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“What do you need?”
“I need you to find my sister.”
“And how am I supposed to do that?”
“I don’t know. You’re kind of a cop. Put it to use.”
“I have no way of finding Julie.” Jaxon folds his arms and stares down at me. “And I’m not a cop. Not anymore.”
I don’t say anything to this, but I don’t move, either. My entire body hurts. From the splitting pain in my head to the ache in my abdomen, to the fat lip and the open slice on my forehead. I hurt. But I can’t stop, not now. Not ever. Not until I figure this out.
“Mr. Jaxon.” My voice comes out quiet, meek. I clear my throat and try to sit up straighter, but my bruised and beaten back screams, shooting slivers of pain to my brain. I’ve never begged for anything in my life; at least, not aloud. Jaxon seems to sense my hesitation, because he looks me in the eye, giving me the attention I’ve demanded. “My sister is missing,” I continue, taking a deep breath. “She saw me once and now she’s missing. I can’t find her, can’t get a hold of her, and she’s the only person on this planet right now who knows I’m innocent. I need her, Mr. Jaxon. I need her here.”
“Joey…” Jaxon sighs, looking away. His lips are pursed and his arms stay folded across his chest, but the stiff demeanor has seemed to melt away, just a little bit. He is quiet for a moment and I’m certain he’s going to refuse once more. Finally, he shakes his head and blows air between his lips. “I can’t promise anything,” he says, rubbing a hand over his face in frustration. “But I can talk to some old buddies at the station and see if they can get a location on her, okay? A welfare check.”
“That’s all I need.” I’m giddy with excitement and relief, but I try to keep my composure. “Thank you, Mr. Jaxon. Thank you so much.”
He begins to say something but then stops abruptly as the door beeps once more and Warden Flynn comes in, her cool eyes on me.
“Warden,” Jaxon says, but she ignores him, making her way to the side of my bed.
“Who was it?” she asks, standing like a Greek statue next to me. Her hands are folded in front of her, tense, and her nostrils flare angrily. She’s trying to stay composed, but she’s doing a shitty job of it.
“I fell,” I say. “In the shower.”
The warden looks down at her hands, pondering something, then she looks back up and clears her throat. “Ms. Taylor, we can’t help you if you don’t tell us.”
“No one said I needed your help,” I mutter, pain tugging at my swollen cheeks and lips.
“If you tell us, we can put you into protection,” Flynn says, lowering her voice a few decibels. I smirk at her, pushing through the pain.
“You of all people should know that’s not how it works here, Warden.”
Flynn drops her chin, lips pursed, but she continues to stare at me. Then, her voice lowers even more.
“With your help, Josephine, we can change things here. But I need you to be on my side.”
“Your side?” I click my tongue and scoff. “Being on your side is a death sentence, Warden. Thanks, but I’m not interested.”
Warden Flynn drops my gaze and looks over her shoulder at Jaxon, who is standing there awkwardly, unspeaking.
“Keep Ms. Taylor on bedrest until she decides she’s ready to tell us who’s responsible,” she says to him. Then she turns back to me. “And no visitors.”
“Ah,” I say. “Now it’s starting to feel like prison.”
Chapter Fifteen
True to her word,Warden Flynn keeps me on bed rest in medical for the next week. The only visitor I get is Lace, because Jaxon feels badly enough to sneak her in when the warden isn’t around. The bruises are healing, the swelling throughout my body is going down, and I think I might just be able to walk again at the end of this.
“Camilla and Sabine have been asking about you,” Lace says one evening, sitting in the chair next to my bed, a book from the library between her hands. “We all miss you.”
“I’m sure Ronnie and Lulu are ecstatic that I’ve been sentenced to medical,” I tease. “Not that I could be much of a threat now.”
“I don’t say much to Ronnie,” Lace says with a shrug. “A lot of the women are avoiding her at all cost.”
“Why? Didn’t they want this?”
“Not all of them, Joey. Many of us feel that what she had Bull do was wrong, especially since no one even knew if it really was you. She had it done out of spite, and that’s not the way to be the Boss.”
