Page 89 of Brainwashed

In the blink of an eye, time speeds back up. And all hell breaks loose.

Velle rushes Felix and grabs him by the throat with his left hand, hauling him to his feet and immediately launching his fist at Felix’s face. Before I can even process what’s happening, he’s on top of my patient on the floor, throwing blow after blow.

Felix is clearly in shock, though he attempts blocking Velle as best he can’t. Still, it’s no use for the size of the officer and the fury behind his fists. Felix is instantly bleeding, and I don’t even think.

Bounding up behind Velle, I hook my arm around his neck, using it to yank him off. I pull him backward, and he sort of tumbles into me. I use the element of surprise to my advantage and tighten my grip around his neck, hoping to at the very least subdue him until he’s ready to calm the fuck down.

Unfortunately for me, he’s obviously more skilled at brawls than me and Felix. He rears his head back into my nose with a headbutt that disorients me, causing my eyes to water up.

Stumbling back, I rub my face while he jumps to his feet. Now I’m fucking pissed.

I step to him, because fuck this shit. My adrenaline has gone through the roof in a flash and I’m ready to throw down with this motherfucker.

But he pulls his Glock. “What the fuck is going on here?!”

The sounds of us all panting are ringing through the room, my heart lunging hard against my chest. When I peek at Felix, I find him still on the floor, sans glasses, sitting back on his elbows with blood trickling from his nose and lip.

I hold my hands up to pacify Velle. “Relax, Officer. Let’s just calm down.”

“Calm down?!” he roars, glancing at Felix. “This psychopathic fuck murdered yet another inmate!”

Keeping my voice as easy as possible, I ask, “Do you have any evidence of these accusations, Officer Chevelle?”

“I’ll give you some evidence, you fucking clown,” he seethes at me, then cocks his gun, aiming it right at my face.

My blood is rushing so hard in my ears, it sounds like Niagara Falls.

“Velle, wait.” Felix wobbles to his feet, then steps over, putting himself between us. “You’re right. I did it. I killed Kieran O’Malley.”

Staying as still as possible, my mind sifts quickly through the best possible options to calm this man down. He’s never liked me or Felix, and he could easily just shoot us both in the face right now and be done with it, which I’m sure would make him sufficiently happy.

My stomach knots aggressively as I try to inch myself in front of Felix, or at least get the gun on me and not him.

Velle exhales a long, ragged sigh, then growls, “How? How the fuck did you pull that off?” He moves the gun in between Felix and me.

Felix flashes me a quick look, as if he’s contemplating a truth or a lie. But then he answers, “I had the keys… To the cells.”

Velle looks severely distraught. I’ll admit, it gives me the tiniest tickle of remorse in my gut. We’ve never seen eye to eye since I’ve been here, but still. I’m not out to actively make his life more difficult. And from the way he’s reacting, Kieran O’Malley’s death has definitely done that, in spades.

He mumbles something under his breath, glaring at Felix like he has no idea what kind of shitstorm he’s created with his actions. And it’s true. I don’t think either of us does. But the problem is that I did what I did in the name of research. And Felix is physically incapable of feeling remorse.

Velle takes a step in my direction, and I subtly move Felix out of the way. “You gave him the keys, didn’t you?Didn’t you?!”

I shake my head. “Officer… What’s done is done.”

I know this is probably the worst thing I could say to him. And maybe ten percent of me thinks he might just kill me. But the other ninety percent knows hecan’tkill me, or Felix. Because then he’d be facing the wrath of The Ivory. And I’m sure Velle knows that whatever responsibility he’s going to take for Felix’s actions, it would be an entirely different situation if he took away the Warden’s prized possession.The Carver.

And sure enough, he lowers his gun with a scoff. “What’s done isdone??” My hands come down while he glowers at Felix, who shrugs. Velle falls utterly defeated as he sighs. “You’re the Warden’s problem now.”

And he leaves the room with much less gusto than he came in with.

The air is thick and tense around us as I take in a long breath and let it out slowly. Looking over Felix, I find him swiping at blood from a cut on his lip. He sticks his thumb into his mouth and sucks it off.

I gulp at the sight, and I’m not sure why. That was hectic. There’s so much lingering testosterone in the room, it’s like when there’s gas in the air and you can see it. The waves.

The intensity. The… blood.

Without thinking, I close the distance between us and reach for his face. Thekiller.