Xander turned and glanced at the table, then back toward the wall. “The one making those guards laugh over there near the doors.”
Julian spied the imposing man, taking note as he crept through the line to pick up a paper plate that held a burrito and a small mound of refried beans. Near the end of the line, he saw plastic cups filled with jello and others with wilted lettuce for a salad.
“When’s your next conjugal, Playboy?” one of the other inmates serving the food called out to Xander.
“Tomorrow,” Xander said.
“She thick?”
Xander shrugged, “Not obese, but a healthy female, well fed. Big ass, big tits. I haven’t been in the mood for skinny ones lately, nothing to grab onto if you know what I’m saying.”
“Yeah, I like ‘em thick too. My old lady’s holding out, though, punishing me because I didn’t respond to her emails quick enough when I got thrown in solitary for them three days. Hope she comes next week.”
Julian’s appetite waned. Conjugal visits. That couldn’t become the future for him and Mena. He wouldn’t put her through ferry rides to the prison for them to make love on a schedule dictated by the warden. Fuck. He didn’t even want her to step foot in this hellhole. She was too good for a place like this.
“What the fuck you doing? The hero up here dreaming, holding up the line.”
A hand slapped at the plate in Julian’s hand, sending the burrito skittering across the floor.
Julian clenched his fists, trying to stay calm. Mena’s voice flooded through his mind.
He forced his hand into my underwear and groped me …
A swift pivot and Julian was face to face with Zak Webber, his hand clenched around the bastard’s neck. A strained gurgle slipped from Zak’s lips.
“I know what you did to Mena and you will regret it,” Julian said, through gritted teeth.
Xander’s hand clamped down on Julian’s arm, wrestling it away from Zak’s neck. “Not a good move, hero.”
Zak’s eyes bulged from the sockets as he gave him a sinister grin. “Never knew a good finger stroke could make a bitch moan that good.”
“Montgomery! You starting trouble in your first hour here?” the prison guard asked, staring at Julian.
“No trouble, over here, sir,” Xander said with a grin as he yanked Julian away.
Julian vaguely noticed the plate with a fresh burrito being shoved into his hands by Xander. Walking backward out of the food line, he kept his eyes on Zak Webber.
Chapter Seventeen
Mena brought the Maserati SUV to a stop near the back of the parking lot of Mama Lisa’s Kitchen. She stared at the dilapidated building painted in the colors of the Palmchat Islands flag. A faded sign hung beside the door. The picture of a smiling elderly woman, likely Mama Lisa, next to a heaping plate of goat fritters, salad and a cup of goat stew greeted patrons.
Was this a good idea? Agreeing to meet Michael? Or was she just setting herself up for another one of his grand manipulations and more lies? Mena leaned her head back against the seat. A yawn escaped her lips. She was exhausted.
The last forty-eight hours had been the worst of her life. After the bail hearing, she’d kept her roaring emotions locked inside. Slipping past the crowds, Mena had made her way toward the back of the courthouse. She watched as the guards shackled Julian and forced him onto the prison bus. He hadn’t seen her, and she was glad. In that moment, she’d hit rock bottom. Fear and hopelessness wracked through her to the point that she almost screamed out loud. Why did this keep happening to them? Why couldn’t the world and fate and karma just allow them to be together in love and in peace? Around every corner was a different challenge, a new battle, another hurdle to overcome.
She was tired of fighting to be with the man she loved.
But in her heart, she knew she’d never give up.
Michael was another obstacle she and Julian had to face. Mena was in no mood to talk to the man who should be her ex-husband, but the alternative was even more daunting. She couldn’t face going back to the penthouse knowing that Julian wouldn’t be there. He wouldn’t be coming home for weeks, if not months.
Focusing on getting the divorce from Michael was better than worrying about the days she had ahead of her without Julian. She owed it to their relationship to find out if Michael truly had a change of heart.
Finalizing a divorce in St. Basil was as simple as them signing the documents in front of a registered Palmchat Islands notary and one of them submitting the papers to the courthouse. Within six hours of submission, the divorce would be certified and that would be the end of the disastrous Michael Marsh chapter in her life.
Pushing the thoughts away, Mena watched as Michael appeared. He was walking from the base of the mountains down the narrow street, heading toward the small restaurant. As he approached the entrance, Mena exited the car and slammed the door shut behind her. Michael turned to look toward the sound, a glimmer in his eyes as he saw her.
Mena choked down the bile rising in her throat and warned herself not to botch this meeting. She knew what Michael expected, but perhaps she could convince him by showing him a side of her that he hadn’t seen in years. Showing him the woman he’d fallen in love with. Anything to get him to agree to the divorce.
