Read One of Them (Vigil #2) for Free Online

out at me. “I never said I didn’t trust you. But I also know you’d stop at nothing to get out of here. Allowing myself to be killed in the process would be kind of stupid, now wouldn’t it?”
    “This isn’t about escape, Mac. I’m asking you to show me that you care. I’ve thought a lot about what was going to happen between us once the Jessup thing was over. I understand nothing can happen now, but that impossibility does not erase my feelings. Seeing you has been a wake-up call, a reminder to what I’ve lost. I’m a monster now. I get that I’m a monster. But that doesn’t mean there’s still not something human inside of me. There is. I know that there is.” I bent over, pretending to crumple, hiding my head from him as best as I could. I held the position until I could sense his movement. Once I did, I untangled my face from my body and peered up. He was standing directly against the bars, sticking his arms through and reaching out at me.
    “I’m not afraid of you,” he said.
    You should be, I thought. But before I could do or say anything else, an alarm went off, shrill and piercing. Mac stepped away from the cell, and the siren cut to silence.
    “That was brave,” I said.
    “No, it was the least that I could do. You’re not a monster. You are too lovely to be a monster.”
    I rolled my eyes. “You put way too much emphasis on looks. I have a nice outside and a fairly bleak inside. That’s the way it was long before Jessup choked me to death with his blood.”
    Mac’s face drooped and he swallowed hard.
    “I’m so scared,” I said before he had a chance to respond. “And I don’t like being scared.”
    “Nothing is going to happen to you. I’ll be on this night and day. I’ll do whatever I can to get you out of here.”
    “I appreciate that. I do.”
    He grinned. But it wasn’t a happy grin. “Is there anything I can get for you? Anything. I will throw whatever hissy fit is necessary to make you even a little less scared.”
    I tugged at the orange covering draped over my body. “I could use some clothes. Some real clothes. And an actual toilet would be nice as well.”
    “You got it. I’m on the case.” He offered me a quick salute. “I will be back as soon as possible. Until then, keep your chin up. Know that the whole team is thinking of you. You are not alone anymore.”
    I thanked him, and he left. Before he got too far around the corner, I called him back.
    “Sorry,” I said. “But there’s one other thing.”
    “That’s okay. Go ahead.” He wandered closer.
    “That night at the complex. I was almost certain there were people in the surrounding buildings. In fact, there were lights on when Beth and I were knocking. And then when the shit started hitting the fan, those lights turned off, one right after the other. It was strange. It left me feeling like someone was out there watching. Someone other than Jessup, that is.”
    Mac took everything in and said, “I’ll look into it.”
    I smiled after he was gone for good. The fuse had been lit.

Settling In
    Mac came through. The next time I was given a new bucket of blood, there was a set of clothing next to it. Jeans and a white t-shirt. They were mine, too, which meant they fit. I’d left them in my locker when I had changed into my uniform that last time. I was not given any shoes, socks, or underwear to go with my favorite everyday, plain Jane ensemble, but that was probably because the bosses were worried about me doing something questionable with my bra. What morons. The last thing I wanted to do was to hang myself. Hanging one of them, that would certainly be something I’d consider.
    Later on that next day, a paper plate of finger food was delivered through the cell bars. One of the orange men in the puffy suits came in and used a pole to maneuver the saran wrap-covered dish through the slats. He also tossed in a water bottle with a plastic nozzle. It sure beat the slop they had left me before. I ate some