Privilege 1 - Privilege by Kate Brian Read Free Book Online Page A

service!'"

    Ariana laughed, covering her mouth with her hand.

    "Y turn away, blushing, and nearly trip over a man crouched next to his unopened easel. He looks up at you, and your eyes lock. He has the

    ou most gorgeous brown eyes you've ever seen in your life. It's love at first sight."

    "Sounds perfect," Ariana said, opening her eyes. "But what about you?"

    "Oh, he has a brother," Kaitlynn added quickly. "A much hotter brother."

    Ariana laughed. "Of course he does."

    "Of course," Kaitlynn added, laughing as well.

    As Kaitlynn continued her story, Ariana's heart was a tangle of melancholy and excitement. She hated that she was going to have to leave Kaitlynn later today, but she was also happy because soon, they would both be free. Soon she was going to be able to make all these stories Kaitlynn had been telling her come true.

    Her plan was going to work. It had to. Not just for her own sake, but for Kaitlynn's as well.

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    SO UNLADYLIKE

    The night was warm and muggy, the air so thick with humidity it clung to Ariana's skin and made breathing a chore. Letting them out into the yard for Lake Page's Fourth of July fireworks was one of the warden's great gifts to his inmates. It was the only night of the year they were afforded such a privilege, and Ariana recalled that last year the prisoners had been beside themselves with giddiness. Tonight, however, the general population just seemed sluggish and annoyed, as if they would have preferred being left in their common rooms with their TVs and their air-conditioning. They groused and grumbled as they trudged across the lawn or dropped down on the grass to wait for the show. Ungrateful, every one of them.

    Every one of them, save Ariana Osgood. Ariana couldn't have been more grateful. If she could have, she would have sent the warden a polite little note of thanks. What he didn't know was that he was aiding and abetting what Ariana hoped would be the first-ever escape

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    from his precious facility. The fireworks and their noise were going to provide the perfect cover.

    Now all she had to do was ditch Kaitlynn. Even though it pained her to do so.

    "Did I ever tell you about that Independence Day when Grandma C. took all of us to the Texas hill country to spend the day on the river and watch the fireworks?" Kaitlynn said wistfully as they walked the yard. "Her father always used to take her there for the festivities, and she wanted to share it with us. Briana Leigh whined about it the whole time, of course. She wanted to go to the big barbecue picnic at the country club and hook up with Tad McMurray, but I loved it. I think that was the first time Grandma C. and I really bonded...." Ariana was only half paying attention to Kaitlynn's ramble. She was too busy scanning the yard for someone to distract her friend. Finally she saw E Cup--real name Maria Huff--strolling by, and grabbed her opportunity.

    "Hey, Maria!" Ariana called out, interrupted Kaitlynn in the middle of a sentence. Maria looked over her shoulder, surprised. She and Ariana had spoken a total of three times.

    "Yeah?" she said.

    "C'mere." Ariana motioned with her hand.

    Maria did so, shuffling her small feet. Maria was small all over. About four-foot nine, with toothpick legs, and arms that appeared as if they could be snapped like twigs. Everything was small except her breasts--her humongous fake breasts. She had been a call girl in Las Vegas in her former life: a high-paid call girl with a huge mansion in

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    the desert and four cars and five Chihuahuas about whom she loved to talk. Maria had been living the life. Which made Ariana wonder what had possessed her to run over the proprietor of her strip club nine times with each of those four cars.

    But then, one never knew what could make a person snap.

    "What's up, Georgia Peach?" Maria asked, hands clasped behind her back.

    "I was just thinking about my dog, Tara, back home and I remember hearing that you had dogs too," Ariana ventured,