Page 30 of Diamond in the Rough

“Then I’ll contact Tom.”

“Yes.”

“And whoever threatened Jake is a dead man walking.”

“Precisely.”

Maddox went to hang up, but Carl asked him to wait, and he pressed the phone back to his ear.

“Do I need to send Jake away?”

Maddox bit his lip. The last time he’d done that, Jake hadn’t reacted well. He couldn’t stop him doing anything stupid when he was behind bars. “No.”

“Do I tell him what’s going on?”

“Yes.”

“And then tell him that you miss him?”

Maddox heard the amusement in Carl’s tone and sighed. “Yes, and more.”

He hung up the call and stared at the guy closest to him. “Problem?”

“No problem.”

Maddox stalked away, and the two hovering behind bolted for their cells. He collapsed back into his chair, and Ernie tapped his shoulder.

“Thought things were gonna kick off.”

“I could take those three.”

“I don’t doubt it, but you’ll be sent to solitary, then how are you gonna sort out your affairs from there?”

Someone approached in Maddox’s peripheral, and he glanced up to see Gavin grinning at him. As soon as their eyes met, Gavin glanced away, and the red shade in his cheeks deepened.

“Take a seat,” Ernie said.

He sat down in the chair opposite Ernie. “F—Food’s not so bad.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Maddox said.

“Play nice,” Ernie warned.

Maddox sighed. “I heard from Ernie you’re good at getting things from the outside.”

Gavin smiled. “What do you need?”

“A phone.”

“That won’t be easy.”

“I’m sure you can do it,” Maddox said.

Gavin lowered his gaze. “And in return…”

“What do you want?”

“Protection. Next time someone starts on me, you’ll finish it.”

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