AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I lean back in the chair, folding my hands across my stomach, not speaking for a long moment.
“Have you spoken to Mr. Jaxon about these allegations?” I ask. Warden Flynn doesn’t answer, but I can read something on her face that tells me she hasn’t. I sigh and shake my head. “If you’re worried about the two of us fucking, Warden, there’s none of that. Nick Jaxon is a good man, and he’s an outstanding officer. Whatever rumors are being spread about me, him, or the both of us are bullshit.” I roll my shoulders back and pop a kink out of my neck.
The warden doesn’t say anything, but she doesn’t argue with me, either.
“Look at my face,” I continue. “This is what they did to me, Warden, those precious women who have come to you with nasty rumors. You know as well as I do they will do anything to keep me down, and they don’t care how many people they destroy in the process.”
“Thank you for your honesty,” Warden Flynn says after a moment. “I will take your defense into account.”
“There is no defense, Warden, because there is no crime.” I get to my feet before she can stop me, then walk toward the door, stopping only once to look over my shoulder at her. “Besides, haven’t you heard the rest of the rumors? The one person in this prison I’m into doesn’t happen to have a penis.”
Jaxon doesn’t say much as he escorts me back to our unit, and I’m not even sure if he’s aware of the rumors floating around, but if he is, he doesn’t seem to care. It must be the norm here, backstabbing bitches who will do anything to get a leg up on power.
Right as I’m about to part ways with him at the cell block, Jaxon pulls me aside, out of range of hearing, and lowers his voice to speak.
“I called her,” he says. Something in my throat tightens, and for a brief second I can’t really breathe.
“Did she answer? Did you talk to her?”
“Yes and yes,” he says, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one is eavesdropping.
“What did you tell her?”
“I told her that there was some paperwork she had to fill out here at the prison regarding your sentence, since she’s your closest living relative.”
“Did she agree?”
“Yeah, I guess she did.” Jaxon blows out a breath of air between his teeth and rubs the back of his neck. “She’s taking a flight from France next week. Monday. She’ll be here for two days. But,” he hesitates, looking away. “She doesn’t want to see you. Or even speak to you.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.” I lean back against the brick wall and fold my arms, pondering this. If Julie won’t even see me, there goes Plan A. “Did she say where she’d be staying?”
“I asked her if she had lodging arrangements and she gave me the name of an AirBNB downtown. After a quick search, I found the name and the address.”
“Can I have it?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because you are going to get me fired,” snaps Jaxon, a muscle in his jaw twitching. “I should not have access to any of this information, and neither should you.”
“Then why are you helping me?” I fold my arms over my chest, scowling.
“Because,” Jaxon says fiercely, but then his tone quiets down again as he fights for composure. “Because I believe you’re innocent, Joey, and I want to see you get the justice you deserve.”
I don’t say anything, because I don’t know how to respond. I trust Jaxon more than I trust anyone else in this place, aside from Lace, but after my little chat with Warden Flynn, suddenly our relationship seems … dishonest.
“Is that really why you’re helping me, or is it because you want to fuck me?” I ask point-blank. Jaxon’s face falls, head swiveling each direction to make sure no one could have possibly heard that.
“Jesus Christ, Joey,” he snarls.
I shrug. “I had to ask.”
“No, I’m not helping you in exchange for sex, okay? I’m helping you because—”
“Because why?”
“Because you remind me of someone,” he finishes. “Someone close to me. Someone that I used to know.”
