Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 49589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Instantly, I was on alert. I knew Grayson was guilty as sin of multiple things -- I was taking care of him -- but if he’d threatened or hurt Nadine, I’d kill the motherfucker in front of God and everyone as a warning not to fuck with my woman…
Fuck.
Fuck!
I was so Goddamned fucked as to not even be fucking believed.
Guess Knuckles was right after all. And I’d have to make sure that fucker, Roberts, knew to warn everyone off.
“What do you mean, Nadine? Has someone threatened or hurt you?”
She immediately shook her head. “No. Not me.”
“I know about Grayson,” I said without further discussion. “What I want to know is, has he threatened you? I know he intimidates you. Saw it the first day I was here.”
“Yeah. He does. But no. He’s never threatened me. I feel threatened sometimes, but he’s never said or done anything overt. I think it’s a warning to keep my mouth shut about his extra activities here.”
I turned slowly, careful not to get in her personal space, even though I really wanted to. Not to intimidate her or even to drive home a point. I wanted in her personal space because I had a right to be. I wanted her to welcome me, to expect that I’d pull her close when I was near. And, Christ! Now that those thoughts were in my head, I knew I’d never be free of them.
“Listen to me, Nadine.” I waited until she met my gaze with hers. “Don’t test Grayson. If you see something, go to Roberts or me, but don’t confront him in any way. Don’t go digging. Leave all that to me.”
“I know there are different cliques and groups inside. I know that you sometimes police each other depending on the infraction. But you just got here. Are you sure this is something you can handle on your own?”
I grinned at her. “Are you worried about me, Miss Brentner?” I had to resist the urge to move closer to her. This wasn’t the place or the time. And even though I’d worked in her area the last few months, if I got too close to her physically the guards wouldn’t hesitate to take me out. Not because they’d be protecting Nadine, though that’s the report they’d give. No. They’d kill me because they had an excuse and a very reasonable expectation they’d get away with it.
“Of course! I don’t want you hurt. In case you hadn’t noticed, not all of the guards are as helpful and humane as Roberts.”
“Don’t kid yourself, honey. Roberts is as vicious as everyone else. He simply has a decent moral compass and will do what he’s paid to do, and part of that, at the moment, is looking out for my interests.”
“What?” Nadine’s eyes were wide and she looked more than a little confused, but she’d heard what I said and understood it. She just didn’t want to believe what she was hearing.
“It’s not important. You just need to know he’s as dangerous as any of the guards here, but if you find yourself in a situation and Roberts is near, you stick to him like glue. Understand?”
“No. But I’ll remember what you said. I’ve never seen Roberts be intentionally cruel. More than once, he had just cause to shoot an inmate and managed to talk his way out of it.”
“You have no business working here, Nadine. Go work in a hospital OR. Or a nursing home. Or anywhere there is at least a chance of a good buffer between you and everyone else. You’re too trusting. Roberts has a reason for everything he does. He’s not overly aggressive, but you’re deluding yourself if you don’t think Roberts could kill for even half a reason if he thought it would benefit him.”
She gasped, taking a small step back. “That’s a hell of a thing to say about someone.”
“And when you knew me, I’d never have said it. But you need to hear it because this place will chew you up and spit you out if you’re not careful.”
“I’ve worked here for a couple of years now. I know I’m not going to make a career out of this, but the money is good for now. When I get to where I hate coming to work, I’ll find something else.”
“The problem with that plan is you won’t see it coming until it’s too late.” I kept my voice low, gentle even, but I needed her to understand. “You won’t wake up one morning and decide you hate this place. One day, something’s gonna happen that changes you forever, and by then the damage will be done.”
“You just told me this place changes people. You’ve been in the system a while now. How do I know you’re not trying to scare me away for your own reasons?”