Page 79 of Babalon

“Apparently, there is some sort of hit out on me. The AB is making moves to not only take me out, but to transition a new shot-caller into power. Now, I’m not telling you this so you canrun off and tell the IA, I’m letting you know so you can take time off. I—I need you to stay away until it has calmed down.”

“No can do, and you know that. I have to work to survive, Kace.”

“I know, snitch, I know. I just can’t take that risk right now. Even if it’s only for a week, I can try to escalate things.”

“What about you?” she asks, her brows furrowing as her body grows rigid. If I know anything about her, I have no doubt she’s going to try to fight me on this.

“I have Matias, the homies, and the kinfolk looking out for me.”

“So, you’re a race traitor. That’s going to go over like a fucking lead balloon, Kace.”

“You think I don’t know that? I just need to stay the fuck alive.”

“You can’t do this forever! You’re talking about staying on the down low or getting sent to PC for months! I ca—no. We’re not doing that.”

“We don’t have a choice.”

Nadia shoves herself away from me and puts her hands on her hips, like a rampaging mother who has just caught her children getting into something she told them to stay the fuck out of.

“The fuck we don’t!”

“Nadia, please, stop fucking yelling.”

“No, fuck you. This isn’t happening. I’ll be back to work my shift as normal, and there’s nothing you can do about that.”

“You sure?” I challenge, pushing away from the desk.

“Oh, I’m sure.”

Closing the distance, I snatch her in by the waist and press the hardest kiss to her lush lips that I could muster. She physically protests at first, but eventually stops before I wrench myself away.

“Come on, let’s go.”

She nods, though fuming, and follows me to the door where we can slip out seamlessly and head back down the hallway. I wanted to stay longer; to debate my side of things and to make her understand but I know her. It was going to take much more than a heated conversation to get her to listen.

When we make it to the opening leading into gen pop, I came to a stop while she steps up beside me, and I sigh. Without looking my way, she puts one more foot down and I made my move. Wrapping my right arm around the front of her throat, I yank her back to me, using the left one to apply pressure to the back of her neck, too. I squeeze at the sides of her neck while she thrashes and kicks.

“Inmate!” one of the guards yell, then the next thing I know she is going limp in my arms but I hold on longer.

Boots rush me, an alarm starts pouring out from the speakers just before I’m yanked away from the girl I have come to ache for. Slammed to the ground, a knee at the back of my neck, I feel cuffs wrap around my wrists as other inmates look on, and the love of my fucking life lays there unconscious.

Chapter twenty-four

Lucien

Ishould have killed him when he insulted God, now he has cost me time with Nadia.

Pacing back and forth in my cell, my cellmate, what was his name again? Aleksi? Alaric? Whatever it is, sits here and watches me from his side of the room, leaning fully against the wall as we wait for lights out. The cell doors have already closed for the evening, the officers quickly completing their count.

I’m going to be up all night, pacing back and forth, worrying about her.

From the cell bars, to the back of the cell, over and over again, I walk. Some of my steps quicker than the others while the rest slow down. I have no clue what Kace was thinking, but I am going to be sitting with him and figuring it out tomorrow. Had our cells been closer together, I would have stopped by his and kicked that older cellmate of his out for a little one-on-one conversation.

He put his hands on her, in an unacceptable way. Every way is unacceptable if you ask the Lord, but he harmed her. That’s my job, I’m the only one allowed to bring her pain.

When darkness takes hold, I can’t stop my movements, I am too amped up. It has been too long since I have made a kill. When I first started, I could go almost a year without needing to feel the sticky viscosity of blood against my flesh. Now that I have killed more than my fair share, I need it more often.

I’ve been here for nearly a month, if not a little longer, and the last time I’ve come into contact with blood was that day in the cafeteria. Truth be told, I’m not impressed with the level of violence here. I was informed that Darkwater is the most notorious prison in the state, housing the worst criminals from all over the country, yet there has only been one squabble!

---