Jerome moved, almost putting a hole through my stomach he punched me so hard. I folded over and gasped, but before I could go at him, they jumped me. I blocked my head, knowing the headaches I kept getting meant I wasn’t fully healed from the beating I got from the COs.

My fist connected with two of them, knocking them back and earning myself a second or two without hits. They moved in again, but before they could attack, a loud banging noise stopped them.

We turned, finding Officer Douglas standing beside the metal folding table. Again, he slammed his baton against it.

“That’s enough,” he growled.

Great. Officer Douglas being there meant I was probably going to go back to the hole. That was the last thing I wanted, but I couldn’t just stand there and watch while some poor fucker got ass raped.

But he surprised me. Instead of calling for other COs and throwing the four of us in restraints, he came into the laundry and nodded toward Jerome.

“Get your boys out of here and don’t let me catch you in the laundry again.”

Jerome promised me revenge with his eyes before the three of them left the room. Fucking awesome. Another lethal gang to worry about. My death was imminent at this point. The guy they’d raped had left without comment. He wasn’t stupid. He knew ratting on the Guerillas was like signing his own death certificate.

I stood there, taking in Officer Douglas and trying to figure him out, but instead of staying for a talk, he nodded and turned to walk out of the room.

“Try to stay of trouble, X.”

With those words, he was gone, leaving me to do the laundry in peace until the rest of the laundry crew came in. I spent three hours washing, drying, and folding, all while sweating in the heat of the room. The humidity made everything sticky and wet. When I got back to my cell, my muscles were sore and my uniform was soaked.

THE HEADACHES HAD gotten worse. Soon, they were accompanied by dizziness. I knew I should’ve gone to the infirmary, but I also knew going around Lyla was dangerous for us both. One minute I was standing in my cell, waiting for the Cos to run the line for chow time, and the next, I was waking up in the infirmary with Lyla standing above me. It had been so long since I saw her face that my heart rate instantly sped up.

She was there. Scoop told me she’d came back, but I almost didn’t believe him. Now, I could see with my own two eyes that it was true. That was bad and fucking great at the same time. Seeing her there and knowing she was okay was like a rush. I wanted to reach out and touch her skin—feel that she was real—but I didn’t want to jeopardize her job or get my ass kicked by a CO for touching a prison employee.

The ride to the hospital was spent replaying her worried face over and over in my mind. She acted like she cared about me. It was much more than the usual worry a nurse showed for her patient. She looked like a woman worried about her man, and something about that made a strange ache burn in my chest.

I wanted her. God, help me, I wanted her. But it wasn’t because I hadn’t touched a woman since I was nineteen; it was because my body craved her—no other woman—just her.

There were so many tests and scans. I was put in one machine after the other while armed officers waited. Being tested and scanned meant all restraints had to be removed and without restraints, I was considered a flight risk. They had no idea that leaving was the last thing I wanted. Sure, I wanted to be free, but I wanted to see Lyla again more.

Once the doctors were finished with me, they put me in a room and cuffed me to the bed. The armed officers were posted outside my room, but I was left alone in a place of comfort with a TV. No wonder inmates liked a trip to the hospital. It was like a tiny vacation from our reality.

After watching TV for an hour, I began to doze off. My body was more relaxed than it had been in years. For the first time in a long time, nothing hurt. Even the tiny headaches I’d been getting had decided to give me a reprieve.

My eyes fluttered closed and sleep was moving over me when suddenly my door opened and Lyla stepped in.

She was still in her scrubs, letting me know she’d come straight to the hospital after her shift. She slowly moved across the room toward my bed, her green eyes scanning my face with insecurity.

“You’re here,” I said, sitting up.

She nodded.

She was so beautiful. So fucking beautiful, and it was wrong but it felt amazing knowing she’d came there for me. No other inmate—just me.

“I knew you couldn’t resist me,” I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

A tiny smile pulled at her lips, and then disappeared as worry lowered her brows.