Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 137176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
His time in prison had nothing to do with the ridiculous task that would supposedly buy my freedom from wherever the hell we were and land him back behind bars. I didn’t believe the stuff he’d told me about Sully or the bullshit that the wall safe code was a number I would know. The crap he’d said about turning himself in and confessing was nonsense too, but if I could find concrete proof of his crimes, I’d make sure his ass went back to prison and he’d stay there.
Cass had, unfortunately, left me with one question running on a loop in my head. A question I had absolutely no answer to. Why had I put so much trust in him despite the fact that I hadn’t seen the man since the last time he’d returned to LA to celebrate some holiday with me and Sully? I didn’t even know when that had been.
I wanted to take back my question about his prison time the second I saw Cass’s reaction to it. He tensed up and glanced at the open door every few seconds. The door that I now realized had nothing to do with me escaping and everything to do with his fear of confinement. I felt like an ass for the way I’d asked the question, too. I’d deliberately made it sound like I was looking forward to his response; like I enjoyed knowing what two years behind bars had done to him.
Backing down wasn’t an option, so I couldn’t take the question back or rephrase it. If he saw even a chink in my armor, he’d use it to his advantage.
He’d already proven that he knew how to do it.
“You were at ADX, the supermax in Colorado, right? If I’m not mistaken, that’s a federal prison that houses the worst of the worst.”
Cass’s expression hardened into an unreadable one. I wasn’t surprised given the man had been a Marine. He’d been trained to withstand any form of torture rather than give up information if he fell into enemy hands.
“Yes,” Cass responded without emotion. The fact that he couldn’t stop checking the door belied any effort he was making to prove he was unaffected by my words.
Unfortunately, his uncontrollable need to keep checking the door meant he’d told the truth about being claustrophobic. I couldn’t let that one truth outweigh all the lies, though.
I wouldn’t.
“So how was it?” I asked.
“I never went to camp when I was a kid, but I think it’s safe to say it was just like that. Extended overnight camp for murderers, rapists, and all sorts of men who preferred their victims young. Really young.”
His brittle response left me with goose bumps.
Bad goose bumps.
This was the Cass who’d killed three people and left me for dead.
“So you were a bit homesick at the beginning but then made friends that would later become buddies for life?” I asked, letting my voice hang on the last word.
“I think this is where I’m supposed to object and say you’re leading the witness,” he responded.
I nodded. “I should be more specific, I guess. Sorry, I’ll get the hang of this,” I quipped. “So, tell me, Mr. Ashby, what did your days consist of at your new sleepaway camp?”
I nearly jumped out of my skin when Cass suddenly shifted in his seat. He settled his arms on the table and leaned in, pinning me with hard, unforgiving eyes.
“When I arrived or when I left?” he asked.
“Both.” The tap dancing was starting to annoy me but only because I really wanted to know. The idea of the Cass I’d known when I was a kid spending his life in a prison cell that had probably been half the size of my bedroom made me sick to my stomach. The Cass I’d known these past few weeks… well, fuck, I didn’t know how I felt about that.
“When I arrived, I got to have more time outside. To make friends, I guess you could say. I made lots of them. I mean, I did kill a federal agent, a snitch, and some little kid who’d basically been just taking up space. And the cop who survived… well, they wanted to give me the title of camp king for that one. But you know what they say about people lifting you up so they can knock you back down just so they can watch the fall.” Cass shrugged. “It was a short honeymoon. Let’s put it that way.”
The man across from me paused for dramatic flair. Despite his sarcasm, I knew his words rang true. Cop killers always had a huge following in prison.
“When I didn’t want to play with the other kids’ toys or pick which baseball team I wanted to be captain of, my new buddies decided if I wasn’t going to play then I wasn’t going to play.”