Without Mercy - Lisa Jackson [198]
“Shaylee?” the nurse said, her voice upping an octave as she was starting to get really agitated.
Perfect!
Swallowing a smile, Shay kept rocking while one of the aides adjusted the music that played from hidden speakers. Today: country. Taylor Swift. Again.
“Please, honey,” Nurse Amy said, “it’s time.”
Shay didn’t respond.
“Shay!” Her name was spat now, Apple-Cheeks was really pissed off. Shay slowly turned her head and looked into the consternation on Nurse Amy’s face. She kept her own eyes blank, didn’t let the fire of hatred burning deep in her soul shine through, even managed a bit of drool to show on the side of her mouth.
“Didn’t you hear me, honey?”
Oh, I heard you, you cretin, I just didn’t want to answer.
“It’s time for your meds.”
Trying to appear dull, Shay accepted the cup of pills and slowly pretended to take them as Apple-Cheeks, frowning now, moved off to the next imbecile of a patient.
Idiot!
Shay always pretended to take the pills, faking swallowing, then stuffing them into her shoes when no one was looking. She hid the pills, of course, couldn’t run around and mash them, but they were safely tucked away. Who knew when she might need them? The pills, a knife from the cafeteria, a small pair of scissors from craft time and the tiny screwdriver she’d lifted off the maintenance man’s tool belt he’d laid on the floor when he’d tried to fix the cable TV. All her precious items secreted away in a makeup bag, which was taped to the bottom of a rolling cart holding Connie’s belongings.
If the contraband was ever discovered, it would look like Connie, a forty-something real whack who had kleptomaniac tendencies, had stolen it. That’s right, folks, blame it on Connie the Klepto.
All in good time, Shay thought, forcing herself to be calm. She hated being locked up, but it wouldn’t be forever, and she knew exactly what she would do once she escaped.
She had some scores to settle: Edie was on the list, along with Cooper Trent, that rodeo-riding son of a bitch. But the one she really wanted to deal with was her sister: Jules.
Shaylee’s blood boiled at the thought of her sister. She’d counted on her and Jules, true to form, had let her down, mortified her, caused her to end up here in a hospital with maniacs and morons. Jules was the reason she was here. Make no mistake.
Yes, Shaylee thought, Jules would have to pay and pay with her life.
The Taylor Swift song ended with a familiar guitar chord, then faded into an advertisement for Blue Rock Academy. Her insides went stone cold as Shay listened hard to the ridiculous mother spouting her worries about her daughter, and finally, the daughter, in a younger, cheery voice saying something inane about the school turning her life around.
“Save me,” Shay muttered, one fist clenching.
“And now, I have my daughter back,” the mother assured the listeners in a bright, confident voice.
Shay remembered the campus, the mountains, the icy waters of Lake Superstition, and all of the people who had sworn to help her. They’d all only made things worse.
Even Jules.
Especially Jules.
Idly, Shay wondered who was running the academy now.
Not that it mattered.
She was never going back.
Never!
Not even when she escaped, she thought, smiling inside, her watery reflection leering back at her in the glass, because she knew that her escape would happen very, very soon…
KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2010 by Susan Lisa Jackson
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
Library of Congress Card Catalog Number: 2009943942
ISBN: 978-0-7582-5801-4