Chapter 3: Freed From the Devil I Know   

Dana’s POV

“Hey, Ms. Sosa!” The female correction officer’s voice came sharply. “Somebody bailed your ass out. Let’s go.”

It was just a regular day after visiting hours. I was in my cell, still turning over what my mom had told me, when her baton clicked against the bars.

The news hit me. I definitely wasn’t expecting anything like this anytime soon.

“Ms. Dana Sosa, you made bail.”

“What?”

“Bail was posted an hour ago. You're being released. Let’s go.”

I didn’t move. What kind of person walks into a prison on a Monday afternoon and decides to bail out a total stranger? I scoffed.

“By who, if I may ask?”  

The female correction officer finally glanced up, her expression flat.  

“I don’t know. But all I know is that they’re waiting in the lobby. They asked to meet you before you leave.”  

  

“I don’t know anyone with that kind of money.”  

  

“Not my problem. You want to be out or not?”  

I looked around to see if I was the one she was talking to or if there was someone else. 

“You can refuse the meeting. But the bail stands. You’re free either way.” 

I swallowed and wiped my palms on my thighs.  

“What do they look like?”  

  

“Didn’t see ‘em. Desk sergeant said to tell you: ‘They’ll be the one not looking for anyone.’”

She held the bars open. The hallway beyond was empty, too quiet.  

“Choice is yours, Ms. Sosa.”

I stood up. My legs felt wrong. “I want to know who.”

“Then ask them. Let’s go.”

The block woke up as we walked.

“Sugar daddy, Sosa?” Tasha yelled from her cell, two blocks away. 

“Don’t come back!” Lisa laughed.  

I kept my eyes on the floor, probably on the correction officer’s boots.

There were no laces on my shoes.

“Suicide risks,” I muttered. 

Who would want to take his or her life?

The processing was quick.

“Sign. Initial. Sign again.”

The sergeant pushed a ziplock at me.

I changed into my old clothes. My jeans hung off me. The shirt still had a stain on the cuff.

“You good?” the correction officer asked.

No. “Yeah.”

The sergeant didn’t look up. “One more thing. They don’t want the lobby. They are in room C.”

“Room C… Like the one without windows where interrogations are done?”

My heart kicked. “Room C? Why?”

“Not my job to ask.” He stamped a paper. “That’s the message.”

The correction officer started walking. I didn’t follow.

“Ms. Sosa. Now.”

“What if I don’t go to the room?”

“Then you go out the front gate. Bail’s posted either way.” She turned. “But if I were you, I’d want answers.”

Would I? After three years in this godforsaken place, I’d want answers.  

Seriously?

“Fine.”

She led me down a different hall. Half the lights were dead. It got quieter with every step. My shuffling sounded loud.

Other inmates watched through their slots. No one called out this time. Room C did that to people.

We stopped at a steel door. There was no number on it. Just a C scratched into the paint.

“This is your stop,” the correction officer said. “I’m not supposed to wait.”

“Who told you that?” I asked.

“Desk sergeant. He got a call.” She checked her watch. “You’ve got five minutes before I log you as released. After that, you’re on your own.”

She left, and the noise from her keys faded down the hall.

Then silence.

I put my hand on the doorknob and it felt too cold. 

I could walk right now out the front gate. Back to nothing.

Our family house, gone. Family's will, gone. My hard-earned respect, my studio, gone. All I had ever worked for. GONE. 

But someone paid my bail, which I thought would never exist. Bail on an attempted murder charge wasn’t cheap. 

It was big money.

Who does that for a stranger?

My lawyer said no one would touch my case. But now I was out early, with the pull of some strings.

I pressed my ear to the door. I heard nothing. There were no voices or movement. Maybe the room was empty. Maybe this was a test. 

“They’ll be the one not looking for anyone.”

What did that even mean? Everyone looks for someone. 

Unless they already know you’re coming.

My hand shook on the handle. I could open the door. Ask questions. Then leave. The bail still stood. That’s what she said.

Unless she lied.

But what was there to lose?

I turned the handle.

It wasn’t locked.

The door opened an inch. No light spilled out. Just darker shadow.

It felt like right before I was framed. I had two thoughts. Same as always. Bad and worse.

I pushed the door another inch. The hinges didn’t squeak. 

“You going to stand there all day, Ms. Sosa?”

The voice came from the dark. It was obviously male. It felt calm and was low.

“I haven’t decided,” I said to the shadow.

“Fair enough.” A pause. “But the bail clock’s ticking. Once you’re logged as released, the deal changes.”

Deal. There it was.

“What deal?”

“Close the door and we’ll discuss it.”

My fingers tightened on the edge of the door. I could still see the hallway behind me.

My only way out.

“What if I don’t?”

“Then you walk. Right now. No one stops you.” 

I believed him. But I also didn’t.

“You paid my bail.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Close the door, Dana. I don’t like repeating myself.”

He said my name. Not Ms. Sosa. Dana.

I looked behind me one more time. The hall was still empty.

Should I run? Nah.

Then I stepped forward, into the dark.

My hand let go of the door. 

It clicked shut.

My eyes locked on the figure behind the dim light. 

My stomach twisted before my brain caught up. 

“No,” I said under my breath.

The figure looked up swiftly, smirking. 

REMY TOVAR.

My jaw dropped.

Mateo's stepbrother.  

“You took your time.”