Page 87 of A Little Broken

I nod slowly. “Yeah, man. I know.”

“I appreciate you keepin’ an eye on him, though.” He pauses. “How’s the band?”

“Taking a hiatus for now.”

“That’s good.”

“Is it?” I ask, cocking my head.

“Yeah. Maybe you’ll still be around when I get out of here.”

“You got an update?” We don’t usually talk about it. When Rafe’s getting out. There are too many politics behind weightedquestions like timelines in prison to broach the subject very often, but now that Rafe brought it up? Yeah, I’m all ears.

“It’s still early, but they’re talking about next year.”

“Seriously?” My mouth lifts. “Fuck, man. That’s amazing.”

“Yeah, I hope so.” He hesitates. “Which is dangerous. Hope. But, uh, you know, I’m keeping my head down, doing my own thing, trying not to cause trouble, and the warden says he’s been noticing my effort, so…”

“Well, damn.” My grin stretches. “I’d hug you, but—” I tap my knuckle against the glass, pulling another laugh from Rafe.

“Thanks for the reminder.”

“Glad I can be of service.”

And just like that, I’m brought back to before. Before Rafe was arrested. Before my life went to shit. Before I got my head out of my ass and cleaned up my life.

When it was just me and my neighbor, Rafe. Playing outside from sunup to sundown. With no expectations. No chips on our shoulders. Just me and him.

The good ol’ days.

I’m not sure how much time passes as we continue catching up before the officer walks up and taps his hand on his watch. Rafe looks up and nods. “Looks like my time’s up.”

“All right.” I clear my throat, unsurprised by the lump forming in it or how hard it is to choke down. “I’ll, uh, I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Yeah, for sure.” He taps his knuckles against the small counter. “And thanks for visiting, Pax. I know it’s kind of a bitch seeing me like this, but I’ve missed talking face-to-face, you know?”

“Yeah,” I breathe out. “Yeah, I agree.”

“All right, I’ll see you later.” Hanging up the phone, Rafe stands, wipes his palms on his gray scrubs, and lifts his hands. The officer snaps the cuffs into place, leading him back throughthe door he originally stepped through, leaving me as hollow as before.

This sucks.

26

TATUM

Ishouldn’t feel like I’m sitting on pins and needles, but I do. Hell, pins and needles is an understatement. It’s more like spikes and daggers and one wrong move will wind up impaling me. Okay, yeah, it’s a little dramatic, but also…is it? I dyed his hair, then hid in his pantry where he proceeded to find me, pin me to the shelves, and lick me until I came against his mouth before asking me to do the dishes, which I broke out of principle.

Oops.

Okay, maybe I’m not being dramatic.

I haven’t seen Pax since the last time I was here. I’m still shocked he didn’t call my boss about the whole thing. Or maybe he did and she’s letting Pax fire me in person. It wouldn’t surprise me despite our little rendezvous in the pantry.

Wiping my sweaty palms against my T-shirt, I reach for the door handle when my phone buzzes in my pocket. It’s a text from Rory, so I open it.

Rory

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