Chapter 2
Kayden
The day my heart stopped beating.
“Look who got another love letter.”
I lift my head from my book and see Burbank wiggling his brow as he holds up a little red envelope. My heart leaps in my chest.
“Guess we know what you’ll be doing this evening. Maybe I should come by later for the spank show. Watch you stroke that massive dick you got hanging between those legs.”
His threat doesn’t warrant a response because I know how empty it is.
He can talk a big game, but I’m not the prisoner he wants.
And if Burbank ever did try to fuck with me, he’d find out real fast what a mistake that was.
There’s only one individual in this world that gets my blood pumping, and it’s the one who’s sent me the letter he’s got between his fingers.
He slips the red envelope through the bars and then continues on down the cell block, delivering mail to those of us lucky few who still have people in our lives who care.
Well, one person in my life still cares.
The rest washed their hands of me the moment the cuffs were locked around my wrists, some way before that day.
To my mother, guilty or innocent made no difference; I was presumed a bad seed from the moment I left her womb.
Probably from the moment she found out she was pregnant.
I rise from my cot and pick up the precious envelope off the ground, bringing it to my nose.
God, it smells like her. Like sunflowers and a summer breeze.
She’s still wearing the same perfume. The one I got her for our one-year anniversary.
I carefully tear open the top and pull the blue paper out.
My heart is pounding as I see her pretty cursive letters scribbled all the way down the page, bleeding over to the back. Dainty and perfect just like her.
From the moment I saw Wren, I knew she was the one.
She pulled into the gas station for cover from the storm, laughing and smiling as the rain poured into her fancy little convertible.
I was awestruck as I watched her climb out of her Porsche and spread her arms out wide.
She spun in circles under the rain, soaking in Mother Nature’s gift where most girls in her shoes would’ve been shitting bricks that their fancy little sports car was drenched, and panicking over the leather getting wet.
But not her. Wren’s never been one caught up in material things.
Not like her folks. Materialism fuels their blood.
God, she was gorgeous. Long brown hair. Those crystal blue eyes of hers that were sparkling even under the dark clouds.
And a smile that nearly brought me to my knees.
I’d never seen a more magnificent sight.
I grabbed some shop towels and rushed outside to help her with the mess, and the closer I got, the more it felt like my heart was going to pound from my chest. And when she turned and those incredible eyes met mine, I knew then and there she was the one.
I knew that one day I was going to ask that girl to marry me.
There was a force much stronger than attraction at play, and in that moment, I started believing in kismet and soulmates, and all the mumbo-jumbo bullshit I swore wasn’t real.
“Isn’t it incredible?” she asked, turning her cute little nose up to the sky once more, letting the rain drizzle down her perfect face, the drops getting caught in her dimples.
“God, you are, darling.”
That moment was fucking spectacular. One of the best damn days of my life.
But then…fate decided to punch me in the chest and remind me that I wasn’t good enough for a girl like her.
That a boy from the trailer park, barely making ends meet, wasn’t worthy of a princess from the castle.
And now, I’m locked up for a crime I didn’t commit, only getting through my days because of the sweet words she writes me.
Once a week her letters come, and I read them no less than a thousand times before the next one shows up.
The day of my sentencing, I asked her to move on, but my stubborn girl refused to listen.
And selfishly, I’m so fucking thankful for it.
But the part of me that lives and breathes for this girl still fights for her happiness.
And so, I never write her back in hopes that she’ll finally let me go and find someone worthy of her love.
Because a deadbeat criminal doing another nineteen years with no chance of parole is not someone she should hold out for.
But when the little red envelope shows up and I see she’s ignored my request once again, I thank the Lord. And here I am saying another silent prayer in gratitude for her unwavering devotion.
Dear Kayden,
I miss you so much, and I want you to know that whether you write me back or not, I still love you with all my heart and I’m not going anywhere.
I know you think you’re doing what’s best for me and trying to get me to move on, but what’s best for me is you.
There’s no one else, Kade. And there never will be.
It was always you, and it always will be you.
I still think of the day we met, and how you asked me to dance in the storm. And when you dipped me back, you told me how that song was going to be the one we danced to on our wedding day.
And she told me, I must have a really big dick since I was presuming I could win her heart that easily.
God, she gave me a run for my money. But man, was it fun chasing her down.
She consumed my every thought, and I was determined to make her mine.
And the day she finally gave in, rushing toward me and jumping into my arms, kissing every thought out of my head, I vowed to fight my way out of the rut I was in and become worthy of her love.
I was going to make sure she had everything she ever wanted.
Her dreams were mine. And they still fucking are.
I’m still holding out for that day, Kade.
I still listen to that song before bed and dream of meeting you at the end of the aisle, ready to say my vows.
Ready to tell you how special you are to me.
How you saved me in so many ways. I never knew love until you.
I don’t think my parents are capable of the emotion.
But you…you showed me in so many ways. You’ve always made me feel special.
And I’m begging you to show me once more.
Please stop trying to be a martyr and write me back.
I just need to know you’re okay. I just need to know that you still love me.
It’s so lonely without you, but if I had a letter from you, I could read it at night before I fall asleep.
I could read it when I wake up and stop the tears that always come.
Please, Kayden. Just write me back. Even if you don’t, it’s not going to change how I feel, so please just do this for me.
God, she’s killing me. I fucking hate this.
I hate knowing she wakes up sad. My girl should always have a smile on her face.
I’m sucking the happiness out of her. She was meant to shine and do great things, to chase her dreams, and here she is spending her days crying over me. It’s wrong. It’s so fucking wrong.
By the way, I have some incredible news that I hope will brighten your week.
Chef Zen told me that if and when I’m ready to leave this town, I will have a job in his restaurant.
Can you believe it? What an honor just to be asked by him.
I told him how grateful I am, and that maybe one day I’ll take him up on his offer.
Thankfully, he understands my need to stay and doesn’t blame me for my choice.
He says, “A chef cannot cook without soul, and a soul cannot survive without love.”
That’s exactly how I feel. Fighting for your freedom is the only thing that’s keeping me going.
Although, that brings me to my not-so-great news.
The attorney that I wrote you about, Mr. Tribick, finally got back to me.
He’s refusing to take your case. He says it’s a lost cause and that I’m wasting my time.
I’m sorry, Kade. He’s wrong. It’s not a lost cause, and I’m going to keep trying.
I’ll find someone incredible to take your case.
I’ll pay whatever I have to to get it done.
So please don’t give up hope and know that I’m fighting for you every day.
I’m never going to stop fighting for you.
Not until the day you’re back home with me, wrapped around my body, and I get to wake up and see your handsome face in the morning.
I love you with all my heart, Kade. Never forget that.
Your Wren
No! Fuck. This is what she’s always talked about. What she’s worked so damn hard for. She always wanted to cook alongside one of the best chefs. And Zen was her first choice. She just turned down an offer of a lifetime, a dream of hers since she was a little girl. Why? To work on my pointless case.
The system is fucking rigged. The cops, the judge—it was all a setup.
They’re all dirty. The reason that attorney won’t take my case is because he knows.
And I’m a thousand percent positive he doesn’t want to put a target on his back.
I don’t know why they chose me to be the fall guy, but they needed someone to pin the crime on, and I was the unlucky bastard who happened to cross someone’s path at the wrong time.
She can’t do this. I’m not letting my girl throw everything she’s ever wanted away for my sorry ass.
Nineteen years. I’m going to be locked in this joint for nineteen more years.
By the time I’m out, she’ll be nearly forty.
She can’t wait on me. She needs to live her life.
She can’t keep herself locked up in this cell with me.