Page 141 of Shadowman

My teeth grind to dust as I shoot him a grin so fake it’s about to snap my face in two. “Mm… I’m sure you have.”

You self-righteous fucking cunt.

“So…” He rubs his hands together. “Should I plan on seeing you in a few days?”

“Whatever you want.”

It’s what you’re going to do, anyway.

Dr. Love nods curtly, picking his notepad back up and casually scribbling something down. Without glancing up, he asks, “By the way, how are you getting on here? I know it can be a bit of an adjustment.”

Standing up, I peer around his small, drab office. “Actually, I’m fairing quite well.”

To my surprise, that gets him. His eyes shift up to mine. “Is that so?”

I nod and pull another patronizing smile, this time less forced.Ah, so he was looking forward to me struggling in here?

How sweet.

My gaze is sparkling a palpable malevolence. “As it turns out, Alabaster Pen might just be somewhere I could truly thrive.”

Shooting him a wink, I wander away, heading for the door, unable to miss the puzzled flash in his eyes at how I seem to be coming and going on my own.

My smirk widens, and I wave. “Have alovelyevening, Doctor.”

I leave his office with the click of his door behind me, puffing out a long breath I feel like I’ve been holding for an hour. Closing my eyes, I rake my fingers through my hair, composing myself.

Well… that sucked.

For all of my hostility and brazen behavior, I’m still not sure that I accomplished anything of value, and I loathe this feeling of uncertainty. I didn’t get any information for The Ivory, and I barely made a dent in Dr. Love. Although, let’s be real, getting him even five percent worked up is no small feat.

Plus, this is a marathon, not a sprint.

Regardless, I can’t deny that my body is all keyed up from being near him again, the rage swirling together with how regrettably sexy I still happen to find him.

Idespisehim for turning his back on me, then gaslighting me into thinking it was no big deal.Oh, it all worked out, didn’t it? Look, we’re back together. Why are you so bent out of shape??

Bugger off.

Iwillget my revenge on Dr. Lemuel Love, regardless of how long it takes or what I have to endure to get it. And in order to do that, I’ll need to disobey Manuel’s wishes just a tad.

Spinning on my heel, I stride up the halls of the East Wing. Kent informed me that Manuel has some new people working in his control rooms, and that they’ve been instructed to let me move about freely—you guessed it… Within reason.

It seems as if many things are changing here at Alabaster Pen, with the arrival of the new guards, who apparently were brought in with the express purpose of undermining the former team—Officer Daddy and Mommy, also known as Velle and Joy, and their band of merry menaces.

I’m not surprised by the restructuring. The Ivory said as much during our last meeting. It doesn’t affect me, seeing that I had no real attachments to the former crew. But I will say, the no-talking order is a buzzkill, especially now that I have Byron. Figures, as soon as I’m no longer alone, we’re ordered into silence.

These new guards seem to be all business, no pleasure. Boring.

I can’t complain, though. I have much more freedom than the average inmate, lucky boy that I am. What I choose to do with that freedom is where I’ll leave a lastingimpression.

Skipping up and down the corridors, I’m snooping, because why not? Peeking into every padded cell, observing the lonely, mistreated lumps of sadness who reside here in the prison’s asylum. When I look inside the cell on the end, I freeze.

It’s Warren Xavier.Ren. He’s sitting on the floor, laced up in a straitjacket. Eyes closed, head tipped back against the wall. I’m not sure if he’s sleeping or just resting his eyes while contemplating the clearly grim state of his existence. Either way, I take a moment to grin wickedly at his misfortune.

Even if he wasn’t such a wanker to me during our every encounter, I’d still revel in his discomfort.Because he’s Byron’s ex-fling, or whatever they’d chosen to call it, and that makes me hate him.

Petty and jealous are two things I’ve never hidden about myself.