Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 29728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 149(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 149(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
“You’re okay, Hails,” he said quietly. “Breathe.”
“I’m breathing.” I glanced around at the off-white cinderblock walls and speckled linoleum, at the gaudy orange chairs and gunmetal-gray doors with big locks. I wasn’t expecting a palace, but the realization that this was where Graham had been living all this time made my eyes burn. The three-bedroom home we’d shared in Eureka wasn’t fancy, but it was cozy. This place was the exact opposite of cozy.
Logan stroked my knee with his thumb. “If it’s too much for you now, we can leave and reschedule.”
As tempting as his offer was, I shook my head. “I’ll be even more anxious if I put it off.”
“That’s my girl.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and held me against his side. “You can do this, Hails.”
I closed my eyes, letting his warmth soothe my rampant nerves. I was about to see my stepdad for the first time in four long years. What if I burst into tears at the sight of him? What if he’d changed so much that I didn’t recognize his face?
I flinched as the gruff-voiced guard behind the security barrier called out another prisoner’s name. A wiry, dark-haired woman rose from her chair and marched toward a door that opened upon her approach. A second, younger guard spoke to her briefly before allowing her to pass through. The door slammed shut behind her.
My heart dropped into my stomach. The list of names seemed to be progressing in alphabetical order. I tapped my foot impatiently while waiting for the guard to reach W.
“Graham Whitehall,” he finally yelled.
Logan and I immediately jumped to our feet. He took my hand as we made our way over to the heavy door that the other visitors had gone through. The young guard raised his hand, stopping us.
“One visitor at a time,” he said.
“Why just one?” Logan asked, tightening his grip around my hand. “My brother’s attorney specified two guests.”
“New rule for high-level inmates.”
“And what level is Graham Whitehall?”
The guard shrugged and held up a clipboard. “Whoever’s going first needs to sign in.”
“My niece isn’t going in there alone.”
“Then I guess she’s not going anywhere.” His lanky fingers creased the paper as he shoved the clipboard at Logan’s chest.
Logan snatched the plastic board out of the guard’s grasp and scanned the paper. “Give us a minute.” He tugged me over to a plexiglass window before the guard could ask for his clipboard back. “This is horseshit. I’m sure he’s just being a dick, but it’ll probably take a while to sort this out through official channels. We can come back another day. Graham will understand.”
I didn’t expect to feel a rush of emotion at the thought of not getting to see Graham today. Maybe it was the knowledge that he was waiting for me somewhere close by that pushed me to rest my hand on Logan’s forearm.
“It’s fine,” I said. “I’ll go first.”
“Hails, I really don’t like the idea of you going back there alone.”
“I won’t be alone. There are people and cameras everywhere. I promise I’ll scream my head off if anyone tries anything.”
He glared at the young guard over my shoulder for a long moment, then sighed. “If you’re sure you want to do it like this.”
I wasn’t sure of anything, except maybe us. No matter what happened between me and Graham, I knew that Logan would always be there for me.
“I’m sure.”
He kissed my forehead. “I love you. You can do this. Take deep breaths. I’m sure my brother’s way more nervous than you are.”
I very much doubted that. He turned the clipboard toward me and handed me the pen so I could sign. As we made our way back over to the heavy-looking door, I prayed that this wasn’t a mistake.
Logan slapped the clipboard against the young guard’s chest, fixing him with a knifelike scowl.
“If anything happens to my niece, I’ll make it my personal mission to erase any and all traces of your existence from the planet.”
The guard’s lip curled in a snarl. “Is that a threat?”
“More like a promise.” Logan pulled his phone from his pocket, tapped at the screen, then held the speaker end up to his ear. “Inspector General, glad I caught you…”
Logan’s voice trailed off as I followed the young guard down a brightly lit hallway. The door slammed behind us, and I jumped, even though I knew the sound was coming.
“You’re allowed one hug,” the guard said briskly. I practically had to jog to keep up with his long stride. “No phones or other contraband is permitted.”
“I know.” I had read the rules and regulations at least a dozen times.
The guard brought me into a large room with bars on the windows and laminated posters taped to the walls. Inmates and their guests perched on hard plastic chairs clustered around blue plastic tables. The prison certainly didn’t want anybody getting too comfortable.