AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jerking my head back, I let out a stifled laugh. “You remembered my birthday?”
Selene flicks her leg out a little too dramatically, making all the guys stare at her crotch, then she stands, swaying her hips as she turns to face me. “Oh, honey, I remembereverythingabout you.”
I understand the undertone in her words. She’s pissed that I left her in jail to rot and let her take the fall for something I did. She could have told the guards at any time it was me who stabbed the other inmate. But she didn’t. And now—I owe her. I know that!
I turn to Tomás and tilt my head to the side. “Time for y’all to get back to work. I think you’ve had a long enough break,” I say a little sterner so they know I’m not fucking about.
The guys nod and smile at Selene, then slowly wander back to their positions around The Plantation.
I turn to Selene and fold my arms over my chest. “Somehow, I get the feeling you’re not here to wish me happy birthday.”
Selene softens her glare to something more sympathetic. “But I brought you this cake and everything… shouldn’t you be celebrating your birth with your friends, Maxxy?”
Scrunching up my face in confusion, I sigh. “Are we friends?”
Selene lets out a small laugh and steps right up in front of me. She’s taller than me, so I have to look up at her as she stares me down. Her eyes glare at me so intimidatingly that it sends that familiar shudder through my body I always used to feel in prison, right before Selene did something very, very stupid, which normally resulted in one of us getting thrown into solitary.
“Friends don’t stab people in the back. They stab you in the front so you can see it coming. So you can be prepared for when your world falls down around you. Friends make thebestenemies.And me, I’m thebestfriend you’ve got, ladybug.” My heart races, hearing her threat loud and clear as she leans in, gently placing a tender kiss on my cheek. I swallow hard as she pulls back, a bright smirk on her face as she dips her finger into my cake, swiping off some of the chocolate frosting, then puts it into her mouth, moaning in her delight. “Mm… this is gonna be delicious,” she snides, then saunters out of the warehouse, leaving me reeling.
I release a breath I didn’t know I was holding as I grab hold of the bench beside me for support. My breath comes out stuttered as I take a second to think about what she’s just said.
Friends come at you head-on—she’s clearly coming for me.
I just have no idea how or when it will be.
What I do know is I will need to watch my back, or I’m going to end up with a knife embedded between my shoulder blades.
Shaking out my arms to release the tension, I pick up her cake, walk it over to the trash, and throw it inside. Knowing Selene, there will be nails, razor blades, or something equally lethal.
Swiping my hands together, I spin, making my way to my office, feeling slightly more rattled than I want to be. I shouldn’t let Selene get to me. Normally, I’m this strong, independent woman who takes no shit from anyone, yet this one woman has the power to rock me to my very core.
I think it’s because of the guilt.
She helped me.
She got me through my worst days.
I fucked her over.
But I also know her. Inside, I was her righthand woman. We did things. I saw things. Jail hardens you, but I think the people you’re surrounded by don’t make it any easier to straighten your shit out. Maybe that’s why falling back into the club was so easy when I got out. Hurricane and his family were a safe place. I knew what they were into, and now I am living that life too, so it seemed like the right progression for me to be surrounded by people I not only knew but trusted while doing the thing I know best of all.
Breaking every law I can think of because that is who I am now.
And I can thank Selene for all of it.
My birthday has never been one filled with fanfare. I always play it down. Not even ‘N’ knows the date because I didn’t want him to make a fuss over me. It’s never seemed like something to celebrate. My parents certainly never observed it when I was growing up. If I think about it, I don’t think I have ever even had a party. To me, birthdays are a very real reminder of something I never had the pleasure of celebrating. They depress me, so I try my hardest not to think about the day.
For me… it’s just another day.
As I make my way to my computer, I loudly huff and sit. Glancing at my top drawer, I slide it open, grab my Twizzlers, and munch on one, immediately thinking of ‘N’ and how he would be laughing at me for stress eating right now. If anyone would understand what I’m going through, it’s him.
He’s been through the prison system.
He knows what seeing your cellmate would be like.
Maybe I can confide in him about this?
So I turn to my computer and begin to type.
