Page 15 of Reclaim

“Really?”

“Yeah, you’re passionate. You see them as people and not just inmates.”

“Everyone else just calls me green.”

I laugh at her admission. “It’s fine. I’ve heard green is good.”

The guard escorts Jagger over, Monica noticing before I do as her chatter comes to an abrupt stop. Turning my head, I find him candidly meeting my stare. It’s been three weeks, and the change in him is unmistakable. There’s a flicker of hope in his eyes, the reality of release finally giving him permission to think past these four walls. He was like a vault, and the date was the key, unlocking everything he’s kept dormant for so long. Wants. Needs. Desires.

Flustered by his presence, and our audience, my head drops, my hair covering my flushed face. Busying myself, I remove pens and papers out of my leather laptop bag.

Thankfully, it doesn’t take too long for Monica to break the silence, and the telling flush slowly leaves my face.

“Mr Michaels, how are you doing?” I wait for him to correct her, reminding her to call him by his name, but it never comes. “This is probably the last time Miss Lane and I will see you before release. Everything discussed here will be written up into a detailed report, which you will sign upon leaving Goulburn.”

“Mr Michaels,” I start.

“Jagger.” I subtly roll my eyes at his correction, while biting the inside of my cheek to stop a smirk from gracing my face.

“Jagger, I’m just going to be listening and writing everything down. I’ll ask questions to you or Miss Dare if I need any clarification. What I write goes in the final version of the paperwork. Do you have any questions?”

I look at Monica, and then back at Jagger.

“Dickhead, didn’t feel like keeping you company today?” he asks.

“Mr Michaels.” Monica’s tone chastises him, but his gaze remains firm and focused on nothing else but me. Curious and possessive, I know he isn’t going to let it go until I answer.

I knock her knee under the table with my own, letting her know it’s okay. It’s unnecessary to answer him, but like everything surrounding Jagger, I’m compelled to bend over backwards to his requests. “No, Jagger. Joe and I are currently working on different things.”

“Good.” The word is simple, but the way he spits it out is definitive and controlling. The time and place irrelevant to his need to know.

“Can we start now?”

With a smug look on his face, he responds, “yeah, whenever you’re ready.”

* * *

We combthrough every single detail for the next two hours. Confirming he’ll live with Hendrix, he’s to have no contact from anyone associated with his prior crime. He’ll be required to report to the local police station daily.

He has a ten pm curfew which, like all of his other restrictions, will be reviewed every six months for the length of his sentence.

“Any news on the Dakota situation?” Monica asks.

“Sasha won’t talk to Hendrix about it, and she refuses to answer my calls. I’ll just wait till I can go and talk to her face to face.”

“No. What if she calls the police on you?” Relieved Monica’s thoughts are the same as mine, I bite my tongue and let them discuss options.

“She wouldn’t do that, would she?” His head cocks to the side as he asks us both a question we can’t answer.

“Maybe one of us could talk to Hendrix and see if he can pick her brain and give us some answers as to where she’s at with it all,” I suggest. “Two weeks is still a good amount of time for us to work with, right?” I turn to Monica, raising eyebrows, hoping she can back me up with a few extra beats of positivity.

“Yes. Of course.” She smiles a little too excessively but it works. “A united family is on the top of everyone’s priority list.”

“Okay, next on the agenda is employment,” I announce. With a criminal record, getting a job is pure luck, but with a brother like Hendrix, Jagger’s chances have increased tenfold. “Now, am I correct in saying you have a cover letter and resume on file?”

“Yeah.” He tips his chin towards Monica. “We did it together, last week.”

“The fact you finished a four year university degree while in here puts you ahead of so many people.”

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