Dom lay there, looking at the ceiling. There was still an hour before they could go outside for yard time. He was looking forward to the cool air to help clear his head. He smirked at the faded ceiling. Images of Jennah filed every molecule of his mind right now.
“Palmer?”
He turned to look at Slick as he came back into their cell. Something was wrong. Slick always seemed a little cautious, but this time he was downright nervous, almost panicked. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge. “What’s wrong?”
Slick glanced down at the floor and then over his shoulder before looking back at him. “I caught up to Dickenson like you said to.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets, and then pulled them back out again.
Dom squared his shoulders. “I take it the info wasn’t good?”
Slick shook his head. “For a guard, he’s usually pretty cool, you know? Not this time. He wouldn’t answer anything about that work assignment, even when I told him I’d been asked and wanted to know what I was in for.”
The more he spoke, the faster it got. Dom hopped down. “Just tell me and stop tying yourself in knots.”
Slick let out a breath. “He warned me away from you, Dom. Told me to steer clear, and if I could manage, it not to go on the detail.”
Dom looked at him for a moment, and then leaned back against the bed frame. He studied the floor for several long moments before he exhaled slowly. “Sounds like I’ve been made.” Slick nodded. “How? Who?”
Slick sat down on the bottom bunk and leaned on his knees. “I don’t know, man. I thought only the two of us knew.”
Dom went over and leaned a shoulder against the bars, trying to keep an eye out for anyone wandering past. “We did. Except for a few on the outside, no one else could know.”
Slick rubbed his hands over his face before he glanced back at him. “What does your go-between say?”
Dom rubbed his aching jaw. “He hasn’t been here in two months. I don’t know why.”
“Can you call someone?”
Dom pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. “Who?”
Slick stood up and waved his hands around. “There has to be someone.”
“No one I should be calling. That’s why I was sent in, because I work alone.”
Slick snorted. “Well it’s not going to work out this time. How the hell are you supposed to get out when you need to?”
Dom realized he was right. “Good question. I haven’t heard a damn thing in too long.”
“Can you go to the warden?”
He grinned. “I don’t think he’d be real happy to know who I am.”
Slick sighed. “Probably not.” They both looked up when the bell went off, signalling yard time.
Dom patted his shoulder. “Just stay back and appear like you’re listening to Dickenson while I try to figure this out.” Slick nodded and grabbed his jacket. Dom watched him quickly move to the stairs and go down. How the hell are you going to do that? Someone on the outside has sold you out and you’re stuck in here trying to stay alive. One thing was for sure, he was avoiding that work detail like his life depended on it, and from the sounds of it, his life did.
~
Jennah closed the book and glared again over at the two boxes sitting in the corner. The boxes were marked, Xmas. She wasn’t sure why she had even gotten them out. She closed her eyes and leaned back, smiling. She knew exactly why. She’d felt so good when she’d woken up this morning she’d decided to give Christmas cheer another chance. Damn that man, she thought with a quiet chuckle. He’s turned my head into happy mush. She opened her eyes and laughed, knowing how crazy that was considering they hadn’t really met.
Putting the book down, she got up and went over to the boxes. She didn’t have gobs of decorations for the season. Just a small, tasteful tree and a few ornaments. Okay, maybe a small collection of Christmas fairy figurines.
She opened the first box and pulled out the packing paper. Unwrapping it carefully, she picked up the sparkling Christmas fairy with her blonde hair braided and her red Christmas hat on. She looked at it for a moment, then smiled and turned to set it on the table.
It would be nice if, somehow, she could see Dominic in the flesh at some point during the holidays. Her heart skipped a few beats at that thought. She bit her lip and sat there. Why not? If he could get away for a day or two, it would be fun. She’d volunteered to work Christmas Eve day, but as far as she knew, she had from five o’clock Christmas Eve until the day after Boxing Day off.
She felt like a giddy girl for the first time in—forever—at the thought of meeting him. She was going to do it! She took a deep breath and rolled her shoulders to relax, and then closed her eyes. She pictured him, trying to remember every detail she could about him. “Dom?” Was that all she had to do? She had no idea.
“Hey, beautiful. It didn’t take you long to figure this out.”
She smiled. “I just closed my eyes and thought of you.”
“I can’t tell you how nice that is to hear.”
His voice was soft and deep inside her mind. She sighed out loud just feeling close to him again. “I had a thought...”
“Hold that for two secs, I need to move somewhere else.”
She frowned, but waited as he’d said. Move somewhere else? Where was he? Why did he sound so on edge? “Are you okay?”
“I have a bit of a situation going on, that’s all.”
“A situation?” She felt a light brush against her neck and realized he was much better at this than she would ever be. His touch, even if it was only in her head, was reassuring.
“Nothing I can’t handle. Normally we should only talk at night, though, but I can’t tell you how much I needed to hear from you right now. So, what is this thought you had?”
His voice was softer, more relaxed now. “I was thinking—well, wondering—if you might like to meet for the holidays?”
She heard his sigh. “I really want to, please believe that, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to get out of here by then.”
All of her internal alarms went off. “Out of where, Dominic?” He didn’t answer her. She waited a few more seconds. “Dominic?”
“I’m here.” She heard the tension in his voice. “I can’t explain it, Jennah.”
“Try.” She crossed her arms and tried hard to keep her heart from beating any faster than it was. There was something in his voice, or thoughts that set every warning bell off, bells that made her a good cop.
“It’s not what it sounds like, beautiful. Just believe me when I say that.”
She let out a calming breath. “I’ll try.” There was a long silence and she wasn’t going to be the first to break it this time.
“Close those sexy green eyes and take a look.”
She smirked at his words, but did as he said. At first, she didn’t see anything and thought she wasn’t doing it right, and then images started to come forward. Images of a tall, chain-link fence, of men wandering around in the cold. The men were dressed in the same dark blue jackets, and many wore the same dark blue hats. Her heartbeat sped up when she recognized the next thing she saw. A guard tower standing high above the tall fence. It was a prison, and if she wasn’t mistaken, it was Wyestate prison. She opened her eyes and the images left all at once. She swallowed. “Are you a guard at Wyestate?” Another long silence. “Jennah...” She shook her head at the pleading way he said her name. She was all too familiar with that pleading tone, and she was not falling for it ever again! “Are you?” “No.” She closed her eyes and tried to fight the crushing
After the way her day off had dragged and tormented her, and yesterday with the storm and no one out doing anything, Jennah was actually happy with the busy chaos of the crazy season. She hadn’t had any time today to stop and think about things, particularly Dominic. If she had too much free time, she knew she would have checked him out in the database, just to see, and that would have been the worst thing she could have done. To know he was an inmate was bad enough, and from what she knew about Wyestate, petty criminals didn’t get sent there. How could she have been so stupid? Not to pick up on the clues? He was evasive, asked her what she did at the station, asked her about Wyestate, and even confessed it had been a long time since he’d been with a woman. Some cop you are, she thought. A man that looked like that could have any woman he wanted so why would he voluntarily abstain? He wouldn’t. So the only possible ans
Sitting down, she set the folder on her legs and took a few deep breaths. She pictured unlocking the door and opening it. “Dom?” She sat there, gripping the bench, and waited. “Dominic?” Nothing but silence answered her. Opening her eyes, and she flipped open the folder again to look at his picture. His hair was longer than she had seen it, but it was definitely him. His eyes were dark and cold, but they’d have to be if he was playing the part. She read his stats a few times, trying to commit them to memory. Turning the pages, she read the reports that followed. She frowned. If she was reading it right, this went back many years. What was someone as young as Dominic doing in on it? She kept reading, and then stopped suddenly and re-read the one paragraph. Suspected in the killing of Officer Palmer... Dom’s father? That would explain why he was neck deep in it. C
Jennah looked in the mirror for the tenth time. She’d chosen something she wouldn’t be ashamed of wearing when she met Dominic, but it was still revealing enough to distract any guards from thinking she was there for anything other than a conjugal visit with her husband. The black skirt was short, but not too tight. She wasn’t that out of character that she would wear something that would show off her little paunch, as she lovingly referred to the extra part of herself that had seemed to start growing around her middle in the last year. She turned sideways and studied her profile, or mostly her stomach. It didn’t appear to be the huge bulge her mind always told her was there even though she knew it wasn’t—mostly. Turning again, she bit her lip and wondered about the red blouse she was wearing. Maybe it was showing a little too much cleavage. She had more than enough of that to spare. Running her hand under her arm, she
Dominic took slow steps toward her, his eyes roving all over her as he did. When he stood right in front of her, his gaze moved to hers. She felt his hands touch her hips, but she couldn’t look away from his eyes. He lowered his head toward her and buried his face in her neck as he pulled her gently into him. “What are you doing here?” he whispered beside her ear. She smiled when the voice she’d missed hearing vibrated right through her. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she nuzzled beside his ear. “Your captain sent me. Your contact has disappeared.” She paused as his breath brushed up against her neck. “They’ve been trying to find a way to get to you,” she whispered as quietly as she could. He lifted his head and the look in his eyes as they swept over her face made her knees weaken. He smiled and gently brushed his lips over hers. “So they sent you?” She smiled against his mouth. “A
She needed no further encouragement and began to slam her body down onto him. Each time their bodies connected, he groaned. His hands held her hips tightly as he picked up the pace and pulled her down onto him. She moaned when he thrust up into her at the same time. Leaning back, she balanced her hands on her heels and dropped her head back so she could move faster. His hand moved to her breasts and kneaded them as she bounced down onto him. She cried out and lost the rhythm as she started to come again. He held onto her hips and forced her to keep moving through it. Moaning, she dropped forward again and tried to catch her breath. He pulled her hair so her face was level with his and kissed her frantically. She wasn’t even sure how he moved without separating them, but she found herself on her back with him still buried deep inside her. “Not done with you yet, babe.” He sucked at her throat. “Won’t ever g
Jennah stopped the car when she knew she was a safe distance from the prison. She got her phone out of the glove box and quickly dialled Captain Wilds’ number. He answered on the second ring. “Captain, its Jennah Best. We have a problem.” “You’ve seen Dom?” She closed her eyes for a second. “Yes. He’s presently recovering from two stab wounds.” “Is he all right?” Her eyes flew open. “No! The inmates and guards, as well, know who he is. He said the warden is the one running all of it.” “The warden?” His voice was louder. “Think about it. Why else would cons and guards go after Dom?” “Son of a bitch!” Now he was getting a clear picture. “You have to get him out.” There was a long silence. “If the warden is in on it, how can we? The original plan was to find the source and then bring the warden in on it...” “Shit!
Dom bolted up in the dark when the glass door opened quickly. He grabbed his side and winced at the person in the door. “Barry?” Barry held his finger over his lips. “You’ve been paroled, let’s go!” Not taking the time to ask stupid questions, Dom got off the bed and reached under the mattress. He pulled out the blade Jennah had given him and nodded to the man in the doorway. Dom stepped out the door and then froze when another guard was standing there. One he didn’t recognize. Barry leaned close in behind him. “It’s okay. Pete is as sick of the shit in here as I am.” Dom nodded and then started to follow the guard. Barry moved alongside him and reached out to put a cuff on one hand. “Hold the other one to look like it’s closed.” He checked over his shoulder. “If anything happens, you grab my swipe card and get your ass locked back in that room.” Dom nodded as he placed the cuff