Page 3 of Strictly Forbidden

I calmly walked to the shower, tossing my towel before standing under the barely lukewarm water. At least the shit was clear, not brown today. As I grabbed the soap, I noticed two soldiers from a Russian Bratva huddled in the corner. Leave it to the Russians to try to take me out. They’d soon learn the error of their ways.

I found it interesting that so many attempts had been made by different cartels or soldiers from other mafia families. Pick a nationality and they’d attempted. When would they learn?

It wasn’t long before other inmates inside the shower were backing away. While I acted as if I wasn’t paying any attention, the truth was far from it. As a former Black Ops member, I’d learned stealth in my sleep, and had the keenest observation skills of anyone I knew. The bastards wouldn’t realize they’d found themselves in a snake pit of sorts until it was too late.

As usual, the assholes were cocky, as so many of the lifers were. I waited until the right moment, when the Russians had flanked either side before attacking. I didn’t need to carve shanks from spoons inside the joint. My fists and techniques had been turned into deadly weapons.

Without hesitation, I attacked. There was nothing more joyful in this bleak world than hearing the sounds of bones crunching. I threw my palm around one soldier’s fist, crushing it between my fingers as I kicked the crude rusty knife from the other’s hand. As the first guy howled, I kicked him against the cinder block wall and started in on the other guy. Issuing punch after punch, within seconds the guy’s face was unrecognizable.

The first guy tried to come back strong, but he was no boxer. I spun around, kicking him hard in the gut then issuing a final blow to the second dude, watching in sheer glee as he slowly dropped to the shower floor.

When I snapped my head back to the first guy, I was rewarded with seeing fear in his eyes. That wasn’t enough for me. He swung a futile punch and I caught his hand in mine, bending his arm at an awkward angle. The final snap forced the other inmates to gasp.

Before they started cheering.

What a fucking game. There were no guards in sight. They’d likely been paid well to allow this shit to go down. The way of the world, and the prison had a certain ruling system of its own. I doubted anyone close to the prison hadn’t been corrupted.

I took my time rinsing off the blood before grabbing my towel and heading out.

More time in solitary confinement.

So the fuck what?

CHAPTER 2

Kage

Chained like an animal.

That’s all I’d been for years, treated as if I was scum on the bottom of a guard’s shoe. As I was led past the other inmates, they screamed obscenities and made threats, nothing that mattered to the faceless men who’d taken the job of trying to keep the peace. Sadly, most of the guards had been bought by one gang or another, eager and willing to follow directions, abusing inmates as ordered.

They mostly left me alone, but today as I was shoved down the ugly corridor, one of two guards was poking me with one of his bully sticks over and over again. It was typical, prisoners with a short fuse launching at them, chained or not. That allowed them permission to beat the fuck out of the man attempting to protect himself.

I wasn’t in the mood to be goaded by anyone at this point. And I hadn’t bothered to ask where the fuck the bastards were taking me. What did it matter at this point? Maybe they were taking me to see the warden where he’d tell me additional time had been shoved onto my record. It was a supermax prison. They could do anything they wanted and no one cared.

As the guards stopped at one of the interrogation rooms, the ugliest and meanest of them snickered before unlocking the door. The hard shove was typical, but this time slammed me against the table.

“That is enough!” Her voice was harsher than normal, the prison psychologist usually very demure. She jerked to her feet, her face reddening. “Not only will I report this to your warden, but I can and will ensure you are tossed out of here on your asses with no chance at receiving your pension if I ever see you abusing a prisoner again. Do I make myself clear, gentlemen?”

I grinned before glancing over my shoulder. The two jerks were shocked and pissed off. Oh, boy, didn’t I feel sorry for them. Not.

“Do you understand?” she hissed. Wow. The woman actually had a backbone.

“Yes, ma’am,” Johnny boy said with a sneer on his face.

“Un-fucking-cuff him. Now.”

She even cursed. Someone must have pissed in her Wheaties. I liked the new Cecilia Daniels. I’d seen her a few times given my… anger issues. She’d been motherly, trying to nurture me into being a good man, reminding me I’d served my country and had been a model citizen. Who cared? As if I could turn over a new leaf now. I was nothing but an empty, enraged shell.

“He’s a dangerous criminal capable of eating your face off,” Mark the shadow said. He was the guard most likely to become a fuck toy for the big cartel lord inside the place.

“I’ll take my chances,” she said. “He’s a human being, unlike the two of you.”

Holy fuck. She was on a roll.

Johnny cursed under his breath as he followed her directions, and it was all I could do not to kick the son of a bitch in the face. When the shackles had been removed, she finally turned her attention toward me, offering a respectful smile. I’d been tough on her during our meetings. Her attempt at getting through the thick block wall I’d placed around myself had done nothing but anger me and I’d made certain she knew it.

It felt good to be treated like a human being for a change.

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