Nodding by way of response, I grab a pair of gloves and pass the box back to Rodriguez, taking the few necessary steps toward the table where everyone is congregated. Mack and Jordan exchange a look that doesn’t sit well with me as I snap the blue latex in place.
“Question for you before we turn this place upside down, Bala.” Mack turns back to me, leaning forward onto the table.
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck!
I’m not solely worried for me. I’m worried for Benni’s sake too. With an early release on the table, they’ll definitely throw that away without a single question if they catch her with contraband, especially a phone.
The contents of my lunch lurch upward in a sickening stream of bile, threatening to spew from my mouth like the exorcist, but I school my expression to the best of my ability and cross my arms over my chest. “What’s up?”
Mack’s lips curve in this wicked-like smirk as he holds my stare, this subtle gleam of I-don’t-know-what-the-fuck swirling in his eyes. “You wouldn’t happen to know how these drugs were leaking in from D to B Block, right?”
My head rears back in legit confusion, in offense too. I may have snuck Benni in contraband, may have crossed the line and fucked the living shit out of her, but I have nothing to do with any narcotics coming into the Annex. “No, I wouldn’t.”
“Sure about that?” Jordan presses, mimicking Mack’s exact stance.
Are you kidding me right now?
“What are you trying to say?” I toss back at him. And yes, I’m on the defense because what in the actual fuck?
I went from negative twenty, stressing out about this damn sweep and that fucking phone, to one hundred and fifty in milliseconds, every drop of blood in my veins boiling over, shifting the main focus of my entire mood.
Rodriguez, Delfino, and Birks all remain silent, their eyes snapping from me to Jordan and back again as Jordan shrugs and shakes his head, holding his hands up like they’re not trying to imply something. “I’m just saying, man. Ryker told the Warden he only started doing this shit a few weeks ago. Timeline adds up to when you came in the picture, and I mean, you’re B Block, he’s D Block. See where I’m going with this?”
Wow.
So because I’m the new guy, it’s okay to assume I’m involved? What about them or the rest of the guys on our squad?
“For one, I’ve never personally spoken to Ryker a day in my life. Two, why would he enlist the new guy, who he doesn’t know, to help him? And three, who the hell do you think I am? I’m not dirty, I don’t ride dirty, and if I knew there was shit coming in, I would’ve been the first one to speak up,” I counter, thankful as all fuck that my tone comes out calm and cool when I’m feeling anything but.
Both Mack and Jordan eye me for a moment longer as if they’re analyzing not only my response but my entire demeanor. Even under their scrutiny, I stand my ground and lift my chin surely. They can examine me all they want; I’m not going down for this bullshit.
But you might go down for that phone if they find it, that little voice chimes, and while, yes, that could very well be a possibility, Benni swore to me she wouldn’t give me up if she got caught with it. I’d like to believe she’d keep her word, especially after what’s happened between us.
My lack of a reaction prompts Mack to circle his gaze around the table. “I doubt I need to say this, but I expect every cell turned inside out. Check every nook, every cranny—someone has to have something on them. Delfino, you and Birk tear up the bathroom. That’s where Jordan found that one baggy the last time. Check for possible loose tiles in the showers, under the toilets in the stalls…everywhere.”
Everyone nods—except me. I just stand there, staring at Mack with the nastiest taste in my mouth. He gave me bad vibes from day one, more still when I caught him mildly harassing Benni for hugging her bunkie, and now? Well, now, he’s really on my shit list. Let me catch some more shady-ass shit going down around here. I’m gonna question him about it faster than he can blink and see how he likes it.
That is if they don’t nail me for the phone or being involved with Benni first.
♫ Down in Flames - Ella Vos
That sick feeling roiling in the pit of my stomach? It’s still there over a week later, hasn’t subsided even one bit. In fact, it’s only gotten worse, leaving me paranoid and uneasy all hours of the day and night. Neither Andrés nor I have gotten any indication that we’ve been found out, but I’m terrified it’s coming, terrified they’re finally going to come for me now that the entire prison is buzzing about Ryker’s investigation, and they’ll magically know I let a guard dick me down. It doesn’t help that just two days ago, Kori was randomly escorted out of yard time, and she never came back.
Didn’t come back to the block either.
I’ve been on extra high-alert since wondering if they threw her in Seg or perhaps moved her to a different cellblock. Snitches usually ask for a swap when they rat someone out…
“Estas pálida,” Mari comments beside me, jolting me in place.
I hadn’t even realized I was caught up in my head.
“Lunch,” I tell her simply. “Shit is not sitting well with me today.”
Mari gives me this face—the one that says she doesn’t believe me or a single word that just came out of my mouth. “No te hagas la comemierda.” Don’t play stupid. “What’s wrong?”
Folding the shirt in my hands, I set it on top of its matching pants and hitch a shoulder. “I’m worried.”
She sighs knowingly and goes about grabbing another uniform set, tucking
