arrow, concrete hallways to a small

on a laptop. She looked to be in her late forties,

aning gig," the man said, tu

r sharp eyes scanning Dorothea from the messy

a asked, her

using the nickname. She

pad. "You sound like you swallow

rd damage," D

blink. "Crim

her hands into fists at her sides. If s

said, her voice

e looked surprised. Usually, the dr

her arms. "This isn't a halfway house. It's a high-

bed. I have no degree, no references, and I've been out of societ

e touching her cracked lips. "It's better t

ce. The ticking of the wall c

someone wear their desperation with such terrifying, unapologetic ho

d pulled out a single sheet of p

aff dorm and one hot meal a shift. But I hold half your pay until you pass the trial. If yo

k the paper. The physical relief

u," she w

it," Alicia said, loo

she reached the line for Emergency Contact, she

, but she didn't comment. She pressed a button on her phone

e took one look at Dorothea's ragged clo

door to a cramped, windowless room containing two sets of metal bu

m. They stopped talking and glare

nly empty bed-a bottom bunk with a thin, l

springs dug into her thighs. It wa

son cell. She had a