“No harm will come to me because you’re with me. You’ll make sure of that. You’re attentive, affectionate, protective, and no damage will be done to my heart by your hands as long as you’re honest, trustworthy, and give me plenty of orgasms. You’ve nothing to fear when it comes to you and me, do you hear me?” I kiss him again and then sigh in relief. If there was any doubt in my head that I should be with Burke and that he cares about me, he erased its existence.
Like clockwork to ruin our moment, a banging sounds at the door followed by Kai’s booming voice. “Are you two done screwing like rabbits? Teagan and I want to see the new tat!”
Burke runs his fingers through my hair, kisses me one more time, and then goes to unlock the door. I return to my horizontal position to hide my cleavage from my new handsome stepbrother-like friend. This is not that kind of story!
Kai and Teagan enter the room and ooh and ahh as Burke finishes the tattoo. The jokes and laughter take my mind off the lingering sting from the gun, but nothing can wipe my mind of the words Burke spoke to me. I made the right decision taking a risk on him, and everything is falling into place.
When he finishes the tattoo, he shoos Kai from the room where I’ll be upright without my shirt on. I laugh and admire the brand new piece of art displayed on my skin that was put there by a man who could one day love me. It’s perfect for more reasons than simply the beautiful image.
Burke
As my car pulls into the grounds, adrenaline courses through my veins. The high, barbed wire fences and dismal surroundings should intimidate me, but they don’t. Rather, they only amp me up. More than likely we’re not coming face to face with the real threat against us, but it’s at least something. There’s been zero leads from any detective work Kai and I’ve done on our own, and I’ve contemplated rushing the jail in a firestorm of bullets to get a little one-on-one time with Parker. Lucky for me and him, I’ve had Paisley around to calm my irrational thought processes. Pre-Paisley, I’m not so sure I wouldn’t have done exactly that to get what I wanted.
The time we spent in my tattoo shop reinforced a lot of things in my head. Before I ever acknowledged it, my heart knew it belonged to her, but my head was holding me back. Doubt vanished as my tattoo gun pierced her skin. Uncertainty washed away as she bent over that table. The hesitation was gone while we opened up to one another. My head and heart are more connected than ever.
Now, I want to find some answers, hopefully solve this mystery, and then smash the skulls of everyone involved. I’m not delusional. I’m aware this is probably much larger than we could imagine and Parker is not our magic solution, but whoever is behind this is likely motivated by greed and jealousy. Kai and I have something bigger we’re fighting for—our family, which now includes Paisley. I’m certain I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her in my life, both in this situation and in our relationship.
My feet hit the pavement as I exit the car. I stand up straight while stretching to relieve my legs after the forty-minute drive. I look to Kai, who has an unreadable expression on his face. His jaw is locked, and his eyes seem vacant. I never thought that being here, the same facility where his father rots away, would be easy for him. I hope he keeps it together today. We have a lot riding on this. We need all the clues we can get. Everything that’s happening ties together somehow, and this is one jigsaw puzzle that has catastrophic consequences if we can’t piece it together. I look to him as we round the car.
“You good, man?” His eyes lock with mine, still withholding any emotion. He clears his throat and stretches out his shoulders and neck.
“I’m good, let’s go.” I can’t do anything but take his word for it and hope this goes smoothly. I have no idea what to expect once we’re inside. Neither of us are inexperienced in visiting an inmate and we know the logistics of the dos and don’ts. We dressed appropriately according to the visitation rules, and we leave our phones and personal belongings locked in the car.
We enter the building, and I take a look around. Women fill many of the seats in the waiting area. Many of them in tears, waiting to see their boyfriends, husbands, brothers, or fathers. Little children play on the floor, oblivious their normal is disheartening. Some chairs are filled with men wearing hard facets of life on the street. Others wear the look of weathered disappointment for a loved one too long on a crooked path, tired of this routine.
We approach the sign-in desk with the protective glass barrier. The woman at the desk looks us up and down as we move toward her. She has short curly hair, glasses, and scrunched up features. She sits up straight, pushing her shoulders back and her chest out. She squeaks out a greeting and asks how she can help in an unnaturally Southern drawl for this area. Her words are soft but drip with a seduction that doesn’t match the formal uniform she wears. I keep things short and to the point, wanting to just get this over with. We hand over the necessary identification and paperwork. She slides a piece of paper through the small opening in the glass as she tells us we’ll be called when they are ready to take us back to the visitation room. Glancing down, I see it’s her phone number, and I smile but shake my head.
“Sorry, taken.”
I move to the waiting room without another glance at the woman. Kai hasn’t said one word since we came inside, but he follows behind me as we both sit to wait. The minutes tick by while my leg jumps up and down. My mind races as my eyes focus on the small child near my feet, but I don’t really see him. I’m too lost in my own head. I mentally catalogue everything that has happened up to this point and meticulously try to piece things together, searching my memory for anything I might have missed or overlooked.
My thoughts go to the man Kai strangled in our office and take a somber, reflective turn. How long was it before his family realized he wasn’t coming home? Have they given up without finding his body or are they still holding out hope for his safe return? We irreversibly changed those people’s lives that day. Are they overcome with devastating grief, quietly mourning, or maybe living in a state of shock and denial?
The calling of my name snaps me out of my trance, and I look around to see Kai already standing next to me. An officer with a clipboard is standing in the previously closed doorway looking incredibly bored.
“Burke, let’s go. They called for us.”
We approach the officer and he rattles off a bunch of rules—no touching, remain calm, respect the other visitors—he prattles on and on while we remain in place before him. Finally, his spiel ends, and we follow him down a long, narrow hallway. It has a claustrophobic feel to it, but the length of it seems never-ending. Eventually, the gray, cement walls turn to clear glass. A door isn’t much farther ahead and it leads into the visitation room. The glass wall affords me the opportunity to see inside. Tables are set up around the room, some occupied and some empty. Two vending machines sit on the far back wall. Armed officers stand in each corner, watching over the activity in the room. An officer station with a few desks and televisions with security footage sits across from the visitation room.
We stand by the closed door as the officer who led us lists some more rules about time limits and the close of a visit. I’m not listening to him in the least. My eyes are scanning over the men in the room. I have no idea what Parker looks like. Trying to look up his mug shot was a failure. It seems he’s been in here a long time, long before they kept such meticulous online records. My research did tell me he’s in for a robbery that involved the murder of two store clerks and a high-speed chase. He had a long list of priors before that, ranging from everything from drug possession, illegal fire arms, assault, and more than a few theft charges.
When my eyes land on a lone man sitting at a corner table, I know immediately it’s Parker. He stares directly at us from the other side of the glass. He has a smarmy, satisfied look on his face. The corners of his mouth tip up, and it almost looks as if a laugh wants to bubble up. He wears a tan jumpsuit and has prison tats decorating his neck and one side of his face. I can make out a dead rat o
n his neck and symbols and numbers on his face that more than likely represent affiliation with a gang.
The officer opens the door and moves to let us enter. Kai walks through the doorway first and I follow. Parker stays seated as we head toward him, my hands clenching with tension at my sides. The guy looks like he’s more than anxious to get off on taunting us for however long this visit lasts. It must get boring in here for the inmates, and today Parker seems to think we’ll be his entertainment. The guards standing at every corner prevent me from wiping the smirk off his face. He’s working for the other side, and I can’t help but wonder if he’s been given specific orders as to what he should tell us. Something tells me he isn’t the man behind these threats. I know I’m missing something.
Feet from the table where Parker sits I can see him more clearly. His face is weathered from age and the toll of a hard life. I’d guess he’s only in his mid-forties, but he looks much older. The fabric of his prison-issue jumpsuit pulls against his large frame, developed presumably from days upon days of working out in his cell and the prison yard. His hair is dark, but his skin is the color of milk from years without much sunlight. He’s sitting, but I’d wager a good amount he’s much shorter than either Kai or myself. I’d guess by plenty more than a few inches. Across the knuckles of one hand the word “true” is tattooed and “fear” is present on the skin of his other hand.
We sit across from him as he continues to look at us with amusement. It’s killing me that he has the upper hand. There are very few instances in my life I’ve been without the control, and lately this seems to be the case more often than not. Paisley has complete control over my heart, and Parker has control in this God damn fucking room. Although, I’d never let him know I believe that.
Parker’s eyes swing to mine, and he bears his black crusted teeth my way. He’s really enjoying this. “Burke.” He greets me, obviously knowing who is who between Kai and me. His vision swings to Kai, and he greets him in the same way. His eyes linger though, and he studies his face with curiosity. It’s odd how intrigued he seems. I speak up. “Let’s cut the crap. You wanted us here, so we’re here. Tell us whatever it is you have to say or whatever message you’re supposed to deliver, and let’s get this over with sooner rather than later.”
His fucking mouth only pulls more tightly upwards at my words, and it works to infuriate me. He laughs, and I have to grab on to the chair to prevent myself from jumping over the table. “How about we get a few things straight first, shall we? You have no cards. You don’t tell me how this works or what I need to do. You’re both at my mercy.” Parker cracks every one of his knuckles while he babbles on with a false sense of importance. “You’ve let pussy rule your life, it has you by the balls. Your sister and your whore will be the downfall of you both. This goes the way I say it goes because you two are powerless. If I tell you to suck my cock, then the two of you need to be under this table choking on my dick. I’ll picture your sweet whores while one of you deep throats my cock and the other slobbers on my sack. Are we clear?”
My body moves on reflex and my ass starts its ascent out of the chair I sit on. Lucky for me, Kai reacts quickly and jerks me back down to a sitting position by my arm. He leans toward me and tries to calm me with a few words under his breath. “He’s trying to rattle you. Don’t let him. We can’t be thrown out, or worse—thrown in a cell, without getting the information we came for.” He’s right.
“What do you want? What price will it take to get you to tell us everything you know. It’s safe to assume you’re not the one in charge, or else you wouldn’t be revealing yourself to us. Name your price for the information.”
Parker’s wild grin turns to a loathing scowl. His face contorts in rage and hatred. His hands clench the table as his pupils practically disappear and his pale skin turns an angry red. “That’s the fucking problem with you two. No loyalty. No fucking loyalty for anything except the bitches in your life.” He pauses while he shakes his head and gives us a look of disgust. “This isn’t about money or a price. It’s about loyalty—allegiance. You’re both ruled by your dicks, emotions, and monetary greed. It’ll be the recipe for your complete destruction, and my guess is the end is a lot closer than you realize. You can’t buy me or get information from me because I have loyalty.”
He slams his meaty fist down causing the table to rattle. Every guard in the room turns their attention our way at the sound. Parker nods at one of the guards, puts his hands back in his lap, and then goes back to his long-winded speech.
“I can stick my dick in anything without emotion clogging my judgment. I’ll get off tonight in the shower stalls picturing a hot, wet cunt instead of the ass of some scared snitch who deserves the pounding I’ll give his asshole, deserves to be ripped apart until his blood acts as lube and colors the tiled floor. I’m being paid to meet with you, and you could offer me ten times as much as I’m getting, but I wouldn’t flip. I’m not a dirty fucking rat.” He points to the dead rodent on his neck. My frustration is high. This whole meeting seems pointless when earlier it was our only glimpse of hope. It seems like we’re here to be toyed with and my patience has run dry.
“So why are we here? Why do you want this meeting if we can’t turn you and you won’t give us any information?”
“Distraction.” The anger from his face leaves and reflects a sinister joy once more. He speaks again as I try to make sense of this meeting. “Guards! I’m done here.”
Two of the officers move toward our table as my mind races for a way to salvage this meeting. We got no information. We’re not any closer to figuring this out and our only source of information is about to go back to his cell, far from our reach. The officers stand behind Parker while he rises from the chair. In a whisper with evil in his eye, he delivers the knockout punch. “I’d hurry home if I were you. You might find you’re a lot more gullible than you thought and a lot less untouchable. I bet those girls have a lot less faith in your senses right now, too.”
He rises fully and the guards take hold of him as I process his words. I leap from the table, disregarding the end-of-visit procedure. We’re supposed to remain seated while Parker is escorted out of the room. My anger boils and my temper takes over my judgment. I step forward toward Parker as the rest of the officers in the room draw their weapons and point them at me. Kai tells me not to move, reminding me that we need to get home quickly. I raise my hands in surrender, but the guards keep their weapons trained on me as they escort Parker back to the safety of his cell.
We’re roughly escorted out of the visitation room, and it hits me. The reason for this meeting. Parker’s satisfied expression. We’ve been played, and we fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
Paisley
I’m that girl people hate. I’m that girl I hate. I’m high on emotions and fantasy-worthy sex. His hands on my skin. The heat from his touch. The feeling of our bodies together. The electricity when he’s in the room. The way he holds me while we sleep. The way he looks at me as if he’s never seen anything more perfect. I’m a love-sick dope, high on the endorphins.
The world could be falling apart around me, and I would be clueless because a boy likes me and makes me feel good. I’m in the foggy haze of a new relationship, and I don’t think there is anything that can bring me down from my cloud of warm and fuzzies. I sound like a damn pre-teen writing in her diary about whatever teen heartthrob is gracing the airwaves or the television screen of this current generation.
I need to get my head screwed on straight. There is a bigger picture. A dark cloud hovers over all of us. Burke and Kai left a few minutes ago to go to a prison, and I’m doodling imaginary hearts inside the pages of my mind. I never meant to fall for him. It wasn’t in the plan, but damn if I couldn’t help it. I’m in the middle of things I can’t stop, things I’ve no control over. No control over the way I feel about him and no control over the things in motion beyond us.
I lie in Burke’s bed, sore from his rough treatment this morning. I ache bet
ween my legs from the force with which he slammed inside me. I’m surrounded by his scent that covers his sheets, and despite the ache, I wish he were still here and we could lie in bed and forget the outside world. But that’s not what happened today. Today there is a very different schedule for my day. Things change in the blink of an eye. Can one choice or decision change the whole sequence of events for your life? How do we tell the good decisions from the bad? The people who will harm us from the people who will protect us? What do we do when we realize things have shifted?
Teagan’s screams alert me to the change in atmosphere. My bubble in this bed bursts into pieces. The sound of footsteps from people within the house echo and bounce off the walls. The grunts of men here to inflict harm pierce my ears. The fear in Teagan’s voice is heartbreaking and even more so when sound from her ceases.
I scramble from the bed and debate my next move. Clothes would be an obvious choice, but my brain function is a bit muddled. My movements are shaky as I try to pull myself together. This is not the time to fall apart. It’s a time for strength and perseverance.
Sweet lies. Irresistible betrayal. Everything is about to come to an end. Everything.
Burke
How could I be so stupid? How did I not see this coming? Fear, anger, and hatred course through my veins. I fear for what I’ll find when I get home. I’m angry at myself for not seeing this coming. Angry at Parker for being a smug piece of the puzzle, and angry I’m missing so many damn puzzle pieces. I want to dismember anyone who hurts Teagan or Paisley. I want to hear them beg for mercy as I break bones, puncture skin, and destroy them. But I won’t show mercy. Not an ounce. I’ll relish in their blood on my hands.
Deceit in Bloom (The Love Unauthorized Series Book 1) Page 21