Chapter 32 Knox
KNOX
I started pacing.
Three steps forward. Three steps back. The concrete walls felt like they were shrinking.
“You’re going to wear a hole in the floor,” Ronan said from the bottom bunk. He didn’t look up from the paperback he was reading. Some beat-up thriller with a cracked spine.
“I need to find out his first name.”
Now Ronan looked up. “You don’t know for sure that it’s her ex.”
I stopped pacing. Pressed my tongue against my molars. “Exactly. I need to be sure.”
“From what you described, the guy would have a history of domestic violence.” Ronan set the book on his chest. “They run background checks on correctional officers. They wouldn’t hire someone with that kind of record.”
He had a point. I hated that he had a point.
“You should’ve seen her reaction.” I could still see it. The color draining from her face. The way her hand flew to her throat. The way she made herself small, like she was trying to disappear. “That wasn’t a coincidence.”
“Maybe the guy reminded her of her ex. Why didn’t you just ask her?”
“Because the asshole stationed himself near her the entire shift. Every time I got close, he was there. Watching. And I wasn’t about to show my hand before I knew for sure.
” I cracked my knuckles, the sound sharp in the quiet cell.
“Didn’t have a chance to ask anything. And I wasn’t going to beat the shit out of some stranger if I didn’t know for sure it was him. ”
I might be reckless, but I wasn’t in the mood to tack on years to my sentence for assault just for funsies.
Ronan swung his legs over the side of the bunk and sat up, his expression shifting from curious to serious.
“Think about this for a second.” He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “He’s a CO. They already hate us. It’s us versus them in here. Always has been.”
“Your point?”
“My point is, he has the power. Not you.” Ronan shook his head slowly. “You’re in orange. He’s in a uniform. He’s got a badge, a radio, and a dozen other guards who’ll back him up without asking questions.”
I said nothing.
“And if you hurt a CO?” Ronan let out a humorless laugh. “You know what the other COs will do to you? You know how much time they’ll add to your sentence? You’ll never see the outside of these walls again.”
My jaw tightened.
“I’m not telling you the guy doesn’t deserve it,” Ronan said quietly. “I’m telling you that you can’t win this fight. Not like this.”
Ronan was quiet for a moment. Studying me the way he did when he was calculating odds.
“I need to find out his first name,” I said. “Someone around here will know it.”
“And if his first name is Silas?” Ronan held my gaze. “Then what are you going to do?”