Page 10 of Defy

I stopped and looked up at him. “I don’t think I have ever said this to a cop. You’re a pretty decent guy. I like you.”

“From a Morelli, that’s high praise.” He pointed to a hallway. “Go to the right.”

“But my cell is through the doors on the left.”

“We aren’t going back to the cell.”

My heart dropped. The DA was moving me already.

“Where am I going?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

Wherever they took me, I could handle it. Yes, I’d lived a privileged existence. Yes, I’d never wanted for anything. Yes, I was soft in comparison to what so many others had experienced in their lives. But I’d learn to adapt. I’d figure it out.

It would make me stronger.

I remained quiet for the rest of the walk. We took various corners and passageways until I heard commands to put belongings into bags and take uniforms.

“This is where I leave you. You’ve got this.”

I nodded and moved into a giant room with rows of benches and women lined up near each one.

A female corrections officer stepped in front of me. “You Morelli?”

“Yes.”

“Take the last space on the fourth row. Change into your uniform.” She scanned me from head to toe and shook her head. “Take a sharpie and label every damn item you put in that bag, or you may not see it again. Grab your shoes from the bin on the way to your station.”

Following her directions, I picked up my sneakers and moved to my spot.

Before undressing, I labeled everything on the outside of my bag.

“Don’t forget your underwear. Make sure you put that down.” A sweet voice with a Southern drawl said.

I glanced at a petite woman with red hair and bright blue eyes.

“They want us to take everything off? Even our bras and undies?”

“Yes. It’s the rules. Normally, I go to city or county, but since I went too far this time, I’m going to state.”

“What do you mean, you went too far?”

She rolled her eyes. “I told my Mack I wanted a night off. I’m his bottom bitch. I deserve a night off after servicing for eight days straight, don’t you think?”

“Definitely,” I agreed.

“Well, at first, he said, take a break and have the whole weekend. Then he had the nerve to come over with his friends for a birthday celebration.” She cocked a hand on her hip and lifted a finger with her other hand. “I negotiate my rates for these situations. And he expected me to perform. Oh, hell no. I put my foot down. That’s what I did.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to this, so I asked, “Exactly how did you put your foot down?”

“So after I realized they had all come into my place, got naked, and made themselves comfortable in my living room, I pulled out the pistol my big brother gave me when I moved to New York and decided to use it. Slowly I walked in, dropped my robe, let them jerk their cocks, and then shot a ball off each one of them.”

“No, you didn’t.” I couldn’t hold in my shock. “Are they dead?”

“Of course not. But that’s the charge.” She rolled her eyes. “Five counts of attempted murder, my ass. If I wanted them dead, I’d have brought out the revolver hidden under my bed and aimed directly between their eyes. That gun’s got a punch. Ain’t no coming back from that one.”

I held in my laugh. Maybe being here for so many hours had twisted my mind, but the thought of incarceration wasn’t so bad if I met people like her all the time. I could enjoy it.

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