Alcatraz!

by Dakota Chase

  He nodded. “Family is everything to Al. I think he’d understand that. It might work. And if it doesn’t, maybe I’ll just yank it off his neck and run like hell.”

  Grant sighed. “I thought of that, but this is a prison on an island. You wouldn’t get far.”

  Ash chuckled. “I only have to get to you, remember? Then Merlin’s magic kicks in once we’re alone, and we’ll be home free.”

  “Well, we’re not yet. Come on. We need to hurry.”

  “Oh, by the way, I need to tell you something else.”

  “Ash, if you want a shower, we have to get a move on!”

  “This is important, but if you don’t want to hear it, then….”

  “God, you can be such an ass! What is it?”

  “I need to get the locket quick, or Billy Ray is going to force me to break out of prison, and that just doesn’t seem like it’s going to end well for anybody.”

  He had a smirk on his face and kept walking, leaving Grant behind feeling shell-shocked.

  “Wait! What? Escaping Alcatraz? Wasn’t that a movie once? Ash? Ash!”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “DO YOU realize this is the first time we’ve been alone together since we got here?”

  Ash’s voice sang out over the patter of water in the shower room. Grant leaned against the opposite wall, waiting for Ash to finish showering.

  “It’s occurred to me, yeah.”

  “This has been a weird trip, right? I mean, it’s the first time we weren’t able to work together, right?”

  “Yeah, and it hasn’t exactly been a rousing success either.”

  “Well, not yet, but it will be.” Ash turned off the water and dried himself with a scratchy towel Grant had liberated from the nearby supply room. Thank goodness Grant had the cellblock keys, or Ash would be drying himself with toilet paper and running back to his cell dressed in nothing but his skin.

  He dressed in the usual shirt and pants used by convicts, then walked up to Grant. “You want to know something?”

  “What?”

  “I really missed you. I mean it.”

  Grant smiled, his cheek dimpling. “Yeah, I missed you too.” He touched the bruise on Ash’s arm, still visible, if fading. “Does your arm still hurt?”

  “Nah. It’s better.” Ash leaned his forehead against Grant, soaking up the closeness. He breathed deeply, filling his lungs with Grant’s scent. “Can’t we just go see Al and get the locket? You have the key to his cell. We go in, grab it, and go the hell home.”

  “Actually? That sounds like a really good idea.”

  Ash pulled back and grinned. Then he grabbed Grant’s face and pulled him in for a kiss. It felt like forever since they’d kissed, and he found he missed Grant’s taste, and the way it felt when Grant’s arms wrapped around him.

  After a moment or two, he reluctantly pulled away. “Okay, gotta stop or we’ll be here all night. Not that I ordinarily would complain about it, but I’d much rather go home and pick up where we left off than stay down here in the communal shower room of a prison.”

  Grant sighed, his lips looking slightly swollen from Ash’s kisses. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Let’s go.”

  “Aren’t you gonna cuff me?” He gave Grant a lopsided grin and held out his hands.

  “No, and stop being a butthole.” Grant failed at sounding stern, snickering a little. “Let’s go before I get in trouble and you end up back in the Strip Cell.”

  They walked back up to the first floor and had just entered Times Square when a voice rang out.

  “Hey! You, Vaughn! I’ve been looking for you. Where were you? You were supposed to be on B Block tonight.”

  Ash and Grant both turned around. It was Hocks, and he didn’t look pleased. He came marching down Times Square toward them, his cheeks spotted with color. His eyes narrowed when he looked at Ash.

  “Hey, he’s supposed to be in the Hole! What’s he doing out?” Hocks jabbed a finger at Grant. “Why’d you spring him?”

  Grant seemed to stand taller and took a half step forward, standing between Hocks and Ash. Ash felt his heart swell a little, realizing Grant was trying to protect him. “He didn’t belong in there, and you know it.”

  Hocks huffed, and his upper lip curled over his teeth. “Oh, I know it, huh? He’s a criminal. They’re all criminals, in case you didn’t notice. And they deserve whatever I say they deserve.” He gave Grant a push that rocked Grant on his feet. “Whose side are you on, anyway? Ours or the cons?”

  Grant lifted his chin. “I’m on the side of justice.”

  Great. He thinks we’re in a superhero movie. This is going to get bad really quickly unless somebody does something. Ash looked around wildly and caught sight of Gus peeking around the corner from D Block. For a moment he thought help was coming, but his heart sank when Gus ducked back out of sight. Dammit! “Listen, I can go back into the Strip Cell. Really. No need to get all alpha here, boys.”

  Quicker than he would’ve thought a big man like Hocks could move, Hock’s hand shot out and grabbed a fistful of Ash’s hair. Hocks pulled Ash forward and pushed him down to the ground, still holding him by the hair. Although he was wincing in pain, Ash saw Hocks’s other hand slip the blackjack free.

  “Let him go, Hocks!” Grant gave Hocks a hard push.

  Hocks staggered back a step and released Ash’s hair. Ash rubbed his scalp and spoke to Grant. “Let it go, dude! I’ll go back for now before he beats the crap out of both of us!”

  “No way are you going back in that filthy hole. You saved Capone’s life. You shouldn’t be punished for it!” Grant slipped his own blackjack free from its loop on his belt.

  “Grant, this isn’t a prison movie! Stop trying to be a hero before you get your head bashed in!” Ash’s gaze was on Hocks, who looked as though his head might just explode. His face was beet red, and his brows were knit so fiercely his eyebrows met in the center of his forehead. His teeth were bared like an animal’s, and he was obviously ready to attack.

  The noise had woken many of the prisoners on B Block, and as soon as they realized what the commotion was about, they began yelling at Grant and Hocks, egging them on, trying to spur them on to fight. They banged cups against the cell bars, and men on the upper level threw toilet paper streamers between them.

  In a few short minutes, the atmosphere on the block was of a full-on circus. Hocks charged, his blackjack held high. It came down in an arc aimed, Ash felt sure, for his head.

  Grant shouted and blocked the attack with his own blackjack. They dueled like a pair of knights, except instead of clanging swords, they banged nightsticks together with dull-sounding thwacks. Their dance was no less deadly, though. Any one of the blows they were throwing at each other could crack a skull if it landed.

  They moved down the hall, back and forth across the corridor, one side to the other. The inmates hooted and hollered even louder as the fight progressed.

  “Knock it off, Hocks!” Grant hollered and blocked another blow Hocks threw at him. “This is ridiculous! Someone is going to get seriously hurt!”

  “Yeah—you!” Hocks swung the blackjack in a high arc.

  Grant ducked, and the nightstick pounded the wall where his head had been a moment ago. He ducked his head and ran at Hocks, grabbing Hocks around the middle and trying to bring the bigger man down.

  It didn’t work. Instead, they danced around in a tight, awkward circle. Then Hocks brought his blackjack down, striking Grant on the shoulder. Grant howled and let go of Hocks.

  He fell on his rear end and pushed backward, trying to crab crawl away from Hocks before he could get hit again.

  That’s when Hocks refocused and realized Ash was standing there, unshackled and unarmed. He turned toward Ash with a malevolent grin on his face. “You trying to escape, huh? Nobody’ll blame me for bashing your head in, then.”

  “Hocks! Stand down this instant!”

  The new voice rang out, heard even over the din the prisoners were making.
At least, Ash heard it—he wasn’t so sure about Hocks, since Hocks continued to walk toward him.

  Warden Johnston hurried toward where Hocks, Grant, and Ash stood. Ash could see Gus behind Johnston and took back every bad thing he’d thought about Gus. He wasn’t a coward after all—he’d gone to get help. “Officer Hocks, did you hear me? I order you to stand down!”

  The warden’s voice finally seemed to penetrate whatever gallon of crazy was sloshing inside Hocks’s head, because Hocks did stop and turn around. He pointed toward Ash.

  “He’s trying to escape, sir! Look—he’s got no handcuffs on, and he was supposed to be in the Strip Cell. I put him in there myself. This guard, Vaughn, helped him escape. Then Vaughn attacked me.”

  Grant dragged himself to his feet. “That’s not true! I didn’t attack him—he attacked me.”

  Johnston gave Ash a brief glance. “Vaughn, did you free this prisoner?”

  Grant nodded. “I did. He didn’t deserve to be in the Hole, let alone the Strip Cell, but Hocks had him in there for two days. This prisoner saved a life, and Hocks rewarded him for it by tossing him into the Strip Cell!”

  “He’s lying!” Hocks spat at Grant’s feet.

  Johnston frowned and threw up a hand. “Quiet, Hocks!” He turned toward Grant. “Why didn’t you come to me with your concerns?”

  Grant lifted his chin. “I should have, sir. I know that, but when I found out what had happened, I didn’t want to leave an innocent man in that filthy hole any longer than necessary. Going through proper channels would’ve meant him staying in there another night.”

  “Well, I appreciate your honesty, if not the breach in protocol. Decisions like this are not to be made by anyone except me or one of my lieutenants.” Johnston turned and glared at Hocks. “And that includes sentencing a man to the Strip Cell. A man breaks the rules in my prison, and he’s to be brought before me for trial. You know better, Hocks, and this isn’t the first time you’ve done something like this. I’ve given you the benefit of the doubt before, but no more. Vaughn? Take this prisoner to his cell. Hocks, come with me.” A sly smile tilted Johnston’s lips. “You’re fired. You’re going to clean out your locker right now and get on the next boat to shore.”

  “Fired! You can’t fire me!” Hocks’s hand visibly tightened around his nightstick.

  “Sure he can,” Grant said. He smiled. “In fact, he just did. And to make your night even better, think about what you’ve got in your locker right now, Hocks. A certain little brown bag? Ring a bell?”

  For a moment Hocks looked as though he might rush Grant, but then he turned and started running toward the office. He probably hoped to get there and ditch the drugs he had stashed in his locker before Johnston could see them.

  Unfortunately for him, several other guards, probably alerted by Gus when he’d run for Johnston, were waiting. They grabbed Hocks and held him firm. He struggled but was no match for them.

  Johnston nodded to Grant, then stalked off toward where the guards were holding Hocks. The group of them disappeared into the office.

  Gus walked up to Grant. “You okay?”

  Grant nodded. “Yeah. I’m just lucky he didn’t land any of those blows. I’ll be bruised in a few places, but I’ll live.”

  Ash walked toward them, but Gus brandished his blackjack. “Stay put, prisoner!” He removed a pair of handcuffs from his belt. “We need to cuff this guy, Grant.”

  “He’s okay, Gus. He won’t do anything.” Grant tucked his own blackjack back into the loop on his belt.

  Ash lifted his hands up in front, showing Gus he was unarmed and no threat. “Yeah, I’m not going anywhere. Listen, do you know Billy Ray?”

  “What of him?” Gus didn’t look happy to be having a conversation with an unshackled inmate in the middle of B Block in the dead of night, but at least he’d lowered his nightstick.

  “You need to check his cell. I, uh, heard he got a bar spreader and was going to try to escape. With all the commotion tonight, he might’ve decided the time was right. If not, he’s probably got the spreader hidden in his cell.”

  Gus looked unconvinced. “Why would you be ratting him out?”

  Ash smiled at him. “Because I owe you for letting Grant take me out of the Strip Cell before, and for going to get the warden.”

  Grant smiled as well. He took Ash’s arm. “I’m going to take this one back to his cell like the warden said to do. You might as well go check on Billy Ray. It can’t hurt, and I’d toss his cell just to piss him off.”

  Gus chuckled. “Yeah, well, I guess I better. And he deserves getting his cell tossed—he’s a louse.”

  Grant led Ash toward Ash’s cell as Gus went toward Billy Ray’s. Neither one spoke again until they were sure Gus was out of earshot. All around them the convicts began to settle down, now that the excitement was over.

  Grant spoke first. “What the hell is a bar spreader, and how did you know Billy Ray has one?”

  Ash snorted. “It’s a long story, but basically it’s used to pry apart cell bars so convicts can slip through them. And I know he has one because I got it for him.”

  “What!”

  “Easy, bro. I had to. I’ll tell you all about it later, when we’re back home, okay? Right now, we need to get to Al before anything else happens.”

  Grant nodded, and they hurried to Al’s cell. He was awake, just as most of the other convicts were, awakened by all the noise. Grant pulled out the key to the cell and unlocked the door.

  Ash slid the door open and stepped inside, followed by Grant. Al looked from one to the other, obviously confused and not a little suspicious over their nighttime visit.

  “Hey, Al. You doing okay?” Ash smiled at him. Grant smiled too, but stayed silent, evidently content with letting Ash handle the conversation.

  “Yeah, kid. Thanks to you, I only need a few stitches instead of a body bag.” Al jerked his thumb at Grant. “What’s with you and the screw?”

  “It’s… complicated. Listen, Al, I have a favor to ask, and it’s a big one.”

  “Name it, kid. You saved my life, and I always pay my debts. If I can do it, consider it done.”

  Ash bit his lower lip. “Well, it’s not so much what you can do, but what you have that I need.”

  “What are you talking about, kid?”

  “Your locket, Al. I need it.”

  His hand went to the chain hanging around his neck, a protective hand cupping the locket. “My locket? Why? This was a gift from my Mae.”

  Ash nodded. “I know it was a gift. I don’t need the photos, just the locket. I wish I could explain, Al, but I can’t. Just know it’s really, really important. Like, life or death.”

  Al jerked his chin toward Grant. “This have something to do with him? He blackmailing you or something?”

  “He’s my friend, Al, believe it or not. Please, Al. I really need it.” Ash held his breath, hoping Al would give it to him. He didn’t want to rip it off Al’s neck if he didn’t need to. He liked Al, even though Al was an infamous mob boss.

  “I don’t know what you can possibly do with it—it’s nice, but it’s not fucking gold and diamonds. It’s just silver.” Al sighed, then slipped the chain from around his neck. “I’ll write Mae and have her send me another one.” He opened the locket and carefully removed the tiny photos it held, kissing each one before he set it aside. Then he offered the locket to Ash.

  “Oh, man! You’re a lifesaver, Al. Thanks so much!” Ash’s fingers closed over the locket, and he could feel the faint stirrings of magic thrumming in them as Merlin’s magic kicked on. “Take care, Al.”

  “Take care? Why? Where do you think you’re going?” Al cocked his head and looked at Ash from out of the corner of his eye. “You thinking of jumping this island? Is that why he’s here?” He gestured to Grant. “You got a way off this berg?”

  “Sort of. Listen, I just want to say thanks for being nice to me, and especially for the locket. Bye, Al.”

  Despite Al’
s repeated questions about how he was going to escape the island, Ash stayed quiet as he and Grant left Al’s cell and hurried to Ash’s. Merlin’s magic wouldn’t work until they were alone and out of sight.

  As soon as Grant let them into Ash’s cell, the magic kicked in full force. The room spun dizzily, and then, as usual, everything went black.

  Epilogue

  GRANT LAY on his bed, his arms tucked under his head. A book lay open on his chest. His eyes had been closed although he wasn’t sleeping, and he’d cracked one open when Ash walked into their dorm room. “Jeez, I didn’t think you were ever coming back from the showers. I thought maybe you drowned.”

  Ash looked freshly scrubbed, and his hair was still wet. “Funny. I couldn’t help it. It took forever to wash the Alcatraz stink off me. God, that place was filthy, especially the Strip Cell.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “Please. You had it easy, being a guard. Next time, Merlin better give me the cushy job, and you can be the one who has to sleep naked in a pile of disgusting muck. I swear to God, I can still feel things crawling on me.”

  “Ew. Are you sure you didn’t bring anything back with you, like fleas or something?”

  “Shut up. I don’t have fleas.”

  “Ringworm?”

  “No!”

  “Scabies?”

  “I don’t have freaking scabies!” Ash huffed as he dried his hair with a towel. “Do you even know what scabies are?”

  “Do you?”

  “Well, er… no.”

  “Then how do you know you don’t have them?”

  He snapped the towel out, whipping Grant with it. “Will you please stop busting my chops?”

  Grant laughed and fended off the towel. “Okay, okay! Jeez, spend a few days in jail and you get all sensitive.”

  Ash sat down on his bunk across from Grant’s. “What are you reading?”

  Grant picked the book up and showed Ash the cover. “Alcatraz, the True Story.”

  “Haven’t you had enough Alcatraz for one lifetime?”

  “I just wanted to know what happened after we left. Aren’t you curious about what happened to Capone, for example?”