Chapter 4 Crypt
THREE YEARS EARLIER—
My sister wasn’t coming. I sat back in my seat, noticing the time as I glanced at the monstrous black clock on the wall. She never came late. If Michelle could make it, she always arrived on time.
Well, shit. No visit for me today.
I nearly gestured to the guard to take me back to gen pop when I spotted someone new entering the room—a woman in a pretty floral dress, a dainty sweater, and boots.
The boots were what snagged my attention because they stood out, not quite matching the outfit, but proving she was a lot less fragile than she looked. Something about them felt rebellious.
My gaze slowly slid up her body, over her bare tan legs, to the hem of the dress, rising higher over her slender waist and full breasts before lingering on the column of her throat, taking a few seconds longer to finally survey her delicate features.
She was fucking gorgeous. Pretty brown eyes, high cheekbones, full lips, and a killer smile that she directed at the man who stood to greet her.
Fuck. Hannibal stood to greet her. Judging by his smile, he was thrilled she came to visit. That made me curious. A minute later, I realized this beautiful young woman was his daughter.
I listened to their conversation, not intending to eavesdrop, but there wasn’t much privacy in the visiting room.
It was intentionally created so that every word nearly echoed, especially when it was quiet.
Like today. It was odd to notice so few visitors, but some days were like this.
It was the middle of the week, too—a boring Wednesday.
Thank you, Michelle, for getting me out of my cell today.
I wouldn’t have seen the blonde beauty otherwise.
And she was a fucking wet dream with her soft curves and long hair.
She pulled some of it away from her face, letting the strands flutter around her in a white-blonde cascade.
I had never seen a woman so captivating or fuckable, especially as she laughed over something Hannibal said.
That smile. Those lips.
Fuck me. I needed to meet her.
No, not just meet her. I wanted to know her name because I planned to talk to her before she left.
Her daddy might object, but he could deal with it.
I respected the old guy, but he wasn’t gonna be in here long.
He had too many connections, and guards as well as inmates watched his back.
As a member of the Graven Bastards MC, he was off-limits.
I had a feeling he could hold his own even if the club wasn’t providing protection.
Though I suspected no man in Ely State was stupid enough to try their luck with Hannibal.
Most of us had heard about the GBMC, and the rumors held enough sway to add a healthy dose of respect, if not outright fear.
I couldn’t help but observe the interaction between father and daughter, and how she brought him a homemade birthday cake, sharing it with him as if they weren’t in the middle of a medium-security prison visitation area. Guards stood around us, and more than one openly stared at the girl.
It was Phil who caught my attention. I heard stories about that cocksucker. The guy was a fucking pig. He forced himself on women and tried to extort sexual acts as favors to take care of loved ones inside the prison. He was a piece of shit. If I ever saw him on the outside, I’d teach him a lesson.
Guaranteed. Men like that didn’t deserve the cushy life they led. One day, I’d make sure justice was served.
That was two assholes on my revenge list. Trey Burrows. Ely guard Phil.
“Something is going down in gen pop,” one of the guards whispered to Phil. “I’m gonna check it out.”
He wasn’t as quiet as he should have been.
I heard the scuffle on the other side of the door at the same time as Hannibal. He never acknowledged or looked my way before now, but I knew he was aware of my presence, the same as everyone else in the room.
We never had much interaction. I kept my head down, worked hard, and kept my mouth shut.
It earned me some respect inside as well as my loyalty to those I friended.
I didn’t squeal on shit. It wasn’t my place.
I suspected Hannibal knew about me and didn’t consider me a threat or anyone to handle. That was good.
When I heard shouting, I popped to my feet, instantly on alert. It wasn’t safe here. The girl needed to leave.
“Get out of here, Rachel. Go! Now!”
Her name is Rachel.
She rose to her feet and looked a bit unsteady. It wasn’t the time to debate her father’s words. The yelling and chaos had grown louder. . . and closer. The situation had escalated fast. I heard the crowd pushing through one of the doors and then gunfire.
Fuck!
“Rachel, run!”
The words had barely left Hannibal’s mouth when I saw a bullet slam into his right shoulder and knock him backward. He hit the wall with a thud, knocked out by the force of the hit.
Rachel wasn’t moving. She stood, shaking, petrified with shock. Bullets whizzed by her, and I knew she was going to be injured if I didn’t do something. I made the choice so fast it didn’t register in my brain until I had already knocked her to the ground.
I tried to cradle her head during the fall, slamming my wrist into the concrete floor with a curse. My body covered hers, trying to shield her from the gunfire and chaos.
Her wild eyes couldn’t seem to focus as she stiffened beneath me. She was so fucking scared. I didn’t blame her, but I also wouldn’t allow anything to happen to her.
“Hey, darlin’, no worries. I’ve got you.”
No sooner had I said the words than her eyes locked with mine.
I swear only a single heartbeat passed between us before something bit into my right abdomen.
Pain seared my brain as I sucked in a breath, worried Rachel would also be shot.
I tried not to move as I felt hot blood oozing from the wound.
Fuck! I was hit, and the bullet hadn’t exited my back, which meant it was lodged inside me, probably causing further damage. I groaned as Rachel pressed her hand against my side. It fucking hurt like a bitch as she applied pressure to the wound.
“You’re hurt.”
“I’ll be okay,” I lied, gritting my teeth.
Holy fuck. I had to bite down on my lip to avoid yelling from the pain. I tasted the coppery tang of blood as I swallowed, hoping I remained conscious. I couldn’t protect Rachel from the inmates if I passed out.
She would never survive what they would do to her.
Men in prison were fucking animals. Sometimes, you could meet a guy who wasn’t one, but most became beasts, resorting to base levels of survival. It wore away at our sanity, and only the strong resisted the urges that followed.
“You’re not okay. You’re bleeding all over my dress,” Rachel hissed.
Well, shit.
Men were fighting by the doors, and I noticed two of the guards on the ground. Neither moved. One was fucking Phil.
The inmates were almost inside the visiting room. Only another two guards prevented them from rushing us and heading outside. I wasn’t sure how all the security measures up to this point failed, but there was a fucking riot at Ely State right now.
I spotted a gun not too far from our position. It must belong to one of the guards. “Hey, sweetheart, I need you to stay put for a minute. I’ll be right back.”
“What?”
“Stay low. Don’t draw attention to yourself. Okay?”
She nodded. Fear seized her features as I began to move off of her and toward the gun.
Her hand found mine and snatched it. “Are you coming back?”
“Yeah.” I stared into her eyes to show her I meant to keep this promise.
She must have believed me because she released my fingers and remained flat, shaking as I slid away from her and began to inch my way toward the gun.
It was fucking agony. It felt like someone had shoved a red-hot poker into my side and decided to twist it around the flesh, both burning and scraping at the same time.
Blood smeared the floor as I moved as quickly as possible, trying to stay conscious and not pass out. I slid my palm around the gun as two inmates pushed through the guards. The first one ran straight for the exit. I didn’t care about him.
The second man found Rachel. He sneered at her on the ground, skirt shoved way too high up her legs, exposing her panties. She probably never thought to tug it back down after I tackled her. He took three steps in her direction before I fired and hit him in the back of the head.
He wasn’t the only one to run toward her.
I fired three more shots, taking out every threat before it reached her. They were the last shots fired in the room.
More guards rushed inside as the only one who survived the riot leaned against the wall a few feet from where I rested.
“Dad!” Rachel shouted as she slid on the slippery, bloody floor and rushed to Hannibal’s side.
His eyes blinked and slowly opened, pinning her with a frown. “Shit. Baby girl, you okay?”
“I think so.” She pointed at me. “He saved me.” I heard her voice quiver. “He took a bullet for me.”
Hannibal appeared surprised.
Blood was still dripping from my wound as I pressed my hand against my side. I slid the gun away from me when a couple of the new guards pointed their weapons at my chest. “Don’t worry. I only shot other inmates,” I joked.
“He’s telling the truth,” the bloodied guard announced, gesturing to where I leaned against the wall. “Protected us all from the few inmates that escaped. Kept the girl from being attacked.” He groaned as he pushed against a wound on his upper thigh. “Call a fucking ambulance.”
“Already done,” one of the new guards replied.
I was fading in and out, fighting to remain conscious. I could feel my body growing colder. Somehow, I managed to move closer to Rachel. She rested on her knees between her father and me, trying to apply pressure to her Hannibal’s wound and help me at the same time. It wasn’t working.
“I’ll be okay,” Hannibal assured her.
Rachel shook her head. “You’re both shot.”
“I’ll live,” I managed to say with a slight slur.
She looked panicked when she heard me. “Hey, what’s your name?”
“Crypt.”
She frowned. “Crypt? Is that a nickname?”
“Road name,” I answered with a grunt.
“You’re a biker.” She glanced between Hannibal and me. “It doesn’t seem like a good life choice.”
“To be fair,” I rasped as my head fell back against the wall, “We weren’t shot because of our clubs.”
Hannibal snorted.
“But you’re in prison because of it.”
“Uh, no. Sorry, darlin’, not true. I just beat the motherfucker who raped my sister.”
She gasped.
“And I took care of the motherfucker who hurt a single mom and her daughter,” Hannibal added.
Rachel didn’t know how to reply to either of those revelations. Tears filled her eyes, shimmered for a few seconds, and then spilled over as her chin wobbled. “You shouldn’t be in here. Either of you.”
Hannibal sighed.
“Not according to the law,” I contradicted. “We’re outlaws.”
She ingested that information but didn’t comment on it.
“Where is that ambulance?” Rachel asked as guards rushed around the room, securing the prison. She sounded pissed.
“Hey, it’s okay,” I assured her. “We’ll be fine.”
“I don’t think you will.” She sniffled, swiping underneath her nose. A tiny smear of blood marred her flawless skin.
Even crying, she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. Up close, I could see we were about the same age. She was probably a few years younger than me, but not too many. Not enough to make any difference.
“Don’t shed a tear for me, Brown Eyes.”
“Crypt. Hey!”
She said more words, but they became a garbled mess in my brain. My vision tunneled. I was losing too much blood. I didn’t know if I was going to die, and it made me do something risky and reckless.
I felt for Rachel’s hand, and I tugged her toward me, smiling when she fell against my chest.
“What are you doing?”
I didn’t reply. My hands rose and felt for her face and brought her toward me, searing my lips to hers.
Fucking heaven.
If I died right now, I’d be a happy man.