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I found not only her, but my dogs, all lounging on the couch watching a movie.
She was currently balancing a glass of wine on her leg and staring at a book while she listened to the television in the background.
On the couch cushion beside her, she had a textbook opened up in front of her.
She was studying something but had taken a break.
My eyes roamed over her face, over her braless state, and then down to the panties she was wearing under one of my t-shirts.
God, she was beautiful.
And soon I could finally have what was mine.
Or, at least, I could pursue it.
We’d never discussed what would happen when I got out of prison, but over the last few years, I’d realized a few things rather quick.
One, I didn’t want to let her go.
Two, I didn’t think she would let go, either.
I just had to convince her to give us a chance before she let her logical brain get in the way.
Backing out of the feed the same way I got in, I covered all of my tracks on the computer, feeling happy as hell that I could let my brain do the things it most wanted to do again. At least, one of the things.
The other thing, my wife, would have to be done later.
If she would give me the chance.
Closing the final window and turning the computer back into ‘lock’ mode like it’d been when I arrived, I stood up.
Lynn glanced up at me, bored.
I looked down at his phone to see him already reading some of the information that I’d sent to his email.
“I narrowed your list of eight down to four,” I told him. “The other four, although basically good, have the potential for more complications than I think you’d want right now. I sent you everything I could find on all of them. Patrick Wheat, however, doesn’t really have a cyber footprint, so he’s hard to look into. You’ll want to follow up what I gave you with an in-person observation.”
Lynn stood up. “And did I check out?”
He knew that I’d look him up.
“As long as ‘Lynnwood Thatcher’ is your real name,” I said. “It was in the email that you gave me. Then again, based on the aliases that I was able to dig up using Lynnwood, chances are good that I only know half of the big picture.”
Lynn’s face flashed with a grin.
“I’m a man of many faces,” he admitted. “I’ve done a bit that I’m not proud of in my life, but ultimately, it’s all been for the greater good. I never do anything without a good reason. My moral compass is fine and working. Nothing that I do will ever blow back on y’all. I guarantee it.”
I knew that. That was why I’d done the research for him in the first place.
“Okay,” I said finally. “I’m trusting you.”
He nodded once. “After I have a chance to look through the information that you sent me, I’ll be back in touch.”
With that, he opened the door to the warden’s office and gestured toward the guard that was waiting outside, I assumed, for me.
“Thank you kindly, sir,” Lynn said to the guard. “We are through.”
The man nodded.
He was a big motherfucker and looked slightly familiar.
“You look familiar,” I admitted. “But I can’t remember why.”
“I was a professional football player,” he said. “Name’s Rome.”
He didn’t give me his last name, but he didn’t need to.
I knew as soon as he said the name ‘Rome’ who he was.
He’d played on my team, and I’d used him in a fantasy football league more times than I could count.
I grinned at him. “You won me a lot of money in my fantasy football league.”
Rome flashed a quick smile that was there and gone so fast that I had to wonder if I’d imagined it.
“Good to know,” he said as he jerked his chin at Lynn. “Have a good one.”
Lynn nodded at the two of us and disappeared down the hall out of sight, leaving me with the guard.
“You don’t happen to know anything about that guy, do you?” I asked.
I mean, I knew the man’s information online. Knew that he was an extremely wealthy guy, not married but dating a YouTube star/wildlife documentary enthusiast and had no record.
But I wasn’t one to blindly jump into situations with both feet. It’d saved my ass quite a few times over the years.
The one time that I had gone off the deep end and went out of character, I’d wound up in prison.
One that’d changed me and made me an even more cautious man.
So it wasn’t out of character that I’d ask around about him.
“I’ve met him a few times,” Rome replied. “I’m taking you to the infirmary, by the way. I was informed that you were sick.” I was beginning to argue when he continued talking. “The warden’s wife is in there today. She’s good people. You hurt her, and you die. And that’s not a threat, it’s a promise. Don’t make Lynn out to be a dumbass.”
