“That’s some damn good coffee.”

I chuckled. “Should I leave you alone with your cup, Duggie?”

He smiled at me and winked with a naughty tilt to his lips. “Maybe. It’s definitely giving me pleasure. It might get nasty up in here. Does yours need more cream?”

Pretending to gag, I laughed loudly as I left the room.

The darkness swallowed me when I walked the block back to medical. The shadows danced along the edges of the room, taunting and teasing me with death. The COs were spaced out, half asleep in their chairs outside the cells.

As I turned down a row to head back to the unit, a hand grabbed my arm and pulled at me. Gasping, I spun around to face my attacker. I was about to scream when my eyes clashed with a pair of steely blues gazing intently into mine.

He was in his cell, his arms holding me close to the bars.

“X? Oh my God. You scared me,” I hissed in a whisper.

“You should be. Why are you still here? I told you to leave. They raised the bounty, Lyla. You need to go.”

His words fell on me like cold water. They were offering more money. More money, more problems. More money, more likely to die.

My mind flashed back to the warden and his phone call after I’d left his room.

“Is it the warden?” I whispered.

“Why would the warden green light you?” His brows pulled in.

“I overheard him saying something about me knowing too much to someone on the phone.”

A loud sigh escaped his lips, and he rubbed roughly at the back of his neck. “Please, Lyla, you need to leave. Please leave now. I can’t protect you behind these bars.” His eyes were pleading with me, and it was breaking my heart.

“I can’t leave you. You need me. I have to protect you, too.”

His eyes softened. Reaching out, he touched my face in the dark. I loved the feel of his hands. They were rough, but so tender. I glanced around quickly, making sure we weren’t about to be discovered.

He pulled me closer, the cold steel digging into my stomach and hips, but his hot body soothed the sting. He grabbed my hip with one hand and my shoulder with the other.

“I don’t want anything happening to you,” he whispered, his breath falling onto my cheek.

I felt myself falling under his trance. His hypnotic eyes danced across my face and I instinctively looked up, waiting for his lips. As he brushed his lips across my cheek and the bridge of my nose, I could feel him quivering. He would’ve taken me right there if he could’ve gotten away with it. His soft lips finally found mine and he kissed me savagely, as if he were starving. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but it left me winded. As I tore myself away, I adjusted the coffees in my hands.

“I have to go,” I whispered.

“Yes, you do. Leave, Lyla,” he urged, still demanding I quit.

I ignored him and continued to medical. Stopping by a snack machine outside canteen, I grabbed myself a blueberry muffin and held it between my side and arm. As I walked back, I smiled softly, touching my lips gently, wishing his lips were still brushing against mine. When I entered, Dr. Giles glanced up at me, his face angry and dark.

“Lyla, come here please.”

My heart sank deep into my stomach. I knew they had seen me. Someone had caught me kissing X, and I was going to get sacked. They’d seen our moment of passion, and I was going to get fired before I even had the chance to free him.

As I approached the desk where he stood, I realized Douglas sat on the other side. His face was forlorn and cold, not like him at all.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, already knowing the answer to my question. I was surprised when he held up a tiny wad of toilet paper.

“Care to explain this?” Dr. Giles asked.

Opening the toilet paper, he exposed a few Vicodin. I had nothing to do with the narcotics. Rarely did I even get close to them.

“I don’t understand?” I asked, confused.

“I found these on an inmate earlier,” Douglas said, eyeing me suspiciously. “He told me you gave them to him on your way to the break room.”

Dr. Giles looked over at Douglas and then back to me, expecting an explanation.

“That’s a lie!” I exploded. “I don’t do the pain meds; that’s Ginger’s job,” I said, my heart speeding up with their accusations. “I only do the diabetic meds, cholesterol, and blood pressure meds.”

Dr. Giles’ face softened. He knew I was telling the truth. I could see it in his eyes.

Still, anger pulled at Douglas’ lips. “He specifically told me you gave them to him.”