Page 59 of Evil Villain (The Royal Court)

But thank god it didn’t come to that.

Once we were through the metal detectors, the same female officer who’d helped me earlier appeared from a door and led us down a long hallway. We entered a totally cement room with about a dozen seating booths lined along the center of the room. Plexiglass separated our side from the other side, and dividers separated each booth from the next one over. Each booth only had one chair, and I hesitated in the door, wondering if I needed to go to a specific booth, but everyone appeared to just be sitting down, so I went to the booth way at the end and sat down.

A loud buzzer echoed through the room, and a door at the end of the other side we were separated from opened and a different officer led in inmates who were cuffed at their wrists and ankles. They sat down at the booths as they passed the ones they were meant to be at, and I watched as one man’s eyes locked on me. He wasn’t as tall as I had imagined, but he was twice as built. His arms looked like he could punch right through the concrete if he wanted to, and his shoulders were so broad, they completely blocked out the view of anyone behind him. He had chocolate skin, and a bald head and walked with an overconfident swagger that made me feel like I wasn’t worthy of talking to him.

He walked to the end of the booths and sat down in front of me, then a prison guard stepped forward and unlocked the handcuffs around his thick wrists. He reached up and grabbed the phone hanging on his side of the booth, and I did the same.

“Cherri, right?” he said.

I nodded. “Yeah. Are you Venom?”

A huge smile crossed his face, unexpectedly kind. “Yeah. Call me Garrett.”

“Okay,” I replied. “Hi, Garrett.”

“Now, you are one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen,” he said. “My kid’s got good taste.”

Deon had mentioned he thought of Venom like a dad. It was sweet to see that Venom thought of Deon the same. I remembered Anisa and Cobalt loving Nathan like parents, and I was happy to see that Deon had found something similar in Venom. “Thank you.”

“Now, Cherri, I’m not sure if you know this, but anything you and I say into these phones can be replayed and listened to by anyone.” His eyes narrowed at me. “Anyone.”

I didn’t have to guess what he was trying to say. Connor had contacts everywhere, and if we said anything about or pointing towards Deon, he could find out. “I understand.”

“So. What can I do for you?” he asked. “I assume you’re on a bit of a hunt.”

“I am,” I said. “Am I your first visitor?”

Venom’s smile grew. “Smart too. I love it. No, you’re not. Someone else came and saw me about, oh, three months ago now. Needed a lawyer, so I put them in contact with my wife, Felicity.”

“Felicity?” I said. “Williams?”

“Yep,” he replied. “I’m sure she gave them some information and I’m sure she can do the same for you. I’ll give you her address. You shouldn’t attempt to call her. Prying ears, you know.”

“Right,” I said.

He looked over his shoulder at the prison guard standing right behind him and flicked his head, and the guard walked away. He said Felicity’s address into the phone while looking away from me, towards the wall, then he turned back and smiled at me. “You won’t forget it will you?”

“No,” I said. “It’s the most important thing.”

He nodded. “Felicity will get you straight. Don’t you worry.”

“Thank you,” I said. “Thank you so much.”

“No. Thank you. You’re a good woman, just like my woman. I’m glad my kid has you. Take care of him for me.”

“I will, I promise,” I said. “We’ll be back.”

Venom blinked a couple of times and then nodded. “Well now, that makes me incredibly happy.”

He nodded towards those doors. “You don’t have to stay the whole time. Go. Go find out what you need to know.”

“Thank you, Garrett.”

“Nice to meet you, Cherri,” he replied, then he hung up the phone and a prison guard was behind him within seconds to start locking up his wrists again.

I walked over to the door and stood next to it, and the officer on our side looked at me. “You ready? Can’t come back ’til next hours.”

“I’m ready,” I said.

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