Page 22 of Dark Knight

“Yeah, I’ve got him. You let them know he’s leaving when I do.” Barnes nods, not bothering to ask how I’ll make that happen. Which is good because I’m not sure I know the answer to that, either.

“Sutton!” the sheriff calls as he comes ambling back into the cell block like he owns the room. “Time to go, boy.” A malevolent grin adorns his face, and I recognize that what’s about to happen isn’t something I’m going to like.

Buthe’sgoing to like it even less when I’m out and done with him.

“Hey, Barnes.” The kid looks up at me. “Make sure you’re ready to become sheriff when I get out. This clown's job will be all yours real soon.”

His eyes widen, and I smirk at the sheriff as he growls at me. He knows who I am and what I’ll do if I get my hands on him. There’s nowhere he’ll be able to run from me, and I can’t fucking wait for it.

* * *

Transfer complete? Check.

Body cavity search? Check.

Ice cold hose down? Fucking check.

Humiliation? Incomplete.

I don’t embarrass easily. No matter how hard these assholes try to fuck with me, they won’t win. Not with a man like me. I was raised to be kind and compassionate to my family and the woman I’ll claim as my own and nobody else.

Because nobody else matters.

What they do to me doesn’t matter, either.

I was trained to endure torture, first by my uncle Dimitri and then by the Army, and again when I came home. To make sure I hadn't grown soft.

They won’t break me.

Sitting in the yard on one of the benches, my eyes roam around the men surrounding me. All hardened criminals. All ready and willing to kill for one wrong look.

It doesn’t take me long to figure out who belongs to what group and register the division by the color of their skin. The only thing they have in common is being locked up here.

“Fresh meat!” I hear someone yell, and I tense. At first, thinking they’re going to fuck with me, but then I catch the commotion over by one of the entrances and realize it’s Griffin they’re talking about.

Fucking seventeen and locked up in this shit hole. His sister must have denied someone powerful because nobody should have approved his incarceration here.

My gaze follows his slide against the wall until he reaches a corner.Wrong move, kid.He’s begging to be assaulted over there.

Groaning, I get to my feet, acknowledging that my protection detail has already begun as five skinheads make their way over to him. One of them is licking his chops, and I can only imagine what the boy has gone through to this point.

Shoving my way through the crowd, I tower a few inches over most of the men in here, and I can easily see the way Griffin shrinks back, sensing more than seeing the hunters that are after him.

“Griff!” I shout his name, and all heads whip around to stare at me.

The new guy.

The actual fresh meat.

I doubt he knows why I’m calling for him or that my main job is to protect him. He’ll learn soon, however.

“Who the fuck are you?” one meathead growls.

Cocking my head to the side, I have two choices here. Answer him or pop him in the mouth. I opt for cracking his previously chipped teeth. “Names Nolan Sutton. The kid’s with me.”

A couple of guys shoot questioning glances around, but most recognize my name. I accept that much of the fear is because of who my father is and the destruction he created in his younger years. Right now, I don’t give a shit. So long as they all back the fuck off.

Two of the meatheads' friends don’t get the memo, though. Coming at me from left and right, the crowd around us goes from weary to energized, and I know there’s no way I’m coming out of this without smashing their skulls together.

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