Chapter 17 Chapter 17
"You don’t realize how close death is until someone pulls you back from it.”
Trinity didn’t just walk to Ward 5 , she stormed there like a bullet with purpose. Every step echoed with fury. She didn’t care that inmates watched her pass or that officers lifted brows at her expression.
She was going to kill Hale.
Or get killed trying.
Either was fine.
She rounded the corner and There he was....
Hale.
Standing in the hallway with that cold, carved-from-stone expression that made everyone avoid him but not her.
Not today.
Trinity pointed at him with a trembling, accusing finger.
“ Why the hell did you try to strangle my friend to death?! "
Hale stopped walking. His eyes dragged to her finger like it offended his existence.
" How dare you!? " His jaw tightened.
He stepped toward her, slow, heavy. . .
But she wasn’t done.
“Oh no, don’t even start,” she snapped before he could open his mouth. “Stop acting like you’re some big boss around here. News flash.." she jabbed her finger at his chest “you’re still locked in a cage. Nothing special, nothing impressive, and no one is under you. Especially not Clara.”
The hallway fell silent.
Hale’s expression darkened into something lethal. “Do not push me. I’m already in a bad..”
“Bad mood?” she cut in, eyebrows raised. "Is there a time you're not in a bad mood?"
“Oh please..cry me a river, loser.”
That was it.
Hale snapped.
He charged toward her, hands curling...
The world disappeared. . .
And suddenly Trinity wasn’t staring at Hale anymore.
She was staring at a broad back, tense shoulders, and hands shoving Hale backward.
Peterson.
He had stepped in, blocking Hale completely, like an instinct.
Hale stumbled a step, shock flaring across his face before it twisted into pure rage.
“Keep your pet in check,” he hissed at Peterson, “or I’ll kill her.”
Peterson didn’t flinch. Not once.
He lifted his chin, eyes burning with a different kind of danger. “You won’t dare. And maybe try putting your fucking emotions in check.”
Something flickered in Hale’s eyes, something like wounded pride wrapped in fury, but he didn’t say another word. He turned sharply and walked off, pulse visible in his jaw as he disappeared down the hallway.
Trinity exhaled, realizing only then how close she’d come to being crushed like a bug.
She opened her mouth
“WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? I WAS HANDLING IT.... ”
Peterson grabbed her wrist, dragging her with him.
“Hey! HEY! Where are you..."
He shoved her into his cell and slammed the door shut.
“How dare you drag..”
“Are you insane?” Peterson growled, stepping close. Too close. “He would’ve killed you if I was even a second late.”
“I had it under control!”
“You were about to get strangled.”
“I. WAS. NOT.. I doubt Hales would’ve killed me, over what?.”
He let out a dry laugh "You think you know him? "
"I don't care. He hurt my best friend"
They were inches apart.
Breathing the same air.
Anger vibrating between them like static in a storm.
Then somehow, their shouts softened, breaths overlapping, burning against each other.
Her chest rose.
His jaw clenched.
Their eyes locked.
And then their mouths crashed together.
The kiss was violent. Hot. Accidental and intentional all at once.
Her hands grabbed his shirt for balance
His fingers gripped her waist like he couldn’t help it
Trinity felt her knees weaken not from fear, but from the sheer heat of it.
They broke apart at the same time, breathless.
Peterson spoke first, voice low, rough, still heated.
“If I didn’t step in, Hale would’ve snapped your neck. Stop putting yourself in danger. I can’t be there every damn time.”
Trinity stared at him, stunned.
“You… care?” she whispered.
“I didn’t say that.”
“You just said you can’t always save me.”
He cursed under his breath.
“Fine. At first I hated you,” he admitted. “You were getting in my head and spreading like cancerous cells"
She blinked. “And now?”
He shrugged, eyes dragging down her body slowly..too slowly.
“Now I want to eat your stubborn ass into submission.”
Her brain flatlined.
For the first time in her life, Trinity was speechless and shy.
“Oh,” she whispered, cheeks on fire.
“Oh?” he smirked. “That’s all you’ve got to say?"
Her eyes to land on something dark on his neck making her snap out of her haze.
A hickey.
A very fresh one.
Her face dropped instantly.
“Oh, so you say that kind of shit to all your little girlfriends?” she scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Cute but that's not working on me"
He opened his mouth..
“Nope,” she cut in. “Don’t say anything, I’m not like the other girls. And honestly, I feel like slapping you for kissing me.”
He leaned in, voice a taunt against her mouth.
“I’d love to see you try.”
Her stomach flipped.
She hated that her stomach flipped.
She shoved his chest lightly, scoffed, and walked out of his cell with a dramatic eye roll.
Peterson watched he, jaw ticking, lips twitching, like he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to drag her back or punch a wall.
The adrenaline drained from Trinity’s body the second she stepped into the dorm.
Clara was curled up on her bed, asleep.
But even in sleep, her face was place and her frame trembling.
Her hand clutched the blanket too tightly.
Her breathing was small and uneven.
Trinity’s anger crumbled into something softer, protective, furious, aching for her friend.
She approached quietly, brushing Clara’s hair from her forehead, ignoring the burn of fresh emotion in her chest.
“ We’ll fix this, " she whispered.
“ Whatever happens… I’ve got you. "
The room remained silent.