Page 73 of Birdy

Lena’s lips sympathetically thin as she reaches out for me again with both hands this time. “I hate to tell you this, B, but I fucking told you not to trust thatpendeja.”

“I know.” I nod, squeezing the shit out of her fingers. “I fucking know. But this is on me. This is what I get for being greedy, for only worrying about the cash flow.”

“Okay, no, we’re not doing this.” She clears her throat softly, gauging our surroundings again. “Your news is something to be happy about. There isn’t any proof you were involved, even if they open their mouths. That washerconnect.”

“But I was helping her get it in,” I argue.

“And there’s zero proof of that. She can talk all she wants. Unless she has concrete, physical evidence, nothing is going to happen. The dude who was dumping the product in the trash bins, doesn’t work here. She probably doesn’t even know who he is.”

She has a point, really. There isn’t any proof, not that I can think of, anyway.

So why do I still have this sick feeling in my stomach?

?I’m Upset - Drake

It’s beena few days since returning to my normal first-shift schedule, and I’m still feeling out of whack. Then again, Benni and I haven’t had a moment to spare alone other than our nightly chats, so that could be the primary reason. To say I’m craving another taste would only be putting it lightly, but things have been too crazy for us to risk it. With Ryker under investigation, there’s been a lot of speculation regarding the details, which has Warden Kent out of his office more than usual. Lots of questions are being asked, and while I don’t have anything to do with Ryker or his...indiscretions, I can’t lie and say I’m not a little on edge when, technically, I’ve done the very same thing.

Well, some of it anyway.

That’s the very thought I’m shaking from my mind when I stalk into the box with Rodriguez after our lunch break. Mack, Jordan, Birks, and Delfino are all inside, each of them slipping on a pair of disposable gloves. Their heads snap toward the door as it clicks shut behind Rodriguez.

“Here…” Jordan tosses the box of gloves our way. “Suit up, you two.”

I catch it, but not before my heart catapults up to my throat, lodging within its tight confines. “For what?” I grate, trying to ignore the way the box feels like a ticking time bomb on the verge of detonation.

“Another sweep,” Mack answers sternly. “Seems Ryker wasn’t just fucking prison pussy. He was their drug mule too.”

The world stops.

I swear to God the entire world fucking stops. Forget the fact Mack’s acting like he hasn’t obsessed over “prison pussy,” as he chose to word it. All I can focus on is one little tiny detail.

The phone.

The goddamn phone!

My stomach churns violently as my heart free falls into its depths from my throat. I knew damn well sweeps were possible at any given moment, but I just… I don’t even know.

Please, God, let that phone be hidden well.

Nodding by way of response, I grab a pair of gloves and pass the box back to Rodriguez, taking the few necessary steps toward the table where everyone is congregated. Mack and Jordan exchange a look that doesn’t sit well with me as I snap the blue latex in place.

“Question for you before we turn this place upside down, Bala.” Mack turns back to me, leaning forward onto the table.

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck!

I’m not solely worried for me. I’m worried for Benni’s sake too. With an early release on the table, they’ll definitely throw that away without a single question if they catch her with contraband, especially a phone.

The contents of my lunch lurch upward in a sickening stream of bile, threatening to spew from my mouth like the exorcist, but I school my expression to the best of my ability and cross my arms over my chest. “What’s up?”

Mack’s lips curve in this wicked-like smirk as he holds my stare, this subtle gleam of I-don’t-know-what-the-fuck swirling in his eyes. “You wouldn’t happen to know how these drugs were leaking in from D to B Block, right?”

My head rears back in legit confusion, in offense too. I may have snuck Benni in contraband, may have crossed the line and fucked the living shit out of her, but I have nothing to do with any narcotics coming into the Annex. “No, I wouldn’t.”

“Sure about that?” Jordan presses, mimicking Mack’s exact stance.

Are you kidding me right now?

“What are you trying to say?” I toss back at him. And yes, I’m on the defense because what in the actual fuck?

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