We received word that the two officers were expected to make a full recovery, which was good news, but when Dr. Giles told X that information, he didn’t flinch.

How could a person be so cold about another person’s life? Was it really that easy for him to discard their lives like trash? The very thought disgusted me, and it repulsed me more that I was naive enough to think he was simply misunderstood. It wasn’t something I even wanted to comprehend.

I’d just returned from my lunch break when Dr. Giles asked me to please change X’s bandages. I didn’t want to, but I didn’t have much choice. I had to uncuff him and remove his restraints before I could remove his old bandages and clean his wounds, but as I did so, I felt his heated stare all over my face.

“You’re ignoring me.” He stated the obvious. “You’re angry with me.”

He never initiated conversation. I considered not responding, but I was so mad I couldn’t help myself.

“Ya think?” I spat sarcastically.

At that, he did something that angered me even more. He grinned. The sick bastard had the audacity to smile at me.

“You think this is funny, Christopher? You think you can just go around and beat people within an inch of their lives, and nothing’s supposed to happen to you?” I asked rhetorical questions. I didn’t want or expect his answers. “Well, you can’t.” I cut him off before he could even think about answering. “You got exactly what you deserved.”

I knew the minute his entire body tensed that I’d pushed too far. It wasn’t my job to punish the inmates. It was my job to nurse them back to health and send them on their way.

His eyes darkened, his brows pulling down into an angry expression. It was then that I realized I was there, standing over a dangerous murder, and he wasn’t cuffed or shackled. There I was chastising a man who could reach up and choke the life out of me for being a bitch to him.

Quickly, I scanned the room for the COs in case I needed to scream for them. And when X lifted his arm to scratch the back of his neck, I flinched as if he were about to hit me.

His expression shifted from anger to rage, and his lips tightened. He moved closer, tugging me into his space with soft hands. My breath stopped as my imagination went wild with all the vile and terrible things he could do to me, but instead, his eyes softened and dipped to my lips when I licked them nervously.

“Lyla, I would never put my hands on you. Never. Do you believe that?” he asked.

My breath hitched when his unique scent swarmed all around me. It was strange to hear him say my name in such a personal manner, and the way he said it knocked me off my game. He was begging me with his eyes to trust him, but I couldn’t do that.

I didn’t believe him. He was a dangerous criminal—a liar—a manipulator. Dr. Giles had warned me about the inmates, and I couldn’t forget that. They lied. They cheated. They killed. I worked in a penitentiary—not in a jail full of men with minor offenses. A maximum-security penitentiary full of murders and rapist—the lowest of the low—the most evil people on earth—and Christopher Jacobs was among them.

“No,” I whispered, earning myself a scowl from the giant. “I don’t trust you. You’re a murderer and a liar.”

He released me and I pulled away quickly, gathering as much space as possible between the two of us.

Something that resembled hurt moved over his expression before his mask slipped back into place. Cold and calculated—sinister. “Good,” he said sternly. “You might survive this place after all.” Lying back, he turned away from me.

Stepping away, I backed into the curtain behind me, and then I left his space and went straight for the supply closet to get away. I needed to breathe, and I couldn’t do that whenever X was anywhere near me.

CHAPTER 9

LYLA

I ENJOYED MY four days off, spending time cleaning my apartment and catching up on laundry at the local laundry mat. Diana conned me into going to her place for dinner and movies, and I opened up to her about some of the things affecting me at work.

She had a thing about men in uniforms, so I told her about the officers. I told her about Officer Douglas, aka Duggie, and explained how he was the nicest CO in the place. Even though I trusted him, I had a hard time trusting the others.

We talked about a few of the inmates. I told her about X and how he was constantly in the infirmary. When she asked what he looked like, I explained without actually revealing how gorgeous he was.

“Sweetie, can I say something without you thinking I’m totally fucked up in the head?” she asked before hiding her face behind her massive wineglass.