Page 77 of Revenge & Ruin

We glare at each other for a long beat before Teo sighs again. “I’m here to negotiate with you.”

“Not interested.”

Teo merely nods and turns to leave. “Then I’ll come back later.”

Shit. Wait, no.

“I want a shower,” I blurt out before he can leave.

He turns back to me. “You’re willing to give up your mother for a shower?”

“No,” I scowl back. “You’re going to let me shower.”

“That’s not how this works.”

“It’s not humane to keep me here like this.”

“What part of imprisonment is so difficult for you to understand?”

I take a calming breath. “Okay then, what would it take?”

Teo walks back over to me, looking frustratingly pleased with himself. “Information.”

“I’m not going to?—”

“About your brother.”

I pause as I consider this…I’ve had over two days to think about how I can get out of here and for any of my plans to work. “What kind of information about my brother?”

Teo shrugs. “Something worth my while.”

I bite the inside of my cheek. “I want out of this room, too. Keep me in the bunker, fine, but I will go insane if I spend another hour here.”

He narrows his eyes. “Depends how good your information is.”

“And,” I tilt my head, allowing my eyes to rake over his body, “you join me in the shower.”

He wasn’t expecting that, and I momentarily indulge in the satisfaction of watching his body turn rigid.

I offer him a pretty smile as I kick my legs over the side of my bed and let them swing. “My brother is being financed by a Californian mafioso. That’s where he flew to earlier this month.”

Teo seems to slowly turn this information over in his mind. Not that it matters. Even if Teo confronts them, my brother already has the money.

“To what end?” he says finally.

“I think you already know the answer to that.”

He looks at me before nodding once and turning on his heel toward the door.

“Hey—”

“Are you coming or not?” he says as he props the door open for me.

I have to pick my jaw up from the floor. “Right.”

I hold my head high as I pass through the door, doing my best not to be acutely aware of his every breath as he follows behind.

Outside my prison cell is more of the same gray on gray. There’s a long, thin corridor with several rooms branching off on either side. As we pass by, I glance through the glass door panes and spot…yes! There. A computer.

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