Page 3 of Shattered Pieces

“Zero,” she said seriously, leading me to the cafeteria.

Everyone was staring at me. Some straight up stopped their conversations, while others kept talking while studying me. Lexi and her girls were ahead of us in line, grabbing their trays and wandering over to the empty table in the corner, and I was grateful when Jamie stayed with me as I sat at another table away from them.

The food looked good and I was starving, so I dug in.

A hand reached out to grab the toast off my tray, and I smacked it away.

“Hey. Newbie tax,” the person bit out, and I glanced up to find a woman beside me looking irritated. Definitely a junkie, she was twitching and grinding her jaw, her skin ruined with scabs.

“What ever happened to hello?” I deadpanned, her face twisting in a scowl.

“You think you’re funny?”

“No, I’m hungry. If you lost your toast, that’s on you,” I answered, hearing Jamie sigh, but she didn’t say anything.

“Grovers!” a guard barked, walking in our direction. “You’ve eaten, so go.”

“Just welcoming Donovan into the fold,” she grinned, showing off her rotten teeth. “Right, Donovan?”

“Absolutely. Thanks for the warm welcome,” I muttered, eating my toast while staring at her.

She growled and stalked off, and Jamie caught my eye.

“That’s Tina Grovers. She thinks she’s a big name in here, but she’s not. She got her ass beat last month by Kat for running her mouth. She hasn’t been happy since Bryant showed up either. You’ll get more shit from her, she’s like a rabid dog.”

“Fantastic,” I replied dryly, finishing my food without another issue.

I had no idea how people stayed locked up for years, let alone their whole lives. I was bored as hell and it was only day one. I kept reaching for my phone, forgetting I didn’t have it on me, and I deflated a little at not being able to call one of the guys.

All I knew was Hunter had gotten Josie to contact a criminal lawyer and that was it. I couldn’t speak to anyone other than the lawyer, who turned out to be Jensen’s dad’s business partner and Lukas’ mom’s boyfriend, Kirk Jennings.

Bet Karen loved that.

Who the fuck was the witness? No one else had been there.

I really needed to speak to Skeeter, he’d probably know from inside intel. It was going to be a long week until I could call him to set up visitation.

Jamie didn’t hang out with me for the afternoon, but she joined me again for dinner. It was nice not sitting alone, a little less intimidating. I just needed to make some friends until Josie got me out of this mess and I’d be fine.

“Hey,” someone called out as Jamie and I made our way back to our cell block, and I glanced at Jamie, who gave me a nod to let me know this person was fine.

I looked on my other side, finding a brunette woman with hazel eyes beside me. She looked to be my age, and seemed way too sweet to be in here, but even the nicest people could snap and be murderers.

“Hey,” I said carefully, earning a bright smile.

“Donovan, right? I’m Matilda Garwood, but everyone calls me Tilly. You know my friend, Zeena.”

I had no idea how this nice girl was friends with that fighting machine, but I relaxed a little and nodded.

“Yeah, I do.”

“We grew up together. She’s talked about you on the phone before. All good things, I promise,” she chuckled, walking with us towards our block. “Just wanted to introduce myself. You can always sit with me in the cafeteria. Friends are kind of important in here.”

“I’ve noticed,” I grimaced, looking over at Jamie. “It’s safe to sleep, right?”

“Depends if you piss anyone off,” she replied with a shrug.

“Is Lexi likely to strangle me in my sleep?” I joked, but also kind of serious though.