Chapter Three
Jordy
Three weeks later…
“G ive me another week,” Samantha says, smiling at me. “We have this in the bag.”
I nod at my new attorney. “Thanks.”
She stacks her papers in a neat pile and looks over at me beneath her dark lashes. “You don’t belong here, Jordy, and I’m doing everything in my power to get you out of here.” She tosses her blond hair off her shoulder and leans forward, giving me a prime view of her cleavage in her low-cut blouse. “And when you do get out, come see me so we can properly celebrate.”
Samantha is hot—tall, blond, big tits—but not my type.
“Sure,” I grunt out, knowing full well that’s not going to happen. “Are we done?”
“For now. I’ll keep you posted.”
As soon as she’s gone and I’m led out of the office, I find my way to the kitchen where I’m on duty. Cooking for convicts isn’t as fun as cooking at home, but it’s better than cleaning toilets.
“Look at you, One-Up. Is that fuckin’ hope I see in those eyes?” a deep voice growls.
I sweep my stare over one of the biggest assholes in the pen. Thank fuck he’s my friend.
“Samantha thinks she can get me off soon.”
He lets out a low rumble of a laugh that reminds me all too much of my best friend. “I bet she can get you off. That bitch is thirsty as fuck. You don’t want a piece, tell her to represent me. I’ll let her get me off all damn day.” He makes a crude gesture of jerking himself off.
“Fuckin’ loser,” I toss out at him. “The game’s changed since you went in, old man.”
“You’re a goddamn fetus, boy,” he grunts. “What the fuck do you know about dating?”
“More than you.” I shrug.
“That lawyer bitch of yours would eat out of my hand,” he boasts, squaring his shoulders at me. “Send her my way.”
He’s probably not wrong. Jace Hirsch is taller than me and could beat my ass in a second if he wanted to because he’s beefed to the max from all the lifting he does. With the whole tatted up, mean convict vibe he has going on, I’m sure Samantha would love to fuck the fire right out of him.
“Keep dreaming, old man. The only action you’re gonna get is with your hand.”
“Disrespectful little shit,” he grumbles. “Well, if you do bang the blond bitch, write me and let me know how it was.”
“I’m not writing you a porn letter.”
He laughs. “Why the fuck not?”
“Because it’s fucking weird, man.”
“Did you see my boy?” he asks, sobering up.
Fuck.
I always hate broaching the subject of his kids. Roan won’t let Roux see her dad, and Roan refuses to visit him. Since Roan and I’ve reopened communication, he’s visited weekly, and each time brushed off my suggestions for him to see Jace.
“Yeah, I saw him earlier.”
He straightens. “How’s he doing? Still a fireman?”
“Same as last week.”
“I always knew he’d do something fuckin’ heroic. That’s my boy.” He grins and slaps me in the arm hard. “How’s Roux?” I bristle in irritation at his question. “Still friends with baby Wheelhouse?”
“She told Roan she’s not, but they’re still always together. It’s a touchy subject between them.” I crack my neck. “He needs to man up and force her to cut ties.”
This is something Jace and I agree on wholeheartedly. Rex Wheelhouse’s shit crew keeps popping up at OSP. The newest one, Deke, was a wealth of information. Information Jace had to beat the fuck out of him in the showers in order to get.
Rex still chops cars and my brother Juno is practically his business partner where that’s concerned. But it’s not just the cars. Rex runs drugs all over Horn River. His hands dip into all sorts of dirty pots.
Roux needs to stay far the fuck away from him.
“She sent me a card,” Jace says. “Wrote me a poem.”
The big, mean ass motherfucker’s jaw clenches like he’s holding back emotion. “She’s just a little girl, but her words are big, man. They fuck with my head.” He scrubs at his face in frustration. “I did wrong by those kids.”
I nod because we both know it’s true. But I don’t have much room to talk. I fucked them over too. We’ve got that in common.
“Roux’s a good kid. I miss them.”
“You’re gonna get out of here real soon, Jordy, and then it’s up to you to keep looking after them.” His words are part plea, part threat. “I’m counting on you.”
He slaps me on the shoulder and then saunters off to his crew. I head for the kitchen to check in before José hands me my ass. Before I make it there, Deke and two other guys appear in the doorway. Deke’s face is bruised and swollen thanks to Jace.
Fuck.
“You’re Juno’s brother?” Deke asks, his fat lip curled up, eyeing me up like I’m a piece of shit.
“Yep.”
He cracks his neck. “Lucky asshole.”
I shrug, waiting for him to get to the fucking point.
“Word is you’re getting outta here.” His brow lifts in question. “That true?”
“Not that it’s any of your goddamn business, but yeah.”
He runs his tongue over his teeth, his dark eyes glinting. “Juno asked me to give you a message.”
I brace myself. My brother is a sadistic fucker. I have the scars to prove it. If Deke thinks he’s going to kick my ass, he’s wildly mistaken. Cracking my knuckles, I never take my eyes off this dickhead.
“My boy said for you to come see him. He’s gonna take care of you.”
Fuck that.
“Is that all?” I grunt out.
His grin turns wolfish. “He said you’d probably give me shit about it and if you did, to tell you that you don’t have a fuckin’ choice.”
“Yeah, man. Got your message loud and clear.”
“I told her to suck my dick,” Trey says, laughing. “And this bitch squats down in front of my desk like she’s gonna fucking do it.”
“Did she suck it?” Roan asks.
“Fuck no because Miss Sanchez is a cockblocker. Eleanor lied and told her she dropped her pencil when Miss Sanchez asked her what she was doing.” He shakes his head. “I would’ve let her too. Who the hell turns down getting their dick sucked?”
Roan laughs because that fucker never says no to head. I’ve walked in on Sidney blowing him more times than I care to. For only being sixteen, he gets more head than most grown-ass men. The dude has game, that’s for sure.
“You know who I want to suck my dick?” Cal asks from his lawn chair, sprawled out on it like he’s the king of the damn public pool.
“Ms. Frazier?” I laugh when he throws his flip-flop at me.
“No, but not gonna lie,” Cal says with a wicked smirk, “I’d be into it.”
We all groan because just thinking about our principal on her knees sucking dick is enough to give me nightmares.
“Nah, I was thinking that girl in art class with the big fuckin’ attitude,” Cal says. “Moaning Lisa.”
We all chuckle.
“No one wants to see you get a boner over this shit, man,” Trey gripes and dumps his Coke into Cal’s lap, snorting with laughter.
Cal jumps to his feet and sways, drunk from whatever liquor he managed to smuggle into the pool. He’s pissed, fisting his hands like he’s going to level Trey’s ass.
“She doesn’t want your pencil dick,” Trey says, backing away.
“I don’t have a pencil dick and you know it.”
“No one wants to hear about your threesomes,” I groan.
“Do you do each other?” Roan asks, taunting them. “Who tops? I think Trey looks like he tops.”
Cal starts bitching out Roan now, but my eyes are on the gate. Roan’s twelve-year-old sister, Roux, has just been dropped off by Ms. Frazier and is walking toward us, her backpack slung over her shoulder. Roux’s a cool kid. Her home life is shit, but she has us and we look after her. Sometimes, she looks so fucking sad, though. It kills me. I know it kills Roan too.
Today, she’s frowning and her shoulders are hunched. Something’s wrong. If her idiot brother wasn’t in a shoving match with Cal’s drunk ass, he’d notice. I rise, ready to yank apart these idiots, when Cal storms past Roan right toward Roux.
She looks up, realizes his intent, and darts her amber eyes my way. It happens in slow motion. Cal grabbing her arm and dragging her toward the deep end of the pool. I fucking leap over several loungers, dead set on killing his ass for touching her. I’m almost there when he shoves her into the water.
“What the hell?” I snarl as Roan whizzes past me to jump into the water.
Cal flashes me his stupid, arrogant smile and I lose it. My fist flies out before I can stop it. The second my hand hits his face, I know I’ve fucked up. The sickening pop brings clarity to the situation.
“Jordy!” Roux squeaks out as she climbs out of the pool, drenched as fuck. “You punched Cal!”
Trey is gaping at us and Roan is frowning as he follows her out of the pool. Cal’s bleeding all over the fucking place.
“You bwoke my nose,” Cal whines in a nasally voice, still swaying. “We were just horsing awound.”
While Roan and Trey tend to our drunk-ass friend, I swivel around to face Roux, who looks like a drowned rat.
“You okay, Little Hornet?” I take her glasses from her hand and set them back on her nose. “Did he hurt you?”
Her smile is sweet. “No, but you hurt him.”
“Nobody fucks with you, Roux. I’ve got your back.”
“Thanks,” she murmurs. She stares at the pool, frowning hard.
“What’s wrong?”
“Now we don’t get to swim.”
Guilt kicks me in the goddamn balls.
“Oh shit,” I grunt out. “I can stay with you. They don’t need me.” I glance over my shoulder to look at Roan. “I can watch Roux while you deal with that fuckface.”
Relief flashes in his eyes. “We’ll be back.”
Once they’re gone, Roux sits down to pull off a worn, soaked sneaker. “I’m not a baby.”
I stare down the little girl with the big coppery eyes. “Yeah, you are.”
“I can swim and I can handle Cal. He’s always like that.”
“I don’t like him or anyone putting their hands on you,” I bite out, anger bleeding into my tone. “I gotta protect you, Little Hornet.”
She gives me a sassy look. “I guess you can be my bodyguard.”
“Mouthy like your brother,” I tease. “Go get changed so we can swim.”
Her grin makes all the dark, aching parts of myself light up with happiness. As she bounds off toward the restrooms, I can’t help but take her joke seriously. I’ll be her bodyguard and protect her. God only knows everyone besides Roan seems out to get her.
I’ll be damned if I let anyone hurt her if I can help it.
Even if it means breaking one of my best friends’ noses.
I will protect her from everyone.