I belly laughed so hard I had to cover my mouth. I was lucky enough to have a great cellmate for my five-year stay in the hellhole hotel. “Sounds like a winning plan to me. Let’s execute.”
Errol jumped down to sit beside me on the chair. “You want me to torture you in spades again? I’m bored.”
“Nah. I have to meet somebody in the yard. There’s some unfinished business I have to take care of.”
“Unfinished business,” Errol repeated as he slid the playing cards out of the deck and shuffled. “Anything to do with Anna?”
Shocked, I stared hard at Errol. “How’d you know?”
“Something told me you’re not the type of man to let something like that slide.” He pointed to the picture of Bella and Anna on the wall.
I cracked my knuckles in silent rage. “You’re not wrong. They killed my woman and left Bella with no mother.”
Errol tapped me on the back with his long spindly fingers. “Don’t end up back here in the process. I’m rooting for you. I want to sit talking to you when I get out of here. Do you need back-up on anything? Cover?”
I rubbed my fingers a few times. “No. I’m fine. The old-timers will have my back.” Doom settled in my voice nonetheless.
“Okay.” Errol nodded. “You got a real treat for the day. Two outings. You get to see that pretty social worker again. Blondie.”
I tried to hide the smile, but the blood pumped through all my body parts when I thought about running my hands through her hair and overtaking her pretty mouth. I wondered how many times I could make her moan.
“Yeah. I get to see her. I don’t know what she wants, though. I hope everything is okay with Bella. I mean, why else does she need to see me?” I asked, secretly hoping it was because she was feeling me.
“Beats me, farm boy. Wait and see, I guess,” Errol responded dismissively.
The yard bell rang, and I stood up, waiting for the cell to unlock. The customary click came. Another prison guard came to let us out. Thankfully, it wasn’t Raymond. I walked to the yard and, like always, breathed the limited oxygen into my lungs. I ran my eyes over the scene. No one was at the weight bench today. A few guys gathered around on one side, though. One of the prison inmates was performing. Singing. His melodic tones floated all the way over to me. I nodded my head. The guy had some pipes. He wasn’t half bad.
Austin and another beefy dude with full tattoo sleeves were sitting on top of one of the benches. His face held the look of a man you wouldn’t want to mess with. His eyes were as cold as steel. His lips were held in a thin line. His face was clean-shaven, and he had a tattoo on the side of his thick neck. Heavy eyelids gave one of his eyes a slanted appearance.
“Hey. Colt, right?” he posed.
“Yep. That’s me,” I responded.
Frank slid his eyes both ways to look at the guard. His eyes were on the group crowded around the yard singer of the day. Austin sat serenely next to him and started humming. Frank nodded.
“All right. Austin tells me you’re good people. Any friend of Austin’s is a friend of mine. So what’s the score?” Frank asked.
“Thanks. Look, I need some help. My girlfriend died from an overdose, and I know for a fact that a Las Balas member sold her the drugs. Can you sew that situation up for me?”
Frank’s cold eyes looked through me. “I heard about it through the grapevine. I’m sorry for your loss. You’re Outlaw family, too. I’ve been the eyes and ears for the crew for a long time now. We’ll put a stop to this sucker. Give me a little time, and I’ll send out word about it.” He gazed away from me as he spoke.
“Thanks. I appreciate it. What do I owe you?” I asked pensively.
“Nothing at all. That’s what we Outlaws do. We stand for the brotherhood of all our riders. You got a daughter. I have one, too. We have to protect them from street slime.” Frank spat on the ground, and it landed two feet away from him.
I nodded with respect. “Agree. Respect the code. Check you later.”
“Good. Peace, brother.” Frank saluted, and I moved around the yard to converse with the other inmates.
As time passed and the guards let us back to our cells, I visualized my exit and how I planned to come back into society. Could I go back to the Outlaw Souls? Or would I have to straighten up and fly right? Maybe I would just work on the farm and leave the rest alone. As sleep called me, I floated off to think about the sensual social worker and what I had to look forward to.
In my dream, she entered the meeting room.
“Colt, I came to see you. When I saw you last time, I knew I had to come back. I find you to be irresistible. I have to be with you.” She ripped open her white collar shirt and revealed her ample breasts. She slid down her skirt and crawled across the desk to meet me, sitting in my lap.
I woke up sweaty, embarrassed, and hard from the fantasy.
Errol was brushing his teeth and spitting out the contents in the sink. I could smell the minty freshness of the toothpaste. Not many odors got away from my nose due to the coziness of the cell. I stretched my tight muscles and yawned.
“Hey, farmer. You better do what I’m doing. Aren’t you seeing that social worker soon?”
Dazed and confused from my slumber, I replied slowly. “Yeah. Ought to be. I don’t know what time, though. That prick Raymond wouldn’t tell me.”
“You better be up for shower time before she gets here. She doesn’t want to mix with a stinky farmhand,” Errol replied in amusement. He’d used some water and a little gel to slick back his hair and twirl the ends of his mustache. He was one of the stranger characters I’d met in the jail, but I was grateful I was in the cell with him and not some of these other freaks.
“Shut up. I’ll be ready,” I countered.
As soon as it was mentioned, Raymond’s click-clacking boots came down the corridor to our cell. “Colt. Shower time is now if you’re going to go. Be ready. Twenty minutes later, you have a meeting.”
His mustardy stained teeth made me flinch. Someone should have alerted him to his mouth hygiene. Raymond clicked the cell open and tapped his slick black baton as normal. A veiled threat. I eyed him closely and sloped away from him and out of the cell. My towel was hung over my shoulder as he walked behind me to the showers.
Every time I came to the showers, I cased the shower block, looking both ways like when crossing the road. In the shower was the time when prisoners got stabbed with homemade shanks designed to take one another out at their most vulnerable moments. My muscles were coiled like a cobra, ready to fight should I need to. Today, the showers were free, and no one was in them. I lathered up and let the hot water hit my skin. I opened my mouth and let the water trickle in. My bunched-up muscles relaxed a little but not much.
It took three minutes flat for me to wash from top to bottom and dress in the sandy brown uniforms of USP. I peered at myself in the mirror, clenching and unclenching my jaw at the small mirror sink. Pretty good for being in jail for close to five years. I decided to leave the light stubble on. Ladies liked a little two o‘clock shadow from what I knew. Amber’s sweet California smile made me suck in a breath as I thought about what type of man she might like.
“Hey, pretty boy. Are you keeping out of trouble?” I heard a teasing voice come from the left. I retracted my fingers to form a fist on each side. I turned to the voice, ready to take down whoever was speaking.