let his hand drop.
Fuck it. His best friend was afraid to touch him.
“We only just administered the new therapy to the female. If it works . . . Just give it ‘til Friday like we agreed.”
Ky hesitated then let his head fall to his chest in a nod. “Until Friday, and not a moment longer.”
Anjali’s tablet clattered as she set it on the little table outside Jake’s cell. The sound magnified for some reason. She’d studiously avoided looking at him since entering the cellblock, but now she turned and deflated. He lay on his cot as usual, but he wasn’t reading. He was asleep. A gusty sigh escaped her, her chest leaden with disappointment. Well, at least she would have his presence without his anger.
She settled in to do some administrative work. Half an hour later, a reminder beeped on her phone. Her doctor’s appointment. She stood and collected her stuff, but dithered, reluctant to leave without smoothing things over with Jake.
Finally, she set her tablet down again and went to the bars. He sprawled on the cot, head near the top, his large feet on the bottom edge, and she realized the bed was oversized, but not really enough. It must be uncomfortable to have his bare feet just on the end like that.
He breathed evenly, his beautiful chest rising and falling. The clean lines of his face were almost softened by the black fans of his eyelashes and the dark scruff of late afternoon on his cheeks and chin. Maybe she shouldn’t wake him. She turned to gather her tablet. Her phone beeped again in her pocket. The reminder sounded like a fire alarm in her ears, but she glanced at Jake and he didn’t stir.
A frown tugged her forehead. That was odd. She knew from their conversations he had hypersensitive hearing. The first reminder should have awakened him. “Jake?”
No response. Not even a twitch. She raised her voice. “Jake!”
Alarmed, she rang the intercom button on the wall.
“Sanchez, here. What can I do for you, Doctor?”
Sanchez’s voice was loud over the speaker, but a glance revealed Jake was still asleep.
Worry gnawed at her with sharp, biting teeth. Asleep? Or unconscious?
“I can’t seem to wake J— Mr. Finn.”
“Yeah. He wasn’t taking his medication, so Mr. Kincaid had it administered through his food.”
Anjali bit her nail. “I see. Thank you.”
She slid out her phone. She had to get moving or she’d miss her appointment, but she just couldn’t leave him like this. Mr. Kincaid answered on the first ring.
“Anjali, how are things going?”
“I was just wondering that myself. I went to interview Jake and he was unconscious.”
Mr. Kincaid tutted. “Ahh, must be a dosage error. I’ll talk to the techs.”
Anjali sucked her cheek. A dosage error? They’d held Jake for years and they didn’t know what dosage he required? She was getting damn sick of being lied to. “Actually, I wanted to run another blood panel, to examine his ANA specifically.” She prayed he didn’t know that test was simply an indicator of inflammation. “I need him off medication for that.”
There was silence on the other end of the line for a long moment. “We do have procedures for taking samples while he’s awake, but they’re rather . . . draconian. I hope you won’t be shocked. We can’t risk an escape for everyone’s safety. Especially Finn’s.”
“I understand.”
“The medicine will be out of his system in twelve hours. We’ll see you in the morning.”
Twelve hours. Anjali inhaled long and slow. Plenty of time to prepare.
The sight of Jake in chains as they led him into her lab at 9:00 a.m. the next morning hit her like a sledgehammer to the solar plexus. She’d seen heavily restrained men on TV, legs and arms shackled and chained to a leather strap around their waist, but Jake’s chains were thicker by a factor of four. She wouldn’t have been able to take a step, but Jake barely shuffled. As always, his feet were bare and he wore only scrub pants. She swallowed.
Fuck it. His best friend was afraid to touch him.
“We only just administered the new therapy to the female. If it works . . . Just give it ‘til Friday like we agreed.”
Ky hesitated then let his head fall to his chest in a nod. “Until Friday, and not a moment longer.”
Anjali’s tablet clattered as she set it on the little table outside Jake’s cell. The sound magnified for some reason. She’d studiously avoided looking at him since entering the cellblock, but now she turned and deflated. He lay on his cot as usual, but he wasn’t reading. He was asleep. A gusty sigh escaped her, her chest leaden with disappointment. Well, at least she would have his presence without his anger.
She settled in to do some administrative work. Half an hour later, a reminder beeped on her phone. Her doctor’s appointment. She stood and collected her stuff, but dithered, reluctant to leave without smoothing things over with Jake.
Finally, she set her tablet down again and went to the bars. He sprawled on the cot, head near the top, his large feet on the bottom edge, and she realized the bed was oversized, but not really enough. It must be uncomfortable to have his bare feet just on the end like that.
He breathed evenly, his beautiful chest rising and falling. The clean lines of his face were almost softened by the black fans of his eyelashes and the dark scruff of late afternoon on his cheeks and chin. Maybe she shouldn’t wake him. She turned to gather her tablet. Her phone beeped again in her pocket. The reminder sounded like a fire alarm in her ears, but she glanced at Jake and he didn’t stir.
A frown tugged her forehead. That was odd. She knew from their conversations he had hypersensitive hearing. The first reminder should have awakened him. “Jake?”
No response. Not even a twitch. She raised her voice. “Jake!”
Alarmed, she rang the intercom button on the wall.
“Sanchez, here. What can I do for you, Doctor?”
Sanchez’s voice was loud over the speaker, but a glance revealed Jake was still asleep.
Worry gnawed at her with sharp, biting teeth. Asleep? Or unconscious?
“I can’t seem to wake J— Mr. Finn.”
“Yeah. He wasn’t taking his medication, so Mr. Kincaid had it administered through his food.”
Anjali bit her nail. “I see. Thank you.”
She slid out her phone. She had to get moving or she’d miss her appointment, but she just couldn’t leave him like this. Mr. Kincaid answered on the first ring.
“Anjali, how are things going?”
“I was just wondering that myself. I went to interview Jake and he was unconscious.”
Mr. Kincaid tutted. “Ahh, must be a dosage error. I’ll talk to the techs.”
Anjali sucked her cheek. A dosage error? They’d held Jake for years and they didn’t know what dosage he required? She was getting damn sick of being lied to. “Actually, I wanted to run another blood panel, to examine his ANA specifically.” She prayed he didn’t know that test was simply an indicator of inflammation. “I need him off medication for that.”
There was silence on the other end of the line for a long moment. “We do have procedures for taking samples while he’s awake, but they’re rather . . . draconian. I hope you won’t be shocked. We can’t risk an escape for everyone’s safety. Especially Finn’s.”
“I understand.”
“The medicine will be out of his system in twelve hours. We’ll see you in the morning.”
Twelve hours. Anjali inhaled long and slow. Plenty of time to prepare.
The sight of Jake in chains as they led him into her lab at 9:00 a.m. the next morning hit her like a sledgehammer to the solar plexus. She’d seen heavily restrained men on TV, legs and arms shackled and chained to a leather strap around their waist, but Jake’s chains were thicker by a factor of four. She wouldn’t have been able to take a step, but Jake barely shuffled. As always, his feet were bare and he wore only scrub pants. She swallowed.
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