Page 15 of Jackson

I purse my lips. “Yeah, well, here’s hoping Jackson’s plan is impenetrable.”

Xander nods.

I want to ask him the burning question, but I don’t want to push my luck when he’s so willing to help.

“Go on,” he murmurs, uncrossing his arms and leaning against the wall, “ask me how the hell I ended up with a debt that large.”

“I’m that obvious, huh?”

He offers me a small smile.

“You just seem so nice; I would have never picked you as the gambling type.”

“It’s funny how quickly it can change. I never thought I was the gambling type, either. I was down on my luck one year, no money and struggling. A friend and I went and played at the casino, and I just so happened to win. It was like all my problems went away. Then, I went again, and you’d never believe, but I won once more. The cycle just continued. I was losing money, but then I’d win and it felt like everything was going to be okay. I wasn’t considering how much money was being wasted. Then, I branched out and got into bigger things, more dangerous things, and I found myself in a situation I couldn’t escape from.”

I guess like any addiction, it all starts somewhere, with something small that makes you feel good and then suddenly you’re in so deep you wonder how the hell you ever got there.

“I began wracking up a debt, and little by little, I realized what I had done. My job was never going to cover it, and I owed some bad people a lot of money. Those kinds of people will come after you, and we both know it won’t end well.”

“Have you been hiding from them?” I ask.

“No, they know where I am. Right now, they’re letting me be while they deal with other things, but I have been given multiple reminders that they are coming, and they want their money. You and Jackson literally saved my life with your offer.”

My heart breaks for him, it really does.

He’s a nice guy, one of the good ones.

“You’re risking your job helping me.”

He offers me a weary smile. “It’s that or my life, which would you choose?”

He’s right.

I would choose my life, too.

Anyone would.

I just hope this all goes to plan.

For the both of us.

MY STOMACH TWISTS INknots as I wait in my cell, anticipating the moment that the drama unfolds outside and Xander comes to escort me out. He has access to the power room and has organized to have the power drop out. When it does, the cameras will go out for a matter of about twenty minutes before the generators do their job and bring everything back up again. It’s an old system, and I’m thankful because it means thecameras are connected to the main power supply. It’s risky, but hopefully nobody will be able to figure out it was him that did it.

It gives us a small window of time for him to get me out.

So many things could go wrong.

This could all be for nothing.

I’m just waiting, hoping and praying. It’s all I can do.

Bouncing my leg, I find myself too restless to sit and begin pacing my cell, listening, trying to see if I can hear anything. All the other inmates are enjoying their outside time, but I managed to get Xander to leave me in my cell because I’m “unwell”. It worked, and now the block is quiet. Enough for nobody to see me leaving.

It takes another twenty minutes before I finally hear commotion outside. It’s faint, and I can’t really make out what’s happening, but I know that it’s time. Pushing to my feet, I wait for Xander, and, as predicted, he shows up in a matter of minutes. His face is flushed and he’s staring around, his eyes darting frantically as he opens my cell and lets me out.

“We have minutes. Let’s go. Stay behind me. If we run into anyone, you act like you’re having some kind of medical episode.”

I nod, swallowing the anxious lump in my throat as I hustle after him. We rush down the quiet halls, and it’s eerie to see it so empty. As we near the kitchen and laundry, I can hear the commotion outside a lot clearer. I don’t know what exactly Jackson had planned, but whatever it is has caused every guard in the place to rush out.

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