“The inspector’s house that caught him?” Morris whispered.
Hamish gawped. “You don’t think…”
“He sent you that letter.” Morris whispered.
Rory looked up. “What letter?”
“He said he’d make my life hell…”
Morris squeezed his shoulder, and her eyes rounded with sympathy. “What if you’re in danger?”
“I’ll have to get my wife into protective custody, get her away from here.” Hamish rubbed his chin. “Has Sebastian mentioned me?”
Rory shook his head. “No, he talked about killing Lester, but he’s not mentioned you. He doesn’t talk much, or at least not to me.”
“You don’t have to be buddies with him, just close enough to overhear him. He doesn’t call anyone on the prison phones, he doesn’t send letters, he doesn’t have visitors, but I know he’s getting messages out. He might have a phone hidden in his cell.”
“I’ve not heard him talking to anyone at night.”
Morris snorted. “You’ve only been there a week.”
“Even so, I didn’t see a phone.”
“Rory, I know you’re hurting, and you’re scared of going back there, but I know you’re braver than that, I know you’re on the good side, and we must do all we can to win against the bad members of society. If he really is making bombs to sell, you owe it to the public, to whoever his intended victims are, to stop him, to save their lives.”
Rory squeezed his eyes shut. “Okay, enough with the guilt trip, I’ll go back in.”
Hamish released a slow breath and rocked forward in his chair. “You’re a good man, your dad would be proud. I’m proud.”
Rory swallowed the lump in his throat, then asked, “Can I see my sister, though?”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“If I can’t see her, can I at least speak to her?”
Hamish nodded, and pulled his phone from his pocket. He handed it over.
“Make it quick, I need to talk to your guard, find out how soon they can get you back in the prison. The quicker you can find out what Sebastian’s planning, the quicker we can get you out of there.”
Hamish groped Morris’s hand, then strolled out of the room. Rory’s fingers shook as he typed in Erica’s number. He pressed the device to his ear and listened to the rings. Morris crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall.
“Do you mind?” Rory hissed.
“No, go right ahead.” She smirked.
“Fuck off—”
“Pardon?” Rory blinked in quick succession when he realized the call had connected.
“Erica, it’s me.”
“Did you just tell me to fuc—”
“No, I was talking to someone else. It doesn’t matter, are you all right?”
Erica chuckled. “I’m fine, but you’ve got me worried. I thought you were doing 007 undercover stuff.”
Rory smiled weakly. “I am.”
“So you shouldn’t be calling me, right?”
“Not strictly speaking. I—I wanted to hear your voice, that’s all.”
“Jesus, Rory, we only saw each other two weeks ago, what’s happened, are you okay?”
He looked down at himself, the sheet covered him, but beneath it was the bandage, and beneath that, the still weeping wound. It throbbed with the remnants of fire, and he winced.
“Rory?”
The concern in her tone made him want to cry, and he blinked back the sting in his eyes. “Me, I’m fine.”
“I’m not buying it…”
He laughed lightly. “No, I mean it, I’m fine. How are you?”
“You sure?”
“Yep, what are you doing later?”
“Danny’s taking me out, first time for months, he’s finally remembered I exist.”
“Well, he is a gear head.” Rory snorted.
“Hey, I’ve accepted I’m second best to his car. No matter how much I hate it, it came before me. It’s his first love.”
“When I’m done with this, I’ll scratch it up for you, puncture the tires.”
“Don’t!”
“I’m joking, I’m joking.”
“Don’t let him catch you saying that, he’ll go crazy. You should’ve seen him having a go at the pigeon.”
“Pigeon?”
“Makes art on the roof of his car nearly every morning—he loses sleep over it. One morning, he started yelling at the trees like a madman, freaked out the neighbors.”
Rory pressed his lips together to stop his laugh. “Can you do something for me?”
“What?”
“Flick yogurt on his car, then film his reaction on your phone.”
“Rory!”
“Come on, for your little brother. The thought of it will keep me going.”
“No way, I’m hanging up now…”
“It’ll be funny.”
“It bloody wouldn’t, I’ve got to live with him.”
Hamish tapped on the window, then gestured to his watch.
“Hey Eric, I’ve—”
“Erica.”
Rory smiled. “Erica, I’ve got to go.”
“So soon?”
“The 007 wannabe is needed.”
“When will you next be able to call?”
“I’m not sure…”
Erica hummed. “There’s that tone again.”
“What tone?”
“The sad one.”
“I don’t have a sad tone.”
“Yeah, you do, you spoke in that tone for months after dad died. Detached, distant, it awakens my protective big sister side, makes me wanna hug you and not let go.”
Rory bit his lip. “I promise I’m fine.”
“He’d be proud of you.”
“No, he wouldn’t.”
“Yeah, he would—”
“I’m—I’m not who you think I am.”
“You’re my baby brother. You tried and tried to get into the police force, kept getting knocked back, but you got there eventually.”
Rory gritted his teeth. He remembered the constant rejection, over and over for years, and that was before he got a chance to take the entry test. He had three failures to his name, then Hamish stepped in and helped him.
“You never gave up, and now you’re a spy.”
“I’m not a spy, I’m spying on someone.”
“Small difference.”
“Big one.”
Morris forcefully cleared her throat, then lifted her eyebrow.
“Who was that?” Erica asked.
“It was a toilet struggling to flush.”
Morris narrowed her eyes and turned away.
“Eww, are you talking to me on the toilet?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s disgusting.”
“Look, I’ve got to go—”
“And unblock that toilet.”
Rory snorted, and the burning sensation returned to his eyes. “I love you.”
Erica blew down the phone, then whistled. “Now I am worried.”
“Just say it back to me, you git.”
“Love you, baby brother.”
Rory ended the call, and without glancing up, he held the phone out to Morris.
“That was sweet,” she muttered.
“Shut up.”
The door opened, and Hamish strolled inside with a big grin spreading his lips. “Great news…”
“What?” Rory asked.
“You can go back to the prison tomorrow, the doctor at the prison can treat you from your cell.”
“Great,” Rory said through his teeth. “That’s great news…”
Chapter Five
He’d been nervous the first time he’d stepped onto the wing, but coming back from the hospital was ten times worse. His stomach fizzled, and the pain in his side pulsed with each step he took. The pain radiated into his chest, making it hard to breathe. It was a fight or flight response to danger, and his body wanted him to spin around and run the hell away, but he we
nt against the urge, and walked back on the wing.
One of them had stabbed him, but he didn’t know who. Heads lifted from their meals, and a heavy silence began suffocating the room. Pauly blew him a kiss, Sebastian directed a smirk his way, and then Rory looked at Captain, and the bubbling in his gut stopped.
He gave Rory a warm grin, then circled his finger in front of Ollie, so he’d turn around. Ollie turned and widened his eyes. He flung his chair back, took three big strides across the room, then wrapped his arms around Rory in a quick hug.
“You had me worried. You’ve been gone ages.”
“At least someone missed me.”
“And Captain, he asked about you every day.”
Rory glanced at their table and gestured to Teddy. “He sits with us now?”
“Yeah, he’s good, I promise.”
Rory clutched his side as he walked over to the table, then sat down beside Captain. He offered his hand, and Rory grasped on immediately.
“Glad you’re back.”
“Thanks, although the hospital food tastes better than this slop.”
Captain and Ollie snorted, but Teddy tilted his head, frowned, then resumed scooping up his eggs.
“Anything changed?” Rory asked.
Ollie looked pleased with himself. “Captain’s been teaching me knife combat in the gym.”
“How to disarm an attacker with a knife,” Captain corrected.
“What do you do when they come up behind you in the dark?” Rory muttered.
“For starters, turn the light on.”
“It was broken.”
“And the second you realized, you should’ve got out of there.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve learned from my mistake,” Rory mumbled.
Captain tugged at the bottom of Rory’s t-shirt. “Let’s see it then.”
Rory lifted his t-shirt, and flashed the patch taped to his side. Ollie leaned over the table to get a good look, then sat back down.
“It still hurt?” Ollie asked.
“It aches, pinches when I turn too quickly.” Rory knocked his shoulder against Captain’s. “Thank you for—”
“Don’t,” Captain interrupted. “If I hadn’t taken so long coming back to the wing, it wouldn’t have happened.”
“You can’t look out for us all of the time.”
“Watch me.”
Rory shook his head. “Where did you go that day?”
“Speaking to the governor. He’s given me a cell of my own on the second floor, next to yours actually. No more terrifying my cellmate, and I begrudgingly agreed to seeing a psychiatrist.”
“That’s great.”
Captain hissed through his teeth. “I cancelled.”
“Why?”
“I left the wing for thirty minutes, and you got yourself stabbed.”
“You have to speak to someone.”
“No, I don’t. No one can make me do anything.”
“Please—”
“Stop.” Captain snapped. “This isn’t up for discussion.”
“You pulling rank on me?”
“Yeah, I am. You’re a fresh-faced private, and I’m an experienced captain.”
“Hey,” Ollie hissed, “look who’s coming…”
Sebastian strolled to their table, smirked, then crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re back then.”
“Looks that way.”
“A word…”
“No.” Rory huffed.
“What?”
“You asked for a word, and I gave you one. No.”
“Very funny, did that hospital sew your balls back on?”
“I don’t want to speak to you.”
Sebastian pouted, then looked at Ollie. “He’s not interested.”
“Interested?”
Ollie’s cheeks reddened, and he glanced away.
“What did you do?” Rory asked.
Sebastian laughed, and crouched down. Even though he was looking up at Rory, he still felt smaller, vulnerable. “Your buddy here begged me to protect you when you came back, wants to make sure Pauly doesn’t go stabbing you again.”
“That’s if it was him.”
Sebastian rolled his eyes. “See, I don’t do anything for free. So for my protection, and your guaranteed safety, you’d need to do things for me.”
Rory shook his head. “No.”
“Hear me out. I’m not interested in your holes, but I am interested in why you’re here…”
“Why I’m here?”
Sebastian smiled, then mouthed the word ‘drugs. “I want some brought in, a farewell score for some of my closest.”
“Your release is almost nine months away.”
“I want a long and happy farewell. Think you could smuggle some in for me?”
Rory looked into Sebastian’s blue eyes, the amusement dazzled. He knew Hamish would probably give him drugs to get Sebastian onside, to become valuable to him in the hope he’d overhear some vital information, but he didn’t want Sebastian lording his power over him.
“You asked for a word, and I gave you one. No.”
Sebastian chuckled. He got to his feet, his full menacing height, and stood over Rory.
“What did you say?”
“I’m not doing that. I’m not bringing that stuff in here.”
“A drug dealer with a conscience.”
“Something like that.”
Sebastian ran his tongue along his bottom lip and frowned. “Let me get this straight. You’re turning down my protection.”
Ollie kicked him under the table. “No, he’s not.”
“Stay out of this Ollie.” Captain growled.
“You do know what Pauly will do to you, right? You think that blade in your side hurt, wait till he rams it up your as—”
“Hey!” Captain shouted, getting to his feet. “Enough.”
Sebastian held up his hands. “Calm down. I’m not threatening, only stating facts. It’s your choice.”
He turned around, then walked away.
“What the hell, Rory?” Ollie hissed. “You’ve got eight years in here.”
“So, he’d give me nine months protection, then what?”
A growl rumbled in Teddy’s throat, not angry, more of a considering mumble.
“Exactly,” Rory said, pointing to him. “I’m not going to be bullied to bring drugs in here.”
“You sure you were stabbed in the side?” Ollie asked.
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Only I’m starting to think it went through your thick skull and cut out part of your brain.”
Ollie grabbed his tray and moved to a vacant table. Teddy snorted, then went to join him.
“He’s worried about you.” Captain muttered.
“I know he is. I’m worried about me.”
“No going into dark cupboards or cells alone, understand?”
“Trust me, I won’t go making that mistake again. You’re not gonna bitch at me for turning down Sebastian’s offer?”
Captain grinned. “Nope, you are your own man, own your choices, like I do.”
****
Rory spent most of the day sitting in Captain’s eyeline. He sat outside in the yard and watched football. He sat in the gym and watched Captain teaching Ollie moves. He sat by the pool table and listened to the clink of the balls knocking together.
When roll call arrived, Rory felt exhausted. He trudged after Captain and peeked a look inside his cell. Single bed kept military tidy. He had boots at the end of the bed, the ones he’d come in with, but he never wore them in the wing, he wore his prison grade sneakers.
“Come on.”
He startled at Sebastian’s voice, then continued along the walkway to the last cell. He waited on the bunk bed while Sebastian got ready for bed. “Your balls shriveled up again?”
“There’s not enough room for both of us.”
“There’s plenty of room. Why are you scared of me?” He gestured to his naked self and Rory looked away.
<
br /> “I’m not.”
Sebastian squinted. “Is it because I’m a killer?”
“I’m sure there’s plenty of killers in here.”
Sebastian hummed. “There’s a few. Pauly, he’s a killer. Killed two men, and Teddy…”
Rory widened his eyes. “What did Teddy do?”
Sebastian held up his hand, his killing hand, and spread out his fingers. “Five.”
“Five?”
“Yeah, and one of those five was a fellow inmate.”
“Jesus…”
“He’s the most dangerous man in here, on paper at least. Then there’s the newest inmate, baby-faced Ollie. I heard a rumor he’s in for murder, too, stabbed someone twenty times...”
“You know nothing about him.” Rory defended.
“He still killed someone. My point is, you’re not scared of him or Teddy, but you are of me, especially when we’re alone. You’re all … jumpy.”
“Excuse my jumpiness, I was stabbed a few weeks ago.”
Sebastian laughed. “Who was it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Come on, you must know. It’s not squealing if you tell me, I won’t tell the guards.”
Rory licked his lips. “I really don’t know.”
Sebastian did bunny ears with his fingers. “Well, when you remember, let me know.”
“Why? What will you do if I tell you?”
Sebastian’s laugh rumbled. “Nothing. I’ve put my money on Pauly though, a few of the other guys have placed money on others.”
“You’re betting on who stabbed me?”
Sebastian shrugged. “Damon thinks it was your buddy, Ollie.”
“Ollie wouldn’t do that.”
“He’s in here for stabbing a guy. How well do you actually know him?”
Rory turned away. “Shut up.”
“There’s your balls.” Sebastian chuckled. “I wondered where they’d gone.”
He sat down on his bed and groaned as he got comfortable.
“Your turn.” He mumbled.
Rory got down, brushed his teeth, used the toilet, then washed his hands. He tentatively lifted his T-shirt and felt Sebastian’s eyes on him.
“Whoever did it, didn’t want you dead. They would’ve gone for your throat, or your heart.”
“I was scared,” Rory admitted. “Scared I was gonna die.”
The Rat Page 4
