Page 7 of Pretty Cruel Love

Ackerman walks through the door within seconds, and he smiles as he locks my cuffs back into place.

“You don’t need to lock them that tightly.” Dr. Weiss’s icy tone makes Ackerman still. “The metal is obviously digging into her skin.”

Ackerman rolls his eyes, but for the first time since I’ve known him, he shows me a hint of compassion. He loosens them and asks if the adjustment feels better.

I nod, relieved and grateful for Dr. Weiss’s intrusion.

Ackerman leads me out of the cozy house and back into a monochromatic reality. With every step toward Cell Block C, all the bright thoughts of parole and a chance in Dr. Weiss’s cabin slip away.

It feels too sudden and too good to be true—like I’ll eventually have to shelve this possibility next to all the dreams I’ve learned not to hope for—things like swimming in a lake, touching green grass, and soaking in a warm bubble bath.

As we near the main gate, I feel something heated against my back, so I glance over my shoulder.

Dr. Weiss is standing in the doorway of the warden’s quarters, still clutching my painting, his intense gaze anchored to my every move.

I can feel why he accepted me into his program this early…

2

DR. WEISS

Icould stare at that woman for the rest of my life and never run out of ways to analyze her.

With her deep green eyes, lush pink lips, and natural auburn hair, Sadie possesses an Old Hollywood type of beauty. It’s the type that makes strangers stop and stare—to see if she’ll disappear like a figment of a fantasy or remain breathtakingly real.

She’s also incapable of taking a bad photo.

There’s an entire true crime-obsession industry where her various mugshots and prison photos are featured on “Not Too Pretty to Murder You” coffee mugs, “Don’t Let These Pretty Eyes Fool You” sweatshirts, and “Psychopaths Can Be Pretty, Too” keychains.

There’s even a subreddit dedicated to her eyes:/sadieprettyirises.

Visions of that pink ice cream dripping down her chin—slick and glistening wet—have all frozen themselves into my memory.

The act was perfectly obscene, innocent, and borderline intentional…

I’ve worked with thousands of attractive female patients in my career, but none of them have ever left a first impression like her. And none of them have ever made me want to risk a kiss based on one glance or made me wonder what a mere caress would feel like.

Fuck. I touched her lips already…

“Secure the A-Pod and lock down the ALT ward!” the warden barks into his walkie, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Which team is covering the mental health wing? I need answers within the next five seconds!”

I glance at the beautiful skull portrait he deemed “ugly” and question his taste. The details in every stroke are incomparable, and this will probably come in handy while she lives with me in the cabin soon.

“I’m so sorry, Dr. Weiss.” He pulls on a bulletproof vest. “It looks like your grand tour of my prison will have to take place on another day.”

“Not a problem.” I shrug. “This place isn’t exactly Disneyland.”

“No, but our attractions are a lot cheaper.” He laughs at his own joke. “Speaking of which, why the fuck are you trying to redeem someone like Sadie Pretty?”

“Come again?” The sudden coldness in his eyes catches me off guard.

“There are tons of other inmates—ones who actually might be innocent—who are far more deserving of your time than her. Hell, if you back out of this foolishness now, I’ll give you a list.”

“I’m confused… I thought you liked her.”

“I like her talent,” he says. “I like that she doesn’t give my staff any trouble, and I definitely like the way she looks. But that’s where it ends. She’s a triple-murderer, and she’s exactly where she belongs.”

I arch a brow, still confused as hell. Long before I accepted Sadie, several legal and criminal specialists came to this exact office and explained that there’s a possibility she really might be innocent. That even if she’s rejected at her next parole hearing, she may walk away with a chance at a new trial or a suspended sentence.

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