Rogue Reformatory: Busted (Supernatural Misfits Academy Book 1) Read online

  “Maddy!” I yelled over the din. “Time to book it.”

  I reached back and grabbed her hand, then guided her through the melee I’d started not even three hours after arriving at Wadsworth. Impressive, even by my standards. I was positive we’d laugh about it one day—once we escaped the reformatory.

  “What have you done?” she asked as we struggled through the fighting masses. I could see the door nearby. With any luck, we could slip through it unseen while the guards dealt with the battle in the cafeteria.

  Just as we broke free of the fray, a juggernaut blindsided me and tackled me to the ground. I looked up to find piercing blue eyes staring down at me through dark lashes.

  “Going somewhere?” he asked, his voice like silk and full of promise. He sat up and straddled my waist, holding me down, and I bucked underneath him, trying to throw him off. But he was like a concrete slab weighing me down. My attempts only seemed to amuse him. “I have her!” he shouted, even though his voice still held its composure somehow. “Welcome to Wadsworth, little witch.”

  He turned to look at an incoming keeper, and I decided to capitalize on the moment. Maybe I was busted. Maybe I couldn’t get him off me. But I sure as hell could make him bleed for his efforts.

  I sat up and swung like I had so many times in training, cracking him in the jaw with a rugged hook. It wasn’t pretty, but it damn sure worked. His head snapped to the left with significant force. When he slowly turned back to face me, blood trickled down his chin.

  “Fuck you!” I yelled as a keeper clamped his hands around my biceps and dragged me out from under the dark-haired boy with the gold symbols on his collar. Another one grabbed my feet, and they carried me out of the room while everyone watched. “Maddy! Maddy, where are you?”

  I saw her on the other side of the room, surrounded by the other kids from her table; they held her back as she tried to get to me. Then I heard the keeper mutter foreign words under his breath. The room went blurry, then fell away to darkness.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Maddy

  I was grateful that my roommate, Janie, snored, because her being asleep meant I’d be able to test the door lock—which sometimes failed to catch—and sneak out of our room. I was going to track down my sister. Not tomorrow. Now.

  She was alive! I’d almost had a heart attack when I saw her. It was all I could do not to burst into tears. And smack her for endangering herself by coming here. But if she could do this for me, I’d be there for her, doing my part to help us survive this place.

  No way would I wait until tomorrow to see her. I needed to convince myself that I hadn’t been dreaming and she truly was alive.

  Lying still on my bunk, I slanted Janie a glance, but she didn’t move.

  Janie was not only a half-witch, like me, she was also a spy for the headmaster. Every evening before lockdown, she’d sneak away. She’d show up later in our room, smelling like beer, after the doors were supposedly locked, making me suspicious.

  This suspicion was the reason I hid out in the back corner of the yard. Most thought I was avoiding the mean girl cliques, the vamps on the prowl, or even rogue shifters, when instead, I was snooping. The headmaster’s one-way mirror overlooking the yard had a small flaw in the bottom left corner. He could probably still see out, but through that three-inch square, I could also see in.

  Yesterday, I’d watched as Janie had entered the headmaster’s office, sat, and then put her feet up on the corner of his desk. I’d expected him to smack her, not pop open the tiny fridge and pull out drinks. To my amazement, they’d chatted while Janie drank beer and ate from a bag of nacho chips.

  Because Janie must be a spy, I’d have to be extra careful tonight. If the headmaster found out what I was up to, I’d be screwed for sure. Maybe worse.

  After seeing Cece alive, I was done overloading myself with guilt. I hadn’t killed her, so I never should’ve been convicted of the crime. And I sure as hell shouldn’t have been sent to Wadsworth. For that, I could thank the asshole I used to call my father.

  Promptly at nine, the lights in the main hall cut out, leaving all of us in darkness broken only by small lamps in the room outside. Less light in our rooms was supposed to help keep us compliant; that and the fancy chokers they’d strapped around our necks.

  The keeper’s footsteps echoed through the open residential area outside my room, and a door banged. Sandie, one of the nicer keepers—if there was such a thing as a “nice” keeper—was as predictable as the timing of the lights. My guess was that she hid in an empty office for the night, maybe reading a book, watching TV, or sleeping.

  Janie snorted and turned onto her side, facing away from me. The three beers I’d seen her drink a little while ago must’ve made her extra sleepy. Bonus for me.

  I carefully tucked back my blanket and sat on the side of my bed, which consisted of a slab of concrete topped with a thin mattress. I could see why Janie drank. If the stink from the room’s tiny bathroom didn’t get to you, the lack of privacy would finish you off.

  Careful not to make a sound, I rose and tiptoed along the rug that spanned the narrow aisle between the two beds. I crossed the short distance to the door, taking care not to bang my shin on the metal bed frame. The administration of Wadsworth probably thought these rooms were cozy, with their mint colored walls, tan tiled flooring, and private bathrooms. No way. If the doors were locked at night, you might as well call it a prison.

  In the cafeteria today, they’d wrenched my sister away from me, and I’d been frantic to find her ever since. Somehow, they’d assumed I’d go to my room and remain compliant. Nope. I had to make sure my sister was okay.

  Cece had said something about breaking out of here before she started a war and then punched Aidan. Badass move on her part. From what I’d seen of him, he was too hot for his own good, and he didn’t take shit from anyone. But then, neither did Cece. It might almost be worth staying here to see how this played out, because Aidan had sworn revenge.

  My bet would be on Cece.

  Within a day of arriving, I’d learned the general routine, which would make escaping easier. I’d studied not only the mealtimes Pat had mentioned, but the nitty-gritty important details, like the keepers’ schedules. What Pat might not know was that, while Frederick went around and checked all the doors after the master lock engaged, Sandie didn't.

  And the lock on my door sometimes malfunctioned. Fortunately, tonight was one of those nights.

  Janie mumbled something, and I froze with my hand on the knob. Sweat trickled down my temples and my knees shook. Would she catch me and tattle to the headmaster?

  When she didn’t shout ‘caught ya’, I cracked the door and peeked into the corridor outside. All clear. After stepping out, I carefully tugged our door shut but made sure it didn’t lock.

  Then I turned and slammed into someone.

  There was no holding back my yelp. It echoed around me like a shotgun blast, and I expected Sandie to snap on the lights, point her finger at me, and scream at the top of her lungs.

  Instead, Rhys—the cute guy who conveniently kept getting in my way—held my arms steady.

  “Hey,” he whispered, “watch out.”

  “No glasses,” I pointed out with the tact of a bulldog.

  “Huh?” His face cleared. “Oh, yeah. Contacts.”

  “Great. Now let go of me,” I said, tugging away from him. I stepped backward into the shadows while he remained in the muted beam of moonlight filtering through one of the skylights three stories above us. I’d seen him around after we’d first met in the yard. He seemed nice enough, but I couldn’t trust anyone here, especially a cute guy. “What are you doing out here?”

  He propped his shoulder against one of the support beams that were evenly spaced throughout the room. “I was about to ask you the same thing.”

  “It’s really none of your business.” Yup, I sounded snooty, but he’d scared the crap out of me.

  “Actually, I was about to sneak into the
headmaster’s office.”

  “Headmaster?” My laughter burst out. “Guess you’re right. While he might hold the headmaster title, this place sure is prison-like. Might as well call him a warden.”

  “We do sometimes—behind his back.” Rhys’s grin flashed. “Never to his face.”

  “I’m not that bold.” My eyes widened. “Wait, you said you’re sneaking into his office. You’re kidding me, right?”

  “Nope.” He cocked one eyebrow. “Want to come with me?”

  “I…maybe? But I have my own agenda to take care of first.”

  “Finding your sister.”

  “How do you know she’s my sister? I told you I killed her.”

  “Word gets around fast.”

  “I’d say so.” I grunted. “What else do you know about her?”

  He shrugged. “Not much, except I heard she’s not in her room.”

  I strode up close to him. “Do you know where she is?” I’d been ready to storm the headmaster’s office myself to demand that he tell me, but I was worried I’d be hauled away like she had been. Then I might never find her. “Point me in the right direction, would you?”

  “I’ll take you there if you want, but we’ll have to be careful.” His head darted back and forth, reminding me that we were out of our rooms, in direct violation of the rules, and that punishment would come swiftly if we were caught. My mouth went dry, and my skin crawled. I crept closer to him, as if he could somehow protect me from harm. Which was stupid because, if I got caught, so would he.

  Dude didn’t seem anywhere near as cautious as he should be. He strode over to the door on the opposite side of the one Sandie had left through. My footfalls made almost no sound as I padded behind him. He reached out, and the door opened to his touch.

  “Are all the locks broken?” I whispered, wondering how something like this could be allowed to happen.

  He shot me a grin over his shoulder. “None of them are broken.”

  The door clicked shut behind us, and he continued down the hall. I slunk behind him, clinging to the wall. A thump from behind us, inside the main residential area, sent me scurrying forward like a spooked rabbit.

  “What do you mean about the locks?” I asked as quietly as I could. I kept expecting a keeper to pop up in front of us and, if I’d been alone, I would’ve moved faster.

  Rumor had it the headmaster enjoyed doling out punishment.

  He paused, his gaze narrowed on the hallway ahead of us, but I saw nothing but shadows cast by the dim lighting. “Would you believe I’ve got the magic touch?”

  “No.” This guy was impossible to figure out. Okay, so I’d watched him—a lot—over the past few days. I scowled. Well, I tried to scowl, but my lips refused to cooperate. They kept trying to lift in response to his sly smile.

  “This place is…I can’t quite put my finger on it to describe it.” Turning, he strode down the hall again.

  I hurried to keep up. “It’s an estate in the woods, right?”

  “So the outsiders believe. But inside? I’m not so sure. Things here…they’re strange.”

  We reached an intersection of four halls, and he stopped in the center of the hub, frowning.

  “Lost already?” I said, hovering close to the wall. My breathing rasped in my throat, even though we’d only come a hundred feet or so. Fear kept bolting inside me.

  “It’s not that.” He shook his head, making a thick strand of his dark hair tumble across his forehead. With a jerk, he sent it back with the rest. His brows drew together.

  “Then what?”

  He shook his head. “I can’t really explain it, but I’ve been at Wadsworth for eight months. Crept out of my room so often, I’ve forgotten how many times. I could probably walk around this place with my eyes closed.”

  “Then why are we standing here like you’re lost?”

  “I don’t know…”

  “Maybe you should try closing your eyes.”

  He blinked, then laughed, low and husky. In that instant, I wasn’t so nervous. There was something appealing about this guy. He was growing on me.

  “I’m not going to be here long,” I said, as if in warning. But he seemed to feel that the warning should be directed at me, not him.

  “Escape doesn’t seem to be an option for any of us.”

  “Even for you? You’ve got this weird ability to open doors, and you just said you thought you could find your way around here with your eyes closed.”

  “Especially for me.” He tugged on my sleeve. “We’re almost to where they’re holding your sister.”

  I crept beside him, shooting glances over my shoulder. Had I heard a sound behind us?

  “You did a good job convincing me you’d killed her,” he said.

  “I thought I had.”

  “Kind of hard to miss something like that.”

  “Touché.”

  He paused and peeked around a corner before turning left and starting down another hall.

  “What are you in here for?” I asked.

  “Already told you. Murder.”

  “I thought you were just…I don’t know, mocking me.”

  “I wouldn’t do something like that.”

  He said it so seriously, but I already knew. I’d watched him over the past few days. He didn’t have many friends, but the ones he had were loyal. When he spoke, others listened.

  “Did you murder someone?” I asked.

  Coming to a sudden halt, he tilted his head, as if listening. His features smoothed, and he stepped forward again. “I did.” Stopping in front of a door, he waved. “Your sister’s in here. Isolation unit.”

  Nudging him aside, I tried to see through the opaque, narrow window, but couldn’t. A quick check showed me that the door was locked. “Can you use your magic touch here?”

  “Won’t work on this one.”

  That would be too simple. If I banged on it, would she know it was me on the other side? Or would she think it was a keeper taunting her?

  “It’s not worth getting into trouble trying to break her out tonight,” he said. “They’ll release her tomorrow. Twenty-four hours is standard for fighting.”

  I turned and flopped against the wall. “I barely saw her and they took her from me.” My eyes stung, though they shouldn’t have. My sister was safe. Relatively. But I missed her.

  Bumping off the door, I turned right. “Let’s get this over with. The headmaster’s office is this way, right?”

  “You decided to go with me?”

  “Why not? Might liven up the evening.”

  “We better be quick about it. Sandie does rounds at nine-thirty.”

  Soon, then. Shit!

  We hurried down the hall, keeping to the edge.

  “Why are we going to the headmaster’s office?” I hissed out. My skin had gone clammy.

  “I need to break into his desk.”

  “What do you hope to find?”

  “Evidence.”

  “Of what?” I asked.

  He stopped so abruptly, I ran into him. Lifting a finger, he crept backward, taking me along with him. Pivoting sharply, he grabbed my hand and yanked me down the hall with him. “Go!”

  We barreled down the hall, passing the isolation room, then hit the intersection at a dead run.

  “Whoa!” My arms spiraled as I came to a stop. “Is this the same way…?” The hall looked like it had before—mostly—but something about it felt wrong. A chill shivered down my spine.

  “No time to dawdle!” He grabbed my hand again and yanked me forward, back toward our rooms.

  “Hey,” someone yelled behind us, “what are you kids—”

  “Keeper. Go!” Rhys said. He shoved open the door to the residential hall and nudged me inside.

  I spun around to face him. “What about you?”

  “Gotta take care of one thing, then I’m right behind you.” He shot a glance over his shoulder and turned back to me. “Get inside your room. He’s coming.”

  Gulp
ing, I backpedaled. I smacked into a support post, and a clang echoed in the room. My pulse thundered in my throat, and my toes curled in my socks. I bolted toward my door.

  Wrenching it open, I stepped inside, carefully made sure it was secure, then collapsed against it.

  I heard a flick, and a tiny flame burst into view, creating murky shadows in the room and outlining Janie’s scowling face.

  “Where the hell have you been?” she asked.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Maddy

  “I had to use the bathroom,” I said as I walked across the room, “then I wanted to check the door to make sure it was locked. This place creeps me out.” Not a bad job on my part pretending to be calm. Inside, I was cringing, waiting for her to shriek for the keepers and tell them I’d been outside our room after lockdown.

  I ditched my shoes and flopped onto my bed.

  Janie huffed. “Don’t think I’m not watching you.”

  “Keep watching, and I’ll start to think you have a crush on me.” I had no idea where my spiciness was coming from. Must’ve been channeling Cece.

  “In your dreams, asshole.”

  “Yours, maybe.” I rolled onto my side away from her and yanked my blanket up over my head, shutting her out. “Not mine.”

  The exhaustion and lack of sleep over the past few days hit me all at once. I fell asleep to thoughts of Rhys and what he was doing.

  The next morning, the doors unlocked as usual. I showered and dressed, then went to breakfast, where I shuffled through the line, taking a bagel and a packet of cream cheese, plus a few strips of bacon. Crossing the room, I took my usual spot—alone, but all mine—at the halves’ table. Blue collars unite.

  Behind me, two girls at the shifter table shoved each other. A quick peek over my shoulder assured me I was far enough away not to get caught in the crossfire.