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Silence reigned and Ryder’s teeth clenched next to him.

“We must prepare.” Jack’s expression shifted, a fiery resolve shining through.

“What are you thinking?” Takeshi asked, finally moving his venomous gaze away from Ryder.

“There are several prisoners here we can trust to take on the Dealers when the Aces break in. But we need to get these off.” He gestured to the metal cuffs clamped around his wrists.

Khalani leaned forward. “How?”

“After a prisoner dies, I’ve seen a Dealer use his screen to remove the cuffs. The electric pads operate through retina scans. We’ll need to kill one of them. Once we do that, hopefully, we can get these off.”

Her stomach churned at the thought of more people dying for their freedom, but she pushed the naïve innocence deep into the abyss of her mind, so it became a dull, muted voice.

Peace was a privilege only the free possessed.

“I don’t like that word, ‘hopefully,” she admitted.

Hope left room for disaster. She wanted assurance.

“That’s all gambling is.” Ryder scoffed. “We take the cards dealt and make the most of it.”

“What about Dr. Strauss?” she asked, glancing at the looming black building.

Jack and Ryder visibly tensed, exchanging uncertain looks.

“That spawn of the devil hides in his lair the majority of theday. The plan is to stick to our normal routine and not draw any attention to ourselves.” Jack shot a warning glare at Ryder, who raised his hands in mock surrender.

“You won’t hear any problems from me. I’m just trying to get out of here and not end up likehim.”

Khalani followed his gaze to see Reno sitting alone, his back straight as a steel rod. He stared ahead, perfectly still, like he wasn’t even breathing.

“He hasn’t touched his food this entire time,” Ryder said in a low voice.

But then, Reno slowly turned his head, his lifeless gaze locking onto Ryder as if he heard him. Without taking his eyes off them, Reno put his hand in the bowl, scooped up liquid, and brought it up to his mouth, swallowing it down. He didn’t blink as he lowered his hand to do it again.

Khalani quickly turned back around, her heart racing erratically.

“How many days again?” Ryder whispered, genuine fear flashing in his eyes.

“Six days,” Jack breathed harder.

Only six days.

But with the state of the prison, it might as well have been six years.

24

You are more than your mistakes.

Knots coiled tightly around her neck as she stared at the dim bulb on the opposite wall of the cell. It flickered every few seconds, barely holding onto its power.

The other prisoners probably didn’t even notice.

The smallest object driving away darkness.

Any moment, it might dim into nothingness, and only then would they realize what had been lighting their way the entire time.

A low grunt sounded next to her, taking her attention away from the unappreciated bulb. She glanced over at Takeshi doing pushups on the floor.