Chapter 247 - Nico

Sometime in the very early morning, I heard the guard's hard footsteps sound on the stone. The faint jingling of his keys and the smacking pop of his gum preceded him into the holding cell block. The acrid scent of cigarette smoke was a smack in the face I didn't need on so few hours of sleep. Prying one of my lids open, I watched the action across the room.

The cell door across from mine slammed open with a harsh metallic twang that shot through my head like an anvil. A migraine bloomed to angry life deep in my right eye socket. Fucker.

"Sleep it off. And if I hear you two going at each other again, you won't like it," the guard said in Italian as he shoved someone into the cell.

A smaller, quieter guard moved forward. A weaving, tripping man in handcuffs swayed at his side. The scent of booze coming off him made my eyes water. Belching and farting his way into the cell next to mine, I was happy when his odors were trapped behind a cinderblock wall.

Trying to get comfortabl