The Barrier Between (Collector Series # 2) (30 page)

Humans would find a way to rationalize it in their
heads till it made sense to them. Air caught in my throat. Did I
just call them
humans
? Like I was no longer part of them?
Shit. I’d been with Ryker too long. The thought of him sent a fire
to my heart. Damn, I missed him. I wanted nothing more than to feel
his arms around me. I needed to believe he was okay. I couldn’t
fathom my life without him now.

“I guess that’s a good thing since Duc will be here
tomorrow. He will want to see you healthy and ready to fight.” She
motioned with her head to someone behind her to come forward. “You
have two options. You can behave and be allowed to go downstairs
with the rest of the girls.” A wicked grin curled at her mouth.
“They are quite eager to meet their new bunkmate. Especially when I
told them who has graced us with her presence. You are quite famous
here.”

Carlos shifted behind her, a frown twitching his
mouth. Did he disagree with Maria’s decision? Well, if so, I was
definitely on his side. Telling them only would cause problems.
Girls would want to take down the legend to become one themselves.
The guards were few in number; now they would have to be on
constant defense and ready to act. Maria was far more business
savvy than her brother, but when it came to me, both of them lost
their reasoning.

“Your other option is to stay chained here with no
food.”

I sighed dramatically. “So many great options... I
hardly know what to choose.”

Maria sprang to me and sank her nails into my neck.
Carlos was right behind her, tugging her hands free of my skin. He
pulled her back, her chest rising and falling.

I touched the scrapes around my neck; a drip of blood
stained my fingers. “You definitely need to reel in that temper of
yours. You make it so easy.”

Maria took a deep breath. Carlos let her go, but he
didn’t back away. “What is it about you?” She shook out her arms,
trying to free herself of the anger. “Just looking at your smug,
perfect face makes me want to tear you into little pieces.”

“How sweet.”

Her lip lifted in a snarl. Carlos put his hand on her
shoulder to calm her. “So what do you choose? Eventually you are
going to realize you are mine now, and you have nowhere else to
go.”

I was unsure why she would let me roam freely
downstairs. I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to get out of
these chains. Free of the cuffs, I had a chance. I pushed to my
feet, shoving my hands out to her. “I’ll be good. I promise.”

“Maria?” Carlos shook his head.

“No, if she wants to go, we shouldn’t keep her from
going.”

I was being set up, but I didn’t care.

Maria pulled a key from her pocket and unlocked my
binds. “But I forgot to tell you.” Here came the conditions. “If
you go downstairs, you have to wear this.” She grabbed an item out
of a guard’s hand and held it up.

It was a leg cuff, the kind you see on people under
house arrest.

“This one has been modified.” She pushed a button and
the manacle vibrated with electricity. “One wrong move and every
muscle in your body will lock up, and like a block of wood, you
will crash to the ground.”

Fuck.
Still, the possibilities outside this
cell were better for me than inside them.

I nodded. She smiled. She was looking forward to
pushing the button.

A brown-haired guard, one of Maria’s first tier,
latched it around my ankle. It clicked as he locked it.

“Every guard, and myself, have a remote to detonate
it. Also, it’s rigged to go off if you get too close to the outside
doors.” Maria brushed her curly hair off her shoulder and opened
the door. “Have fun getting acquainted with your new friends,” she
sang before disappearing.

Carlos heaved a sigh, walked to me, and unlocked me
from the wall manacles.

“You don’t agree with her, do you?”

He let go of the shackles, allowing them to fall to
the floor. “No. Keeping peace here is hard enough. You only bring
misery and evil to our doorstep.”

“So you like me then?” I was easily returning to the
life of living where I felt I had to show different sides to each
person I interacted with.

Carlos walked me down the stairs. Counting the
guards, more than a hundred pairs of eyes were on me as I
descended. As I predicted, there were a few already mumbling I
looked more like a little cheerleader than a fighter, scoffing at
the idea they couldn’t handle me.

“She’s the so-called legend? The Avenging Angel?” The
girl, Jada, was the first to vocalize it loud enough for everyone
to hear. “Please, my eight-year-old niece could take her out.”

I loved it when they formed the wrong idea of me. It
actually helped me more often than not.

“She’s so cute. Like a Barbie doll.” Jada sniggered,
others growing in confidence to join her. “No, sorry, make it a
Skipper doll.”

This is what I lived for. Girls getting lippy in
their overconfidence. Their fall was always much sweeter. I learned
to stay quiet, letting the insults roll off me. The other girls had
a hard time with this. The loud boastful ones hated when their
slights were met with silence and calmness. I would only grin like
they were praising me. It always provoked them to act rashly.
Predictable. First Maria, now Jada. It was getting boring.

“Jada.” Carlos stared her down, moving me past the
hecklers. She crossed her arms, her eyes still roaming over me. She
was at least five eleven, thin, but fighting gave her a toned body
women killed for and men desired. Her curly black hair was tied
back, and her dark skin was lined with scars. All the women were
dressed in a uniform of black leggings, a nondescript gray
sweatshirt, and cheap white tennis shoes. Duc must have raided a
Walmart.

“I want no problems. Got it?” Carlos yelled out to
the group. Only a few nodded. “Go back to what you were doing.”

The girls in the kitchen area returned to their work,
putting food out. My stomach growled at the smell of cooking eggs.
Carlos directed me underneath the stairs where there were toilets
and communal showers.

“You have water?”

“
Borrowed
by the Red Cross. You can only
shower for three minutes. And a forewarning... it’s not heated.” He
grabbed a toothbrush, paste, towel, and fabric from the shelf,
shoving it at me. “Take care of business and change. Breakfast is
in ten minutes.”

I glanced at the clothes in my hand. Black stretch
pants and a gray hoodie. I wanted a shower, but I was already
shivering. Icy water did not sound pleasant. I could push it
another day. I went into the bathroom and changed. Peeling off the
ripped cargo pants and stained shirt was another reminder this was
not some screwed-up dream, and I was no longer in Peru.

For my own sanity I convinced myself Ryker had
escaped from the balam and was fine. What did he imagine happened
to me? What was he going through trying to find me? He had to be
frustrated knowing he could do nothing but wait. He had no idea
where I’d gone, or if I could get back, but he also couldn’t leave
Peru, knowing I would return the moment I could.

I pushed thoughts of Ryker away. While I liked the
softness he created in my heart, here I had to be stone: no
emotion, no sentiment, no cracks in my walls.

I finished dressing. The hoodie was thin, but it gave
me a little more protection than my tank top. Using the supplies
he’d given me, I cleaned my teeth and washed my face.

When I came out, Carlos was waiting for me. “Your bed
is over here. All your stuff will go into the basket under your
bed. We do random checks, so don’t bother trying to hide anything.
We have our fight training in the yard.” He nodded to the back
doors.

“You worked at a prison before this, didn’t you?” I
teased. By his pointed glare I realized I hit on something.
“Resident?”

Carlos moved till he was only an inch away from my
face. He was only a few inches taller than me. His voice razor
sharp. “Five years at the King County Correctional Facility, and I
didn’t become anyone’s bitch. Got me,
perra
?”

Touché
.

He didn’t scare me. Instead, I respected him a little
more, but I didn’t want to purposely piss him off. I gave him a
curt nod, and he stepped away.

“Watch your back.” He knew, as well as I did, there
was a large target from all sides. His disfigured lip curled with
amusement, then he walked away out the main doors. Probably heading
across the street to Maria. The boy had it bad.

The springs of the cot protested as I sat. It was
adorned with only a pillow, sheet, and scratchy wool blanket. I
slid the basket from under the bed and placed my newly acquired
items in the holder.

“How are you feeling?” A small voice turned my head
up. Annabeth stood in front of me. She wore the uniform of yoga
pants and a hoodie, her hair knotted back in a loose bun.

“Hey.” I smiled. “I’m feeling better. Thank you for
patching me up.”

Her critical gaze roved over my face, her brows
hitching together. “You are almost healed.”

My hand automatically went to my face, brushing over
my bandages and bruises. My eye was practically back to normal, no
longer swollen shut. “Uh... yeah.” Her eyes narrowed on me
suspiciously.

“Chow time.” A woman’s voice accompanied a loud
bell.

“Hell,” I mumbled. “I feel like I’m in prison.” I
rubbed my hands over my face.

“No.” Annabeth shoved her hands into her pockets.
“You’re in hell.” She turned and walked to the line forming at the
buffet.

How true her statement became.

On my way to get in line, I was tripped, shoved, and
insulted in every way. They only backed off when I stood next to
Annabeth. I guess I wasn’t the only one who felt like protecting,
instead of harming, this girl. She brought out the same instinct in
me Lexie had. I didn’t know how long I’d be here, but until then,
when I was around, no one would touch her.

I lifted my tray, holding it out for food to be
slopped on it. The women ignored me, pushing it out of the way as
they served the other girls. My head already pounded with
annoyance. I wanted to drop the tray and go back to my bed and
crawl into a ball. What I wanted to do and what I had to do—polar
opposites.

“You really want to start out like this?” I shoved my
platter back at the girl serving, my tone walking a thin line of
bemusement and threat. “It’s really early to get on my bad
side.”

The girl lifted one eyebrow in a challenge.

“You know those rumors about me?” I giggled, sounding
a bit crazy. “Like I enjoy drinking the blood of my victims?” My
face fell, and I reached over and grabbed the girl’s throat. “They.
Are. All. True.”

Whatever it was, my expression, my tone, or the dead
seriousness she saw in my eyes, she placed food on my dish. “See
how easy it was?” I let go of the girl, patting her face, and
continued down the line, humming. Unstable was a good trait to use.
People didn’t like being unsure; it created insecurity and fear. I
might be small, but they’d learn I was not someone to mess with. I
earned my reputation.

I settled at a table, and Annabeth sat next to me.
She was wise. Even though most were taller or bigger than me, she
was insightful enough to sense my underlying power. I was someone
to align with, not challenge.

But not all took the wise road.

“Oh, AB, has she already made you her pet?” Jada came
to the table, leaning between two girls on the other side of me.
“You’re a sweet kid, but not too bright.”

I took a bite of my eggs and snorted. Talk about not
too bright.

“You have something to say, Skipper?”

“I would have to talk too slow... and I simply don’t
have the energy for stupid this morning.” I took another bite. The
powdered taste reminded me of the breakfast at Red Cross, which
probably wasn’t a coincidence. Everything here, including the
water, appeared to be stolen from them. Maybe it was the red
crosses displayed on everything, including the tray I was eating
off, that tipped me off.

Jada’s shoulders hunched to her ears. “Oh no you
didn’t.” She swirled her finger at me. Seriously, I could take a
nap while she worked up to the point.

I shoved a piece of toast into my mouth, ignoring her
insignificant chatter. Annabeth sat rigid next to me and everyone,
including the guards, watched us. Even they knew a fight would
happen between Jada and me, but until then it was all talk.
Supremacy only had room for one, and sooner or later she and I
would have to fight for it. I wanted to fast-forward to it, but she
seemed to need the foreplay.

I sighed.
Foreplay
. The only foreplay I wanted
was with Ryker.

“What the fuck are you smiling about, cunt?” Jada’s
fingers grabbed the lip of my tray and flipped it up. Oatmeal and
runny eggs slipped onto my lap with a slopping sound.