but don’t take them.
“Why do I need those?” My gaze is shuttered, guarded even as I say it.
“My guy likes to keep his identity secret. He’ll only move patients who are drugged. You’ll need to take these an hour before he comes for you.”
I blink at him. “Dye my hair and drug myself. That’s a pretty fucking big ask.” I do know what the pills are. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t tampered with. Any mark can be counterfeited. And tomorrow was when Lorcan was going to visit and update me about Dino. If I engage with this plan, I won’t have time to tell him, but if I wait another week, that is a fucking week too long. And I can guarantee Lor will try and stop me.
He shrugs and leans back. “What other choice do you have?”
Jaw clenched, I look him in the eyes as he stares right back at me. Then, I glance at Raine leaning against the door frame, watching the exchange from outside Jordan’s room. She’s not happy that much I can tell. Anger radiates off her in waves. Cal, on the other hand, has schooled his features into a neutral mask. All while Jordan looks positively gleeful.
I take a breath and go with my gut, holding a palm out for the drugs.
What other choice do I have?