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“Ronnie certainly didn’t give me a choice the other day,” I mutter, gritting my teeth so hard that my jaw aches.
“That’s different than this.” Lace lowers her voice as a guard passes us in the hallways, eyes narrowing. It’s that snide bitch Mia Armstrong. I hardly know her, but I don’t have to. Something about her gives me the creeps.
“Back to the work unit, ladies,” she snaps. “Don’t let me see you out here again.” As soon as she’s vanished down the hallway, Lace lowers her voice even more before turning to me.
“A lot of the women in here use,” she whispers, clearing her throat. “Lulu gets it for them, and whatever profit she earns, Ronnie gets half.”
“So it’s all about the money.” I close my eyes and rest my head against the cool brick wall. Lace doesn’t say anything, but the pained expression on her face tells me all I need to know.
“It’s a dangerous game,” she says after a moment. “People die in here because of those drugs.”
“Why doesn’t Ronnie do anything about it? Isn’t she the Boss? Isn’t she supposed to protect the women?”
“Prison politics,” says Lace. “If Ronnie refuses the drugs, a lot of the women will rebel against her. They want their fix. If she can make sure that happens, she’s secure in her position.”
Before we can say anything more, Ms. Armstrong comes again around the opposite corner. She opens her mouth to scold us, but Lace grabs my hand and pulls me back into the kitchen, shutting the door behind us. Lulu and Tris are somewhere in the walk-in deep freezer, but they come out when they hear us, then head for the door, unspeaking, merely staring us down with cold, hateful eyes.
“Thanks, ladies!” Lace calls, a hint of sarcasm in her tone. “It’s been a displeasure doing business with you.
As I head toward the bowl of cookie dough, the door opens again with a click and Mr. Jaxon pokes his head in, eyes landing on me.
“Taylor, you have a visitor.”
Lace and I exchange a look, and I frown.
“Who is it?”
“Dunno,” Jaxon says. “But they’re ready for you.”
“See ya on the flip side.” Lace takes the spoon from my hand and smiles. “I’ll take over.”
Wordlessly, I follow Jaxon out of the kitchen and down the hallway to the visitor’s center, heart racing. I don’t like to be caught off guard. Surprised. I like to know what I’m walking into.
“Who is it?” I ask Jaxon as we reach the visitor center door. He scans his card over the slot and the door beeps, unlocking. Instead of answering, he steps to the side so I can pass by him. I step into the room and look around, Jaxon a few feet behind me. In the middle of the room at a round table, a young woman sees me and gets to her feet, waving.
“Hey, sis.”
“Oh, God, I’ve missed you.” I embrace my sister, holding Julie as tightly as I can before a different guard forces us to release each other. We sit down at each end of the round table, and I scan my sister’s familiar face. She looks good, at least physically. But there’s something in her expression that sets me on edge. I just don’t know what it is. “Why haven’t you answered the phone?”
“I’ve missed you too, Joe,” she says, ignoring the second question. The bruises on her face are barely visible, but for someone who knows that they were just there, it’s impossible not to see the evidence of a bad beating. Julie looks down at her hands, folding them together on top of the table. She’s holding back. There’s something she’s not telling me.
“Jules?” I say, and my sister finally looks up at me.
“I have news,” she says. “About Ray.”
Fear sizzles in my throat.
I know what’s coming next, and there’s no way to avoid it. “What?” I say.
Julie shakes her head and sighs, unable to look at me. She looks at the wall instead. “He’s gone.”
The words are almost expected, but they hit me like a ton of bricks anyway. For a moment I can’t breathe, or think, and I think I might have a panic attack. “Fuck,” I say.
“Tell me about it.” Julie shakes her head and sighs. She looks at me briefly, but it seems like she can’t hold my gaze for long.
“Do you know what this means for me?” I ask her.
My sister nods, but she still can’t hold my eyes. “I’m sorry, Joey.”
