“I’ll go see Morris, but I won’t be taking any more of this stuff, River.”
“What?” Her teary eyes go wide.
“It’s not up for discussion. I won’t do it. I won’t become addicted to something that will turn me into…them.” River knows who them are. Mandas. Blakes.
River looks out the window of the room and whisks a tear from her cheek. The rain has stopped. At least there’s that.
“River? Do you understand?” I can’t risk killing her in a fit of rage.
River pulls a piece of paper from her purse and shoves it in my hand. “This is the name of the lab.” Then she digs out something else from her bag and shoves it in my other hand.
It’s the stupid red cape she bought me. “Why are you giving me this?”
She shrugs, looking down at our touching hands. “If your mind’s made up, then I want the world to see you the same way I do. At least once.” She covers my hand with hers and squeezes tightly. “Ever since you came to my pigtails’ defense, you’ve been my hero, Huff. Shouldn’t everyone know what kind of guy you really are?”
God. What did I do to deserve a girl like River? And what did I do to deserve so little time left?
CHAPTER THIRTY
How does a guy break into a jail when the clock is ticking and he could drop dead at any moment?
Fast. Sloppy.
I took five minutes to study the structure on Google Earth before deciding the best point of entry would be the west wall. I think that’s the likeliest place for the cells to be, because I see a yard with barbed wire next to it. The other side of the building is a parking lot. To the front is a long driveway. To the back looks like a garage. Maybe for storing their vehicles.
I decide to leave before my parents arrive at the hospital because I’ll lose my nerve if I see their faces. If River’s been reading all the garbage online, then so have they. That means they’ll be a wreck. And I’m not throwing shade for that. I’m a mess, too; however, this isn’t about me. It’s about River’s sisters and anyone else who was tricked into taking that poison.
I gaze into River’s warm brown eyes and kiss her hard, not knowing if I’ll ever see her again. Her lips are like warm velvet, and our mouths move together like they were made for each other. Why did I wait so long to do this?
I pull away and stare into her eyes. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“Tell my family I love them and I’m sorry.”
“I will,” she says. “And good luck.”
I close my eyes and imagine the place I want to go. When I open my eyes, I’m in a room with beige walls, a table, chairs, and a coffee machine. A police officer, who’s sitting reading the paper, looks up at me and blinks.
“Oops. I guess you guys remodeled recently.” I zip from the room, looking for the holding cells. Down the hall, I spot a heavy steel door with a small window. Next to it reads, No guns beyond this point. The prisoners have to be on the other side.
I approach the door. I’m not sure I can go through solid metal. I’ve never tried, and today doesn’t feel like the day for taking risks. More risks.
Instead, I punch the wall to the side and climb through. The hallway is lined with steel bars, and it smells like sweat and disinfectant. This is the place.
“What the!” the guy with neck tats in the first cell says.
“You Morris?” I ask.
“No.”
I move on to the next cell, where a bald guy is lying back on his bed.
“Morris! You Morris?” I ask.
“I can be for fifty bucks,” he says.
“Errr. Sorry. You’re not my type.” I keep moving. The next two cells are empty. When I get to the last one, I see a young guy with bottlecap glasses and a skeletal frame, sitting on his bed reading. “Morris?”
“Yeah?”
Jesus. He reminds me of me. Not at all what I imagined for a guy who sells toxic steroids to college students.
“Hey, you’re Huff,” he says. “I saw you on the news. Nice cape.”
I try not to cringe. This cape isn’t me. But anything for my girl. “I don’t have a lot of time. I landed in the break room first, so I’m pretty sure they know I’m here.”
“Then get me out.” He stands and comes up to the bars.
“No.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Because apparently you’re the only one who can keep your customers alive.”
He sits back on his bed. “Sorry, but it’s like I told my lawyers; you want the formula, then I want a deal.”
“They’re never going to give it to you. No one believes we’re going to die, Morris. They think it’s a hoax.”