Page 5 of Fighting for Tawny

“No. I watched a lot of kung fu movies growing up.”

“Huh.” When they reached the infirmary, Whitcomb remarked, “See you around… Ginger. Try to stay out of trouble before you end up in an early grave.”

The way he called her Ginger reminded Tawny of how Finnigan referred to her as Red. Her heart ached with missing him. If he didn’t propose to her after this, she might have to take the initiative!

Dr. Sadler welcomed Tawny into the infirmary with a rare smile and sent Whitcomb on his way. She indicated Tawny should hop onto an examination table, and then proceeded to listen to her lungs and heart. “You have a slight wheeze.”

“It’s damp in solitary.”

The doctor checked her ears, nose, and throat and took her temperature. “It’s normal, but I don’t like your color. You’re pale.”

“A week in solitary will do that to a person.”

“I imagine so.” She unwrapped the Ace bandages around Tawny’s midsection and examined the bruising caused by the fight. “Still deep purple and yellow, but you’re healing.”

Next, she peeled the bandages from Tawny’s other wounds. “I don’t like the way these gashes look. Let’s get the stitches out, clean everything with antiseptic, and cover them again.”

At the end of the visit, Tawny thanked Dr. Sadler for her concern. “I appreciate you, Doc.”

Dr. Sadler made her swallow a multivitamin and an oral antibiotic. “You’ve been a week without proper treatment, so I’ll request that you see me once a day for the next three days.”

“What about Yolanda?”

“I saw her earlier. She’s doing fine. The dentist will fix her teeth.”

“I didn’t want to hurt her.”

Dr. Sadler nodded. “I understand how things work in here. Now, go on. Warden Stoltz is waiting for you.”

A different guard, more surly and unfriendly than Pomeroy or Whitcomb, escorted Tawny to the warden’s office. She wasn’t handcuffed, but he seemed to take pleasure in pushing her forward. Tawny remained quiet and cooperative, though she longed to punch him in the face.

Wendy greeted her with her usual effervescence. “Tawny, hi! You’re looking better.”

Tawny suppressed the urge to chuckle and to respond with sarcasm. Instead, she returned Wendy’s smile. “Thank you.”

Wendy opened the door, and Tawny and the guard walked into the tail end of Warden Stoltz’s phone conversation.

“I don’t care how! Just get it done. Yes, yes, ten new promising recruits. At least a month.” A pause. Then, he continued in a hard voice, “All right. Two weeks.”

Warden Stoltz ended the call. When the guard cleared his throat, Stoltz turned at the sound. His face darkened with anger. “You should have waited outside.”

“Your aide let us in,” the guard replied. Without another word, he left the office.

Tawny didn’t blame him. She wanted to get away from the warden, too. The look he leveled at her caused a twinge of fear to creep across her scalp. He regarded her as one might a cockroach scuttling across the floor before stomping on it. In that one unguarded moment, Stoltz gave her a glimpse into his true feelings about the women in CIFW. He would like to see them all suffer and then die.

She didn’t sit down. To do so would give him power over her. Her height provided an advantage since he had to look up at her.

“I trust you used your time in solitary wisely,” Warden Stoltz began in a curt tone.

Tawny mentally rolled her eyes. What an asinine thing to say. “I did. What about our deal?”

“Still on the table. You’ll be informed when fire classes begin.”

“I want to call my lawyer.”

His dark, beady eyes narrowed as he considered her request. “As I recall, you don’t have a lawyer.”

“My public defender bailed as soon as I was convicted. I have a new lawyer now who’s working on appealing my conviction.”

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