Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79338 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79338 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
“Jesus, no way,” says Reaper, sounding as surprised as I feel.
Scrapper looks smug. “I think I’m gonna make forty bucks.”
8
MILA
“Cole,” announces the prison guard at the check-in point in a bored voice. “Turn off your phone and put your stuff in the bin.”
Crap. I was going to share it with Meghan, I didn’t mean to actually like that video. “I just need to—”
“You aren’t the only one waiting, lady.”
“Fine.” I turn over my things and go through the metal detector, getting a little ticket with a number so I can claim everything when the visit is over.
I feel like I just got caught snooping, but it’s not my fault the algorithm decided I would like big, sexy, local men beating the crap out of a building. Will they notice I liked it? That it was me? It shouldn’t matter. I’ve literally had them inside me, so I’m pretty sure they know I like what they have to offer. Watching their muscles ripple and coil underneath their tattooed skin as they work hard isn’t nearly the same as feeling it under my hands.
“Down the hall, first door on your right,” the next guard instructs.
With every step, my anxiety over seeing Danny overtakes thoughts of the bikers. It’s been six years. What does he look like now? What's he like? I can't imagine what prison has done to him. What it's going to continue doing to him if he has to serve his full sentence.
The door leads into the visitor hall, where there's a whole row of booths, each with a chair, a handset and a plexiglass window. Look, but don't touch.
He used to let me win at Mario Kart.
And trade me my favorite candy on Halloween, even if it meant taking the stupid “healthy” treats.
Every single one of the people on the other side of the window, no matter what they’ve done, is someone’s favorite person. Someone’s kid. Someone’s brother or sister. Maybe most of them do deserve some kind of punishment, but how many Dannys are there?
The system sucks. I don’t know the perfect answer, but this isn’t it.
I'm shocked by his appearance when he comes out, flanked by a beefy guard who scowls around the room like he's just looking for an excuse to put the beatdown on someone. Danny was nineteen when he went in, a tall, scrawny kid. Now he’s a man I barely recognize. He filled out big like Dad, but he could use another ten pounds, at least. There’s a scattering of rough looking tattoos down his arms and on his neck. His sandy hair is shaved close, as is his beard.
His eyes, the same gray-blue as mine, watch me like a hawk. No, not a hawk, like a dog that someone beat until it views every new person as a potential source of pain. I sit down and put on my headset.
Danny’s lips thin as he sits down on the other side of the plexiglass and picks up his own headset. “So what do you want?” His voice crackles through the cheap headphones, but it’s him, my brother.
My eyes prickle with unshed tears. “Hi,” I say softly, because even with six years to think about it, I never came up with a better idea for how to greet my brother. “How are you doing?”
“Still breathing. The food has been a bit bland lately.”
I knew I wasn’t going to get a hug, but I was hoping for, I don’t know. A smile maybe? “God, Danny. Would it kill you to say hi?”
“So fucking sorry, Mila. Hi. Are you going to answer the question? The only reason I agreed to meet with you was because you said you had information about my trial. Is that true?” His hostility cuts me with a knife.
I have to remind myself that he’s been through a lot. We might as well be strangers with a shared past at this point. Even if he never forgives me or our parents, helping him is the right thing to do. Knowing all that doesn’t make it hurt any less. “It might be. I can’t exactly talk about it here, but I wanted you to know that I’m trying. I haven’t forgotten you.”
“You should,” he says in a dead voice.
“No. I don’t care how mean you are to me, I’m not letting this go.” I wipe the wetness from my eyes and hold my head up high. “I’ve found leads. Something with this system is broken, and I’m going to expose it. I’m going to meet with your att—”
“Don’t you fucking dare! You think I’m being mean? I’d rather be mean than find out you’re dead. God fucking damn it,” he snarls under his breath. “Mom and Dad were right, I’m going to get you killed, but not for the reasons they thought.”
“Maybe you haven’t noticed, but you aren’t the only one that’s changed. I’m an adult and I can make my own decisions. I’m not stupid. I’ll be careful. Besides, what are you going to do? Stop me?”