Chapter One.
Hallie
I lifted the weight, held it, then lowered it and lifted the opposite arm.
Sweat dripped down me, but I didn’t stop.
One lift after another. This was my time and my workout.
Other inmates lingered around me, but I paid them no attention.
They didn’t mess with me; I didn’t with them.
I’d earned respect and took no crap anymore. Newcomers soon learned that.
“Milton, Warden needs to see you,” a guard—Officer Harvey—said.
“I’ll finish these,” I replied.
“Now, inmate,” Harvey threatened.
I ignored her and finished my set. When I put the weights aside, Harvey was fuming.
“This is my time. Hear me?” I stated.
The guard glowered and shoved me forward. “McKay wants you.”
“Bully for him,” I muttered. But I followed Officer Harvey, smirking at those watching.
When I arrived five years ago, I was terrified.
I weighed a hundred and twenty-five pounds and was frightened of shadows.
Within three months, I was sick of being the victim and fought back for the first time.
After that, I never stopped fighting back.
I’d cut my long hair into a short bob, which made it harder for bitches to grab and pull. It highlighted the scar running along my left cheekbone, where I’d been sliced.
The biggest difference was my physical appearance.
It was no longer soft, but muscled, toned, and a fighting machine.
I could hold my own against the best of them, and they knew it.
Nobody started shit with me. The timid woman who’d given up blankets and shoes did not bend to anyone now.
Along with my body changing came a huge shift in my personality.
Hallie Milton, the meek, mild-tempered individual, became a bitch from hell.
I used to be a nice person, a good girl who helped charity, kept her head down, and didn’t make waves.
I’d been an administrator for a chain of coffee shops and had loved my job.
Until my backstabbing fiancé, who’d cheerfully sent me to prison for something I hadn’t done.
Shane Morris had accused me of a heinous crime and then took the stand against me.
With his eyewitness testimony and that of some of our acquaintances, I was incarcerated for attempted murder and given twenty-five years to life.
My love for Shane turned to hate on the spot as he celebrated my downfall with my family and friends. Whoever Shane was protecting, he cared for more than me.
A scowl formed on my face. I wish the person who had stabbed him through the heart had succeeded and ended his worthless, cheating existence.
“Inside,” Harvey stated, swinging open the warden’s office door.
“Hallie,” Warden McKay greeted unhappily.
“You asked to see me,” I replied, standing in front of him.
“Sit down,” McKay ordered.
“Whatever you are going to accuse me of, let’s just get it over and done with,” I retorted. “I wanted to finish my workout.”
“You’re being freed.”
My knees weakened, and I walked around and sat in the chair. “What?”
Behind me, Harvey gasped.
“New evidence came up in your case which semi-proved your alibi. It had been mislabelled and mishandled. Your lawyer moved to have your conviction overturned and won.”
“Huh.”
“Is that it?” McKay asked, surprised.
“I said I didn’t do it all along. What did you and your guards state?
Oh yeah, ‘Everyone says that.’ What do you want me to say?
Hey, it seems I wasn’t a liar. Fuck you.
You’ll be hearing from my lawyer about my treatment here.
” I fingered my scar, and Harvey shifted uncomfortably.
“Yeah, I’ll bet that’s going to cost a pretty buck, especially as I was innocent. ” I leaned back in my chair.
“Well, that is for the lawyers to deal with,” McKay stated uneasily. “Harvey will escort you to your cell. Collect your things.”
“Don’t bother, there isn’t anything in there I want,” I murmured. I was reeling.
What could have partially proven my alibi?
My old lawyer said nothing existed. The lawyer King hired must have discovered something.
What had Harry Lynch found? He’d informed me he’d uncovered something significant, but I’d not wanted to know what.
Too easy to get your hopes up, only to have them dashed.
Had the cops misplaced evidence on purpose? Damn them, and screw Shane. I guess Karma was a bitch, because I was coming for him. I’d take Shane down and sell my story so every fucker in the USA knew what a dirty bastard he was. And whoever Shane was protecting, their moment had arrived too.
I left the prison and sucked in a breath. For the first time in five years, I breathed free. I gazed at the road and spotted the bus stop. I had fifty bucks, my ID, and nothing else. A car roared up, and I grinned. No guessing who that was.
It skidded to a halt, and Kingston Albert chuckled. His teeth gleamed against his dark skin.
“Jailbird,” he chortled, removing his sunglasses.
“Asshole, what, no flowers?”
I rounded the convertible, placed a hand on the door, and vaulted over it. King laughed, grabbed me close, and pulled me in for a kiss and a hug. King had never doubted my innocence.
“Where we off to?” he asked.
“Lawyer’s office back home. I’ve two inheritances to collect.
Then I’ll walk through town and let those fuckers see I’m free.
That their golden boy lied on the stand.
Then I’ll check in with this new lawyer, start several civil suits, and go after Shane.
I want his ass nailed, and to announce to the world what a lying cunt he is,” I said mildly.
King grinned and agreed. “Let’s kick some white man’s ass.”
“Don’t forget the white bitches too.”
King laughed. “Forgetting you’re a white bitch?”
“King, I’m the fuckin’ queen of white bitches!” I stated, and my best friend in the entire world nodded.
“Ain’t disagreeing there.”
“Is he still there, King?”
“No. The asshole ran after the trial. Claimed he couldn’t stay. I know where he is. Spearfish, South Dakota. He joined an MC.”
“Huh, did he now? Shane was never one for bikes. What’s the betting he’s using them to hide out in case I ever got free? Did any more rumours surface regarding this other woman?” I asked.
King had been the only person to visit me, and I told him not to mention Shane or anything else. I was behind bars, yet I was innocent. That rankled, and I wanted blood. But imprisoned, I’d been unable to do a thing about it; now I was free, it was a different story.
“None. Everyone believed Shane.”
“Apart from you.”
“Hallie, I always knew my girl; you’d never have done that. You couldn’t even step on a spider. No way did you stab that motherfucker. I’ll never believe it,” King stated firmly.
“Good. Because I swear, I didn’t.”
King reached over, took my hand, and squeezed it.
“I know. Now, do you need a hotel room?” What? Where was King going with this? “You’ve not had sex for five years, Hallie, you might wanna get laid just to—”
I slapped King’s arm, and we both giggled.
“Offering to take one for the team?”
“Yup. I don’t like skinny white chicks, but if I close my eyes I can—”
“Shut up. I wouldn’t suck your cock for a million bucks; I’ve seen the skanks you stick it in!” I snapped back, and King laughed.
“God, I missed you, Hallie Milton,” he admitted.
“Not as much as I did you. Let’s go upset some bitches!”
There were eyes on us; I could feel them as King and I headed to my family lawyer’s office. His receptionist glanced up, looked away, and in shock, turned to stare at me.
“Hallie Milton?” she inhaled sharply.
“Yeah. Tell Louis I’m here to see him.”
“Aren’t you locked up?” she gasped.
I exchanged a look with King, and we both started laughing. “If I were, I wouldn’t be standing here, would I? Get Louis.” I asked and took a seat. She hesitated, then picked up the phone. Moments later, Louis, my uncle’s lawyer, was racing towards me.
“Did you break out of jail?” he demanded.
“Wow, that’s your first thought?” I replied, not even a bit amused.
“You were locked up for twenty-five years!” Louis continued.
“Yep. I was. Strange thing, though: evidence came to light that proved Shane Morris a fuckin’ liar. How about that, Louis? I was innocent all along. Just like I said,” I snarled. Louis had point-blank refused to defend me.
Louis turned pale. “What?”
“Yeah. Your golden boy… not so. Now I want the paperwork for my uncle and grandfather’s inheritances, and I expect them in my bank by this afternoon.”
“I… I…” Louis stammered.
“Don’t worry, Louis. See, being locked up for a crime I didn’t commit gave me plenty of time to watch over my inheritance. I know precisely how much money they left me and the interest earned. And no, I won’t take a cheque. I want a bank transfer, and you better have every cent.”
Louis went pale but motioned for me and King to follow him. Being a bitch certainly seemed to work! I should have learned that five years ago; then I might not have lost everything.
“Louis was on the verge of having a heart attack.” King laughed, arm slung over my shoulders as we headed to a diner.
“The sweat was pouring off him,” I agreed.
“I really believed he was going to say he didn’t have the money,” King admitted.
“He hasn’t. He’s been using Grandpa and Uncle Owen’s cash to shore up his business. Now I’ve pulled it, he’ll be bankrupt within three months.”
“Hallie, it’s damn scary how you’re aware of all this shit,” King said, and I chuckled.
“Didn’t have much to do apart from plotting revenge. I haven’t even started.”
I stopped at the diner, and King opened the door. It was obvious Louis’s receptionist had been on the phone.
People quit talking and stared. I smirked and took a table. King sat opposite me and whipped his cell out.
“How bad is this going to get?”
“Oh, on a scale of one to ten? Eleven,” I whispered, leaning forward.
“Go get them,” King urged as he tapped on his phone and held it up. He sat back as a waitress—May—approached.
“You shouldn’t be here. I’ve called the sheriff,” she snapped.