Page 30 of Sweet Prison

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, and the moment I saw his—clever, ruthless, scheming—I knew. That terrifying-looking man is my “pen pal.” Even without the prison uniform… Even if there were a dozen other men around… I still would have recognized him.

When he made his approach toward Nera and me, my heart was beating so rapidly that I was afraid I was going to have a heart attack. In a way, I’ve always perceived Massimo as somewhat unreal. Untouchable. Out of reach. Maybe that’s why I found it so easy to open up to him. Seeing him here, in front ofme, as a real flesh-and-blood entity, almost made me faint. And my stupid heart sang with joy.

Until he crushed it with one simple sentence.

Just you, Nera.

I should have known.

With Dad gone, Massimo doesn’t need me anymore. I won’t have inside access to whoever takes over the Family. Therefore, I’m no longer of any use to him.

“Zara?” Nera catches up with me in the parking lot. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” I grab the door handle and slip inside her car, dropping onto the passenger seat.

She watches me for a few seconds through the window, then rounds the hood and gets behind the wheel.

“It’s just the two of us now.” Her voice is soft as she stares at the crowd still lingering beyond the windshield. “Would you like to stay at my place for a bit? I don’t like the idea of you alone in that house.”

I nod.

Far to the left, the prison transport van has just pulled out of the parking lot and is turning onto the main road. We both follow it with our eyes until the vehicle disappears around the curve.

“What do you think Massimo wants to talk with me about?” Nera mumbles.

“You’ll find out tomorrow, I guess.”

I have no idea what he wants to discuss with my sister. Maybe he wants to lay a claim to our family’s properties. That would fit with his cunning methods.

I don’t fucking care.

He already claimed the only thing I care about. My heart.

And he squashed it.

I should have noticed that something was off.

As soon as I set foot in the yard, a familiar sensation tingled at the back of my neck, but I was distracted after my first glimpse of Zahara. The impact of that meeting left me feeling like the ground had been pulled from under my feet. Her eyes… I couldn’t stop thinking about that look in her eyes, the one of stark, unflinching recognition. Preoccupied as all hell by that, I completely neglected my screaming instincts. I was halfway across the yard when the warning finally registered.

Too few inmates.

Usually, there’d be over a hundred men outside during the rec hour. Everyone from Block D. Just the suckers locked up in solitary or those taking part in an online class would miss their time outdoors. But as my eyes scan the yard, I count barely twenty.

The group of Chinese prisoners I struck up a solid pact with is not in their regular spot. Their bench in the far left corner is empty. The Lenox boys typically play basketball on the court, but they are nowhere in sight. Two of Kiril’s guys who’ve stuck by me after his departure aren’t here, either. Basically, all of my staunchest allies in this dump are absent from the yard.

I look up at the nearest guard tower. Normally at this time, there are two COs with guns at the ready against the side railing.Neither of them are there. And no other guards are hanging around inside the perimeter.

Fully alert, but continuing my stroll as if nothing’s wrong, I eye the men who are present. What direction will the first strike come from?

Fights and random attacks are a regular occurrence around here. Small skirmishes or all-out brawls, petty squabbles or serious vendettas—they tend to share a few common traits. One, they are rarely premeditated. And two, prison personnel is never involved.

Right now, everything reeks of a setup.

Someone wants me dead.

That’s nothing new. Many have tried to off me, hoping to take over my reigning position at the zoo.

But this, this speaks of desperation. Whoever wants my head, wants it bad enough that they’ve found a way to bring COs into the mix. Or, rather, take them out.

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