“Well I’ll let you be, Torrian my office when you get a minute.” The warden looked at Torrian knowingly.
This couldn’t be good. Torrian smirked at his boss for a moment then turned his attention back to Gwen with his usual light shining in his eyes. She looked down then back up at him, what was her problem today, she could not keep eye contact with anyone. Torrian gripped under her chin and lifted her face. Her bright eyes lifted to his warm gray-blue eyes. She melted under his gaze.
“Baby girl I have to get to work, I love you and stay safe.” Then his head craned and he kissed her, his lips were synching with hers and she felt the movements down between her legs, she was ready to have him right there in her office, on her desk.
Too soon Torrian stopped moving his lips and chuckled, “Now I have to go see the warden with a raging hard on, damn you got power over me babe.”
He took a few steps back and repeated his love for her, and then he walked out the door to meet with the warden, leaving Gwen to her reading.
Torrian made the jaunt to the warden’s office fast, his long legs ate the distance with minimal effort. He reached the large, heavy door and knocked on it before opening, Torrian knew he was expected there was no need to wait for a response from the warden.
“Why don’t you come in?” The warden said in his dry sarcastic tone.
“I think I will.” Torrian’s voice was light and airy, he was trying to turn the situation into a more lax one while he took his seat across from the Scott Wickam.
“Brass tax time how is she?” The warden cut straight to the chase as he always did when it was just the males around, he gave Gwen and the other females more consideration.
Torrian ran his hands over his face and over the stubble of his face and buzz cut. “Well hell. She can be real good at some points and real tense at others. Best thing to do is keep that Kody McQueen bastard away from her. I don’t want him ever coming near her again.” Torrian’s voice was very final on the last sentence.
“I can’t promise that, it’s her job to deal with the nut jobs like McQueen, Ford, she might have to deal with him but we are transferring him to be sure she won’t be affected anymore.”
“Good.” He scratched his chin while he thought of what this meant for him, for Gwen, and about his retribution for his female.
“You have to stay away from him as much as possible too.” The warden spoke as if he had read Torrian’s mind and saw the harsh punishment he had in store.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Torrian waved his hand dismissing the warden’s concerns.
“I mean it Ford, you stay clear, it’s a violation of the code of conduct and conflict of interest. Steer clear.” The warden stared down Torrian, the gravity of the situation started to sink in, the intense gaze of the warden made Torrian’s resolve wane for a small instant but could never make it disappear completely.
Torrian flexed his arms and hands a few times while he gained control over himself and solidified his ideas more. The other guards had now stopped talking about Gwen since it came out that she was off the market, and that she was his. They respected him enough to back off and keep their minds and hands to themselves. The warden turned his computer on and began checking messages from the board. Torrian took the clue that he was being dismissed, he stood and moved towards the door.
“Oh and Torrian no beating him, or ordering anyone else to do it for you” The warden’s eyes twinkled a bit when he spoke but his words carried the same force it would without the unspoken threat.
“Yes sir.” Torrian exited after he agreed not to beat Kody, for now, he had to get back to work and take care of business as it pertained to Gwen.
He quickly got to the locker room and suited up for the next part of his day, he was going from the stuffed shirt feeling in the office to the dangers of the cellblock. After Torrian was dressed he warmed up his body by jabbing, kicking, and assaulting the air in front of him. After he was done he stretched his shoulders then went to the main block and relieved a fellow officer and began his shift with a cell change.
Gwen worked till the new secretary came to take her lunch order, she waved her hand and refused the lunch, she normally did refuse the lunch because she brought her own but this day she truly did not want to eat, she had brought a small lunch with her but her stomach was in knots and twisted to the point of physical pain. She laid down the latest news from her patients and rubbed the bridge of her nose, she was not scheduled to have patients today because she did need to catch up from a week off from working. While she sat lost in her thoughts they began to drift towards Kody, even though she hated everything he had become and everything he stood for now she wanted to know how he was doing. Gwen knew she sounded like the thousands of battered women she had worked with over the years through the prison system.
She buzzed the secretary desk, “Seline,” she waited for a cheerful reply from the Latina that was her preferred secretary to work with, things were too stressed with Alison to deal with her today, “Please send a memo to officer Broderick, I want to see him in my office when he has a moment”
“Sure thing doc.” The woman replied.
“Thank you Seline.”
Gwen returned to the paperwork she retrieved officer Broderick’s file and began to research his history at the prison, his employee jacket was impeccable. He was a good officer, Gwen knew she would be able to get some of the answers she needed. The buzzer came back on and jolted Gwen out of her chair.
“Doctor B, Justin is off today he will be back in tomorrow. I can leave a notice for the security head to send him up when he comes in.”
“Yes please do, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
That was the end of the conversation with the secretary. Gwen went back to work studying her patient files. She needed to become reacquainted with them all. She knew them back to front and back again but this was all she could do to keep her mind preoccupied and off of Kody McQueen and what had happened.
“Seline.” Gwen pressed the button again and spoke to the competent women.
“Yes.”
“Bring me the logs for confinement and any records pertaining to Kody McQueen during my week of absence.” She ordered, Gwen knew she had to sound forceful, the warden had most likely asked that she not be given these files, but she needed to know she was becoming almost as obsessed as Kody.
“Yes ma’am.” Seline’s voice was small, not it’s normal timbre.
“Thank you.” Gwen left it at that and began to tap her pencil while she waited; she was consumed by her thoughts.
Kody’s stomach snarled the guards had not been to see him at all this morning with his meager pittance of food. He began to pace and reminisce. His female had denied him a week ago, a full week of longing to apologize and a full week of longing just to see the soft curve of her cheek. He inhaled at his hand, he could still smell Gwen’s sweetest scent, and the smell was reserved just for him. Kody craved to hold his female again. He bellowed out in a vain attempt to alert the guards that they had missed his feeding, Kody began to grumble about being a caged animal at the zoo, but the real freaks were the guards. The way they spoke made him sick, most of them lacked any and all honor in his book.
“HEY YOU BASTARDS FORGOT SOMETHING.” He attempted once more.
There was no answer.
“FUCK NUTS I’M FUCKING STARVING THIS IS CRUEL AND UNUSAL SHIT.”
There was still no answer. Kody slumped against his private cot his energy was minimal. He was used to the methods of interrogation and deprivation. Kody knew that soon someone would come along and ask questions, perhaps they would have food with them, and they would offer scraps for his information. When the officers in other prisons had tried this tactic with him the only information they got was how far Kody could spit.
What Kody imagined being an hour passed and he heard the familiar lock turn and tone sound, there was a guard entering the solitary confinement zone. The buzzer was an annoying sound, even i
f it was faint from his cell. He pressed his ear to the cold steel of the door and listened. It was one of the taller men the stride was long. Kody ran the list of who could be coming through his mind; he couldn’t remember the exact day it was, he believed it to be a Monday, which means tomorrow would have been his day to see Gwen if that bastard Ford hadn’t interrupted them. She may have been hesitant at first but Kody knew she would have been into it if he had a few more seconds to taste her, to warm her up. It had been so long since he had been in her presence as her lover. He just needed time. The list continued. Ford, Derringer, Phillips, McKay, and Butler were the normal men that Kody had to suffer through. He didn’t care who it was so long as they brought his meal.
“McQueen you look like the shit you are inside.” Ford announced the bastard looked too happy.
“Fuck you.” Kody was bitter about Gwen, and his abhorrence for this man showed quite obvious.
The air became charged with testosterone and hate; even with the steel door separating them Kody could feel the hair on his neck prickle and the need to bash his head against the wall made his palms twitch. “I control your whole fucking world you sack of shit,” the words were a whispered menace, no doubt the surveillance was on, “Gwen is mine and you will NEVER touch her again, she is free from you and I am going to ask her to marry me, there isn’t a fucking thing you can do about it.”
“Just watch me, I will do something and it will be fucking biblical.” Kody spit at the glass where the guard was.
Gwen was his and no man would ever take her away from him. Ford had defiled her, he crossed the line and Kody had a slow and painful punishment in store for him. Ford thrust the meal to him with a sardonic smile on his face.
“Enjoy your meal while I fuck Gwen and make her forget she ever heard your name McQueen.” With those last words Ford left Kody to his solitude, but he did not feel like eating any longer.
Kody was sick to his stomach, his meal sat on the tray untouched while he paced the heinously small cell. His voice was tortured when he spoke to himself, “why is she cheating on me.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
By the time Gwen was able to see Justin Broderick about his involvement with the case it was Thursday. They had missed each other for the last days because they operated with opposite schedules and Gwen insisted she start taking her patients back, she needed something more to distract her from the lonely solitude she put herself in after the accident, she needed to be human again even if being human meant she had to feel the gut wrenching shame. She felt guilty because now many more people were now involved but she had to interview everyone about the case. She sat at her desk until the knock at the door jerked her from her daydreams.
“Doc B?” Justin hesitated at the door
“Please come in Justin and call me Gwen, did Torrian get to all of you again or something?” She laughed softly to try and make him feel more comfortable with this situation.
“I shouldn’t Doctor B, Torrian wouldn’t like it much if I acted personal with you so I would prefer to call you Doc, Doc.” He sat down on the oversized sofa and crossed his ankles; it looked like he was ready for the long haul.
Gwen shook her head and laughed yet again, Torrian had definitely gotten to his coworkers about the distance. She shifted in her chair, she was not supposed to be involved in the case in any way but she had to know. She needed to be sure.
“So Justin I read you were one who responded to the incident,” she kept her cringe to herself, she did not consider it an incident and using a term so mild made her skin crawl.
“Yes, I did. I was heading to punch out and found Officer Ford bringing the prisoner towards the cell block, Ford looked disturbed and asked me to take the prisoner for him I did. When I took custody of McQueen I noticed some bruises but nothing severe, he began to scream your name Doc.”
“My name?” Gwen was not truly surprised.
“Yes he was screaming for you.” Justin was looking down; he did not want to meet Gwen’s eyes, which meant something bad.
“What did he say?” She spoke the words too fast.
“He said you guys had a past,” Justin looked away, he truly was avoiding her eyes, “then he said that he and you had intercourse, and again he had you again that day.”
Gwen’s only reply was a sharp intake of air.
“You okay Doc?” Justin sat up.
“Did he say anything exact? Times, dates, anything?” She was trying hard not to stutter on her words, she loathed Kody for everything he had done.
“He was just screaming some bullshit about how he’s your past and future.” Justin shrugged noncommittally he obviously didn’t believe Kody.
Gwen shook her head, anger was choking her and she could not speak. Justin spoke his next words carefully, his voice was shaking with concern “Doc what’s wrong?”
“I’m angry, that is all Justin.” She sounded empty and flat even to her own ears with that response.
“I should go and work, only have a few hours don’t need the big man coming down on me for slacking off.” Justin shifted in his seat uncomfortable that he had made Gwen visibly upset, he didn’t quite understand why because she was the one asking the questions, not him but as he said Torrian would not like it if he found out that Justin made his woman cry or upset in any fashion. He desperately wanted to go back to doing his job; the criminals were less intimidating than Gwen and Torrian.
“Did he say anything else important?” Gwen looked over to Justin her eyes pleading.
“Only crazy ranting, I put him in his cell then he killed his cell mate and got moved to solitary. He’s been refusing to eat and just screaming, I swear that’s all I know, nothing credible, he’s a piece of shit Doc and no one will believe it.”
Gwen sighed heavily and wrote all the information down. “Justin, I’m sorry to have disturbed your day,” she wiped over her face with her hand, “I really appreciate it though I just want to know everything for the reports.”
“I understand Doc.” He sounded sad for her and that irked her, she could not take the sympathies that kept coming.
Gwen stood and opened the door for Justin to leave; she finished detailing the notes from her session with Justin and reflected upon what she gave away to him with her odd behavior. She finished her notes from the day and set her files aside for tomorrow. She grabbed her bag and locked her office on the way out. While she was walking down the hallway a cold hand gripped her forearm and Gwen dropped her bags, the paperwork from Kody and Russel Weaver’s files covered the floor surrounding her, she tried to steady herself.
“Shit Gwen I’m so sorry.” Seline was immediately down on her knees picking up the papers, for some reason Gwen could not stop from jumping when people touched her.
Gwen lowered herself to the ground to help the secretary. “Seline, I’m sorry I am just so jumpy lately. I think I need to lay off the coffee.” She added, and get over Kody’s attack for real, in her mind.
Seline gave Gwen a genuine smile that Gwen fought to return, she gave the best smile she could to the gentle raven-haired female. She did like Seline; her long locks reminded her of the classic loose curls of the pinups from long ago. She had an air of class about her yet she was still one of the kindest souls Gwen had encountered in her life.
“See you tomorrow Seline.” Gwen spoke as she started to move with haste again.
“Later Doctor B.” Seline nodded.
Gwen was almost to the elevator when she passed the employee lunch room. There was a normal amount of people inside but one spoke louder than the rest; Alison’s voice was full of disdain as she spoke hate.
“I bet he didn’t try to rape her, she’s just faking it because she got caught fucking him.”
One of the other voices was more sensible. “Who would lie about rape Alison, plus has that McQueen guy ever looked at you? Whenever his eyes are on you it feels like your soul is being sucked out of you, it doesn’t matter if you look back, he is just like a black pit. You better not
let the warden or Ford hear you talk that mess about her.”
Gwen stayed by the doorframe for a moment to hear how Alison came back from that. “Please we all know she’s fucking Ford, perhaps one dick isn’t enough. I’ve heard the talk.”
She looked down to see her knuckles white as snow; Alison was stepping over the line in a severe way. She was quite tempted to walk in, but still she waited.
Alison continued her speech, now she had listeners she wanted to make sure her rant was heard in its entirety. “She shouldn’t even be working here, if she could have a past with an inmate like that she should have been fired, she probably sucked the warden off too.”
Gwen could see Alison’s features sneering as she spoke, the woman had never shown anything but contempt since Gwen started at McNeil. Alison was taking a breath to continue, her audience was groaning softly at the mention of the warden’s involvement in a tawdry affair. “Why else would she request so many liberties? If she wasn’t fucking them why would she need so much privacy with the prisoners, it’s not like they’re real patients, just fucked up whack jobs,” this is when Gwen rounded the corner without a word Alison’s back was to her and she kept talking, “they’re just a bunch of fucked up people that deserve to be put in the chair or given the blue juice.”
“You fucking bitch.” Gwen was shaking with anger; she was having a hard time holding back.
Alison whipped herself around, her eyes were as big as a deer caught in the headlights of a truck on the highway. “Oh, Gwen, hi, just leaving?”
“Stop being so fake you stupid cunt, you’re wrong. Why do you have so much venom in your heart? I didn’t do anything to you yet you think I did. Get a life and grow up. If you ever have my name, my boyfriend’s, my boss, my friend’s or my patient’s names in your mouth ever again I will see to it that you are fired. You can expect a disciplinary action against you in the morning. I heard enough of your hate speech. And you three” Gwen pointed at the remaining people in the area “will be asked to give truthful confessions of what all she has been saying.” Gwen growled the words; they ducked their heads and scurried out of the room like scared mice.
The Deadliest Secret (The Deadliest Series) Page 18