Chapter 5

Dom lay there, looking at the ceiling. There was still an hour before they could go outside for yard time. He was looking forward to the cool air to help clear his head. He smirked at the faded ceiling. Images of Jennah filed every molecule of his mind right now.

“Palmer?”

He turned to look at Slick as he came back into their cell. Something was wrong. Slick always seemed a little cautious, but this time he was downright nervous, almost panicked. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge. “What’s wrong?”

Slick glanced down at the floor and then over his shoulder before looking back at him. “I caught up to Dickenson like you said to.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and then pulled them back out again.

Dom squared his shoulders. “I take it the info wasn’t good?”

Slick shook his head. “For a guard, he’s usually pretty cool, you know? Not this time. He wouldn’t answer anything about that work assignment, even when I told him I’d been asked and wanted to know what I was in for.”

The more he spoke, the faster it got. Dom hopped down. “Just tell me and stop tying yourself in knots.”

Slick let out a breath. “He warned me away from you, Dom. Told me to steer clear, and if I could manage, it not to go on the detail.”

Dom looked at him for a moment, and then leaned back against the bed frame. He studied the floor for several long moments before he exhaled slowly. “Sounds like I’ve been made.” Slick nodded. “How? Who?”

Slick sat down on the bottom bunk and leaned on his knees. “I don’t know, man. I thought only the two of us knew.”

Dom went over and leaned a shoulder against the bars, trying to keep an eye out for anyone wandering past. “We did. Except for a few on the outside, no one else could know.”

Slick rubbed his hands over his face before he glanced back at him. “What does your go-between say?”

Dom rubbed his aching jaw. “He hasn’t been here in two months. I don’t know why.”

“Can you call someone?”

Dom pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. “Who?”

Slick stood up and waved his hands around. “There has to be someone.”

“No one I should be calling. That’s why I was sent in, because I work alone.”

Slick snorted. “Well, it’s not going to work out this time. How the hell are you supposed to get out when you need to?”

Dom realized he was right. “Good question. I haven’t heard a damn thing in too long.”

“Can you go to the warden?”

He grinned. “I don’t think he’d be real happy to know who I am.”

Slick sighed. “Probably not.” They both looked up when the bell went off, signaling yard time.

Dom patted his shoulder. “Just stay back and appear like you’re listening to Dickenson while I try to figure this out.” Slick nodded and grabbed his jacket. Dom watched him quickly move to the stairs and go down. How the hell are you going to do that? Someone on the outside has sold you out, and you’re stuck in here trying to stay alive. One thing was for sure, he was avoiding that work detail like his life depended on it, and from the sounds of it, his life did.

~

Jennah closed the book and glared again over at the two boxes sitting in the corner. The boxes were marked, Xmas. She wasn’t sure why she had even gotten them out. She closed her eyes and leaned back, smiling. She knew exactly why. She’d felt so good when she’d woken up this morning she’d decided to give Christmas cheer another chance. Damn that man, she thought with a quiet chuckle. He’s turned my head into happy mush. She opened her eyes and laughed, knowing how crazy that was considering they hadn’t really met.

Putting the book down, she got up and went over to the boxes. She didn’t have gobs of decorations for the season. Just a small, tasteful tree and a few ornaments. Okay, maybe a small collection of Christmas fairy figurines.

She opened the first box and pulled out the packing paper. Unwrapping it carefully, she picked up the sparkling Christmas fairy with her blonde hair braided and her red Christmas hat on. She looked at it for a moment, then smiled and turned to set it on the table.

It would be nice if, somehow, she could see Dominic in the flesh at some point during the holidays. Her heart skipped a few beats at that thought. She bit her lip and sat there. Why not? If he could get away for a day or two, it would be fun. She’d volunteered to work Christmas Eve day, but as far as she knew, she had from five o’clock Christmas Eve until the day after Boxing Day off.

She felt like a giddy girl for the first time in—forever—at the thought of meeting him. She was going to do it! She took a deep breath and rolled her shoulders to relax, and then closed her eyes. She pictured him, trying to remember every detail she could about him. “Dom?” Was that all she had to do? She had no idea.

“Hey, beautiful. It didn’t take you long to figure this out.”

She smiled. “I just closed my eyes and thought of you.”

“I can’t tell you how nice that is to hear.”

His voice was soft and deep inside her mind. She sighed out loud just feeling close to him again. “I had a thought...”

“Hold that for two secs, I need to move somewhere else.”

She frowned but waited like he’d said. Move somewhere else? Where was he? Why did he sound so on edge? “Are you okay?”

“I have a bit of a situation going on, that’s all.”

“A situation?” She felt a light brush against her neck and realized he was much better at this than she would ever be. His touch, even if it was only in her head, was reassuring.

“Nothing I can’t handle. Normally we should only talk at night, though, but I can’t tell you how much I needed to hear from you right now. So, what is this thought you had?”

His voice was softer, more relaxed now. “I was thinking—well, wondering—if you might like to meet for the holidays?”

She heard his sigh. “I really want to, please believe that, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to get out of here by then.”

All of her internal alarms went off. “Out of where, Dominic?” He didn’t answer her. She waited a few more seconds. “Dominic?”

“I’m here.” She heard the tension in his voice. “I can’t explain it, Jennah.”

“Try.” She crossed her arms and tried hard to keep her heart from beating any faster than it was. There was something in his voice, or thoughts that set every warning bell off, bells that made her a good cop.

“It’s not what it sounds like, beautiful. Just believe me when I say that.”

She let out a calming breath. “I’ll try.” There was a long silence, and she wasn’t going to be the first to break it this time.

“Close those sexy green eyes and take a look.”

She smirked at his words but did as he said. At first, she didn’t see anything and thought she wasn’t doing it right, and then images started to come forward. Images of a tall, chain-link fence, of men wandering around in the cold. The men were dressed in the same dark blue jackets, and many wore the same dark blue hats. Her heartbeat sped up when she recognized the next thing she saw. A guard tower standing high above the tall fence. It was a prison, and if she wasn’t mistaken, it was Wyestate prison.

She opened her eyes, and the images left all at once. She swallowed. “Are you a guard at Wyestate?” Another long silence.

“Jennah...”

She shook her head at the pleading way he said her name. She was all too familiar with that pleading tone, and she was not falling for it ever again! “Are you?”

“No.”

She closed her eyes and tried to fight the crushing feeling that was taking over her chest. “Are you an inmate, Dominic?”

“It’s not...”

“Are you?”

“Technically, yes.”

She tried to take a breath, but her lungs felt like they were closing on her. Everything was closing in on her. She’d been here before, too. “Goodbye, Dominic.”

“Jennah...”

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She pictured a door slamming closed and locking. Even though the image was inside her head, the sound echoed, and it felt so hollow inside of her now. She sat there with her eyes closed for a few minutes more, waiting to see if it had worked. She wasn’t sure how much time went by, but there were no more words from Dominic. No sound of any kind.

~

Dom stood there and stared at the white ground. Dammit! Why hadn’t she listened to him for two more seconds? He ran a hand down over his face and briefly glanced around the yard to make sure he was still in a safe position. He should have told her sooner, explained it to her that first night, or at least on the second one.

He slid down the icy wall and squatted with his back against the wall, looking down at his clasped hands. He’d felt the pain from her, the feeling of betrayal, and it had crushed him to be the one that had caused it. She had invited him to spend Christmas with her! He wasn’t a cheery Christmas kind of man, not since his parents were both gone, but he wanted to spend it with her more than he wanted anything right now.

“Palmer, you okay?”

Dom looked up quickly to see one of the guards standing on the other side of the fence a few feet away from him. “Yeah, just freezing my nuts off out here.”

The guard, whose name he couldn’t remember, laughed. “It is cold out today, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” He didn’t move to stand. He didn’t want to be seen talking to a guard. He had enough problems.

“Listen...” The guard peered around and scowled before he looked back at him. “Normally, I keep my ass out of things around here, but I needed to warn you.”

Dom glanced around the yard and noted no one was really paying attention to them. “About?”

“They’re onto you. Watch your back.” The guard reached down to fix the pant cuff tucked into his boot.

“They?”

The guard straightened and shot him a quick glance. “The cons and the guards.”

“Fuck!” He dropped his head back down.

“Watch your ass and get your handler to get you the hell out of here.”

“Thanks.” He lifted his head to ask him if he knew how, but the red-headed guard was walking the other way. Shit! Now he was in way over his stupid head. Which brought him right back to Jennah. He should have told her. She could have helped.

Checking to make sure he was still in the clear, he took a deep breath and reached for her. “Jennah?” He waited. Maybe if he just kept quiet for a few minutes and let her cool down, she’d come back.

Standing, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and sighed. Who was he kidding? She wasn’t coming back. She thought he was a criminal. Dammit! He sighed when the bell went off for them to all go back inside. He needed to come up with a plan, and he needed to do it soon.

~

Jennah pushed the boxes back into the corner as she swatted at the tears running down her cheeks. She was acting like a twit, and she knew it. So some lonely con had taken her for a ride. It’s not like she’d fought it in any way. Part of her needed it as much as he probably did. If he’d been inside for a long time, then he was most likely lonelier than she was.

It was her repeated poor judgment that was bothering her the most. The first man, flesh or dream, that she had opened herself up to since Dalton and look what had happened. She should have pushed for answers with his vague and evasive responses. She knew better.

It was just as well they’d never met. Even in her mind, everything about him called to her, and she responded to everything to do with him.

Walking into the kitchen, she stopped and looked around, then sighed and walked back out again. She headed toward the bathroom and decided nothing fixed heartache like a bubble bath. A bubble bath, and then she’d either have a good cry or clean something. Either would help fix this in a hurry.