“Will you let me drive for a while?” He added.
I nodded, waiting until he’d gotten out and climbing over to the passenger seat. I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. Deep down, I was glad he’d offered to drive, because asking him to would have been painful. Dane got back into the car, handing me an array of food and drink items.
“I didn’t know what you liked,” He mumbled in explanation.
“So you brought everything?” I said dryly. He grinned. It was the first time I’d seen him smile since yesterday.
He started the car, and got us back on the road. I handed him a drink, and a Snickers bar.
“Thanks sexy,” My heart swelled at the sound of his pet name for me. He took the drink, gulping it down in one hit. I noticed he looked tired too. If I hadn’t slept well, I could only imagine how bad he had slept.
I positioned myself up against the door frame in an attempt to get comfortable enough to have a power nap. As I closed my eyes, I felt Dane’s hand run up my leg, and rest on my thigh. There was something comforting about when he touched me. Eyes still closed, I placed my hand over his.
“Lil,” Dane’s voice filtered through my head. I moaned something incomprehensible, not ready to wake up. “Lil,” He nudged me softly, then harder when I didn’t respond.
“What,” I grumbled, rubbing the point of my arm where he’d poked me, “That hurt.”
“We’re here.”
That got my attention. I opened my eyes and looked around. If you took away the huge fort like structure right ahead of us, the area we were in was actually pretty nice. The prison sat on a huge hill surrounded by trees, overlooking the rest of the city. I stared at the extremely high gates that were manned by several heavily armed guards. I swallowed, not sure how this was going to go down, exactly.
I’d never been in a prison to know what to expect. Was there like a reception I should walk up to and ask for Cole Chambers? The thought of facing a criminal scared the hell out of me, and I was sure that showed. I took a deep breath.
“Well, here goes, I guess,” I muttered. Out of the car, I followed Dane to the entrance. After going through several security screens, including an eyeball scan (what the hell?), we were led into the main visiting area of the prison. It was completely different to what I was expecting. It looked almost normal, with wives chatting to their husbands, and kids scribbling in coloring books. It reminded me of a library.
“Who are you here to see?” I turned my attention back to the guard who had brought us in. She waited impatiently for my answer; her dark eyes looked worn, as if she was nearing the end of a long shift.
“Cole Chambers,” I said nervously. Her raised eyebrow at the sound of his name didn’t do much to ease my nerves. Maybe he just never got visitors. Sure, that was it.
“Sit over there,” She pointed to a table in the corner. I glanced at Dane, who shrugged. We walked over to the table and sat down.
“So what exactly is your plan here?” Dane mumbled, leaning close to my ear. I looked at him, not sure if he was being funny or not. His looked serious. Who said I had a plan? I had no idea what my plan was. My plan had been to drive down here and see Cole. From there, I was winging it.
“Right,” He laughed, finally getting it as I kicked him under the table. The last thing I needed was his attitude right now.
Dane nudged me; I looked up and saw the guard walking Cole in. I recognized him from his pictures in the newspaper archives. In the 30 years since his sentence, things hadn’t changed much. According to the papers, he had gotten a fifteen year sentence for a series of aggravated burglaries, which resulted in the rape and murders of four people. How burglary turned into rape and murder, I had no idea.
He eyed Dane and me suspiciously as he approached our table. Sitting down opposite us, his eyes ran over me, slowly and deliberately. I forced myself not to shudder, this guy made me feel sick.
“How can I help you darlin’,” He sneered, licking his cracked, discolored
lips. His unshaven face looked in dire need of a good wash, and the stench of old cigarettes and foul body odor drifted across the table.
“I need information on a former cell mate of yours,” I said, as soon as the guard was out of ear shot. Cole laughed a wheezy breathless laugh.
“And what are you gonna give me, sweetheart, cause I can tell ya you only got one thing I want and I ain’t tellin’ ya shit without getting what I want,” He leered at me. I jumped as his leg touched mine under the table. Dane shot forward.
“Don’t you fucking touch her,” He threatened, the vein in his neck visible as the blood pulsated through it, his hands clenched into tight fists beside his body.
“What are you gonna do, kid?” Cole challenged, laughing, his rotted teeth making me cringe. I looked away, repulsed.
“You know who sent me Cole. Belle. Remember her? Because she sure remembers you,” I spoke loudly, mustering all the confidence I could into my voice. If there was one thing I knew, that was if he thought I was bluffing in any way, then he’d close up.
No matter how shit scared I was right now, I had to fake strong. Dane’s hand ran over my leg, silently willing me on.
“What the fuck are you on about? You don’t know what you’re talking about,” He grumbled. Only I could see the fear in his eyes. I’d triggered something. Exactly what, I wasn’t sure, but it was there. He was frazzled.
“You know exactly what the fuck I’m talking about, you useless sack of shit,” I growled, leaning across the table, my eyes locked with his.