Page 9 of Atone in Darkness
His bitterness came as no surprise. Pressing him for answers would accomplish nothing other than to confirmher own suspicions. “Sorry, forget I asked.”
He abruptly turned his back to her and walked away. “I’m going to take a shower and then sack out for a while.”
She shoved her bruised emotions behind the familiar facade of the medical professional/patient relationship. “Good idea. Your body is still recovering. I’ll wake you when your next meal is delivered.”
He didn’t bother to respond. Once sheheard the water running, she returned her attention to Chase’s test results. There was more than one truth written there on the screen. The first was the one they’d already talked about—the constant abuse was taking a terrible toll on his body and his ability to recover.
The other one was even more frightening—she very much feared those numbers also meant time was running out, not just for Chasebut for her as well.
•••
THE NEXT MORNING,Marisol decided a change in routine was in order. While she’d always been a bit of a loner, she was growing tired of having no one other than Chase to talk to. She didn’t blame him for running so hot and cold; that wasn’t the problem. What she really needed was someone who could offer her some insight into whatwas really going on around her inthe facility. Although the latest bunch of guards weren’t nearly as approachable as the ones who had originally staffed the place, there was one who at least occasionally smiled as he passed by. He’d also pitched in to help her unload boxes of supplies.
It wasn’t much to base a potential friendship on, but it was more than she had with anyone else. She was desperate enough to grasp at all straws,and she’d never seen him among those who came for Chase. His name was David. No, that wasn’t right. It was Dan. The problem was finding a way to talk to him without drawing unwanted attention to the interaction. That eliminated interrupting him when he was on duty. A social situation would be ideal, but it wasn’t as if their employer arranged cocktail parties or movie nights.
There was one possibility,though. So rather than eat another microwaved meal alone in her room, she headed for the small cafeteria. By the time she approached the entrance, she was already having second thoughts, which were only intensified by the sudden silence that swept across the room when she walked in.
Although she’d trained in an occupation where most of her colleagues were male, she wasn’t used to being the lonewoman in a room full of armed men. After a few seconds, they turned their attention back to their own meals. A quick scan of the cafeteria made it clear that her target was nowhere to be seen, but she wasn’t ready to give up quite yet.
She took that hard next step into the room and then headed toward the stack of trays at the end of the serving counter. No one spoke a word to her as she servedherself. That left her with the question of where to sit.
Should she join some guards she at least knew by sight? She rejected that idea immediately and considered her other two options. She could pick an empty table and hope that Dan eventually showed up, or she could simply take her tray to the lab and eat there.
That would be safer. It would also be cowardly.
Her decision made, she spotteda seat at the far end of a long table with only one man seated at the opposite end. By the time she sat down, the scattering of guards still eating had lost interest in her. She wasn’t sure if that was a victory of sorts by forcing them to accept her presence or if they knew she was no threat to them.
With her bad case of nerves, the delicious-looking food tasted like dust. Rather than dump itinto the garbage, she followed the same advice that she gave her stubborn patient. Food was necessary to maintain health and strength. With that in mind, she forced herself to eat. Two of the guards carried their trays over toward her table but veered off in a different direction at the last second. One of them glanced back at her and sneered, clearly sensing her relief that they’d chosen to sitelsewhere.
So much for establishing a new rapport with any of her coworkers. As she bussed her dishes, she once again felt the weight of all those eyes following her every move. One more guard was headed into the cafeteria as she walked out. Before she could chicken out, she stopped him.
“Excuse me, but have you seen Dan this morning?”
At first she thought he wasn’t going to answer, but hefinally shook his head. “His shift starts at noon. Did you need him for something?”
She should’ve guessed he’d ask that and had an answer ready. She kept her response deliberately vague. “I just had a question for him. It wasn’t important. Thanks, anyway.”
“Whatever.”
He walked away without looking back. She forced herself to continue at a normal pace when what she wanted to do was bolt downthe hall. Not sure what she’d accomplished by drawing unwanted attention to herself, she headed directly to her lab. As usual, the first thing she did when she entered was to see if Chase was in his cell. He’d been sleeping when she’d left the previous evening, but that didn’t always mean he’d still be there when she returned.
His breakfast tray was on the counter just inside the door. How longhad it been sitting there? No matter. If his food was cold, she could fix that.
“Are you hungry?”
Chase’s only answer was to sit up on the side of his bed. She supposed that meant he was. She stuck the plate in the microwave and punched the start button. As soon as it was done heating, she asked, “Do you want to eat out here or in there?”
He remained silent and sitting right where he was. Fine.She punched in the code to open his door and then carried the tray in and set it on his bedside table. Considering his mood, she didn’t bother trying engage him in conversation. She also closed his door on her way out. If he wanted some time out of his cell, he could ask.
On her way to boot up her laptop, her foot slipped as if she’d stepped in something wet. She managed to stop herself fromfalling by grabbing the counter. Once she steadiedherself, she looked down to see what had spilled on the floor.
Blood. Not a lot, but enough. That hadn’t been there when she left last night. Even if she’d somehow spilled one of the tubes of blood sitting on the counter, it wouldn’t look that fresh. Her mind finally connected all the dots.
“Chase, did they come for you again?”
He shruggedoff her concern without bothering to look up from his tray. Enough was enough. She marched back over to his cell and let herself back in.
“How badly are you hurt this time?”
