Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 85183 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85183 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
"Look, Tor," his tone has gone serious, dominant, typical Jude. "I had to fucking do it. You need to move on."
I pause for a moment, absorbing the words that I know are right. "I can't," I whisper.
"You have no choice but to, Tor," he breathes. "Why in the hell are you with Marney anyway?"
I lean forward, resting my elbows on the counter. "My sister... it became difficult. She thinks... she thinks I should put the baby up for adoption."
There's silence. I can imagine his jaw is ticking at this very moment. "Fucking hell no!" he growls.
"This is what you don't understand, Jude. You tell me to move on, but to what? So your daughter can grow up in a family who thinks her father is a rapist, and her mother is crazy? I can't do this. Marney... Marney is all I have."
I hear muffled voices in the background. "Shit, I have to go. You did what you needed to do. I'm proud of you, doll."
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to commit his voice to memory. "I love you," I whisper through my tightening throat.
"Fuck, Tor..." he trails off, and my heart drops to my stomach. "You know I fucking love you, don't ever question that." And the line cuts off.
I clench the phone in my hand. He's right, I should move on, I should let him go, because this right here, hurts so much. Marney's hand squeezes my shoulder. "It'll be okay, sweetheart," Marney tries to assure me, and I really want to believe him.
I've been in here for months, long enough to have a plan to get the fuck out of here.
I can feel the shank cutting into my ankle with each careful step. I set my trey down and slide onto the end of the bench. My pulse is drumming. I glance around the room and locate the guards. I'm in the middle of the room; they're stationed on the edges. I need to make sure there's enough time to do some damage. I twist the top from my bottle of water and take a drink. The cold water runs down my throat.
Dante sits down across from me. I've never spoken to him, hell, I've only been out of confinement for two damn days. All I know is that he is in for rape, and that's enough for me... for Tor. I take a forkful of the mashed potatoes and glare at him. His gaze drifts up from his plate and his brow quirks up. I keep staring.
He wipes food from his mouth. "Fucking problem?" he asks.
I laugh as I lean down and pretend to scratch my ankle as I slowly pull the shank from my shoe. When I straighten up, I say, "Oh, I've got all kinds of problems.”
His head tilts to the side. "Fucking stupid one of them?"
"Nope."
I can feel the tension around us growing. The other inmates are intently watching as they continue to shovel food into their mouths.
I slowly stand up. "The biggest problem I have is pricks like you. Fucking so low you have to rape a woman just to bust a fucking nut. Ugly ass motherfucker."
Dante jumps from his seat and launches at me. I grab him by the shoulder. Damn. He's big. I push him back before I throw a hard punch underneath his chin. His head jerks back, then I slam my fist across his temple. He stumbles backwards, stunned. Everyone around us is shouting. Some inmates jump up onto the table and yell at the guards. I have four seconds, best.
I shove Dante to the floor and jab the shank into his neck. Blood spurts from the gash in his jugular, spraying all over me in the process. Hands grab my shoulder, my arms... and someone throws me to the floor. The shrill prison alarm blares over the speakers. I look up at the swarm of people surrounding me.
"Aw, shit!" an officer groans. "Get the fucking medics."
I feel a kick in my ribs.
"What the fuck, Pearson? Two days outta confinement. Goddamn..."
A smile tears at the corner of my lips, and I quietly say, "Next time it'll be one of the guards."
"Next..." I see the officer lean over me, glaring. "Next time? Oh, no you piece of shit. You won't be in this prison for a next time."
My grin deepens. This is exactly what I wanted.
Later that afternoon I'm crammed into a transportation vehicle, handcuffed. The door to the van slams shut, and I settle back, thoroughly pleased with myself. There're only two other inmates. Two cops. I inhale and watch as we approach the gates. It's been five months since I was driven through those damn gates. Five fucking months since I've been free, since I've held Tor... I can only imagine what she looks like with a huge stomach right about now.