This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2021 Lily Campbell
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.
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Table of Contents
Chapter One1
Chapter Two9
Chapter Three17
Chapter Four24
Chapter Five31
Chapter Six39
Chapter Seven48
Chapter Eight56
Chapter Nine65
Chapter Ten73
Chapter Eleven82
Chapter Twelve90
Chapter Thirteen97
Chapter Fourteen105
Chapter Fifteen113
Chapter Sixteen121
Chapter Seventeen130
Chapter Eighteen140
Chapter Nineteen148
Chapter Twenty156
Chapter Twenty-One165
Chapter Twenty-Two173
Chapter Twenty-Three181
Chapter Twenty-Four189
Chapter Twenty-Five197
Chapter Twenty-Six206
Chapter Twenty-Seven214
Chapter Twenty-Eight222
Chapter Twenty-Nine230
Chapter Thirty238
Chapter Thirty-One248
Chapter Thirty-Two257
Chapter Thirty-Three266
Chapter Thirty-Four274
Chapter Thirty-Five282
Chapter Thirty-Six289
Chapter Thirty-Seven298
Chapter Thirty-Eight305
Chapter Thirty-Nine313
Chapter Forty321
Chapter Forty-One329
Chapter Forty-Two337
Chapter Forty-Three345
Chapter Forty-Four352
Chapter Forty-Five360
Chapter Forty-Six367
Chapter Forty-Seven373
Chapter Forty-Eight381
Chapter Forty-Nine389
Chapter Fifty397
CHAPTER ONE
The droning electronic bell that governed all life rang and Jayden Roe obediently rose and made his way to the line on the far side of the prison exercise yard. He shifted his gray eyes to the blue, spring sky. He was enjoying his last moments of a breeze filled with tantalizing hints of the pending summer beyond these gray walls.
Three more days, he told himself firmly, planting himself behind another prisoner.
His four years in prison for killing Linda Wei is coming to an end. The victim’s own testimony, recorded just prior to her death, had helped, but he knew that without Stella, the jury and judge would still likely have called for a much harsher sentence, even if the victim knew what was going to happen and was a willing participant.
Jayden frowned and ran a hand over his long, black hair. Stella had visited often, and written too, over the past years, but for the last two weeks, there had been no sign of her.
After the guard gave the call, the file of convicted felons made their way steadily back into the concrete block in which they spent most of their time. They were led off to the mess hall, and Jayden took up a tray and waited, but his mind was still on Stella.
Her last letter had mentioned some big fish client she was trying to catch, competing with some other hotshot lawyer.
She’s probably caught the woman and is working her butt off.
Jay frowned and wondered if she would still be coming to meet him on the day of his release. After all, they had made plans to go and celebrate afterward.
The whistle of an object traveling through the air was his only warning. He ducked the soaring tray just in time while using his own tray to block the first fierce jab from a shank.
Guards were already approaching, batons raised and tasers primed, but his attacker didn’t relent. Jay felt a searing pain across his left arm as he shifted a fraction of a second too late. He had to first dodge another man trying to help peg him down so the first could finish his attack successfully.
He hissed but didn’t attack in return. Although the man’s poor form gave a clear opening. Jay knew well enough that if he did anything beyond defending himself, he would not be let out in three days. Even now, the guards were making slow work of finally taking down his assailant. So much so that he had to block another two attempts to gut him before the man was tasered and disarmed.
Jayden straightened and met the guards’ eyes coldly. He had realized soon after his incarceration that while Detective Hector Piers may have forgiven all his dishonorable scheming in taking down the man who had murdered Myra Piers, no one else had taken this view. Perhaps it was because they didn’t have a personal stake in beating Goldstein, or perhaps it was because so many had been shamed by Jayden as he expertly flipped evidence and overturned their cases against his clients. Perhaps it was because at least a few of them had been in Goldstein’s vast net of corruption that Jay had frayed.
As he was given a terse order to get to the infirmary, he knew it was likely to be the latter reason. He put down his tray and followed the officer, checking his wound himself as he went. Depending on who was on duty, he might get no more than a bandage slapped over it, which would be of no help at all if bits of the crude shank had broken off inside the wound.
Satisfied that it appeared devoid of any foreign objects, he took a steadying breath and worked to get the rest of the adrenaline out of his system. He had survived these four years by drawing on all the experience he had gained in his trade as a private investigator. He had used outside contact with Stella to build a base on his fellow inmates and officers. He made sure to keep himself out of the worst trouble by playing on the politics within the prison itself. He subconsciously rose his right hand to his side where, under his prison clothes, there was a thick scar. It had been the first attempt on his life, and the attack had almost claimed it.
“Again?”
Jayden met the eyes of
