Page 7 of Graves

“He attacked me. It was self-defense.” He shrugs.

I let out a humorless laugh as I shake my head.

“Yeah, self-defense would have ended before you gouged the man’s eyes out and stabbed him in the kidney.”

“He pulled a knife on me, what was I supposed to do?” Zayden asks, his face serious, but a flicker of mirth only I seem to be able to detect in his ice-blue eyes.

Seriously, does he really expect anyone to believe that he was the victim in this scuffle? I guess it’s the only angle he has to work at the moment, and he’s milking it for all it’s worth.

“So, when do I get out?” Zayden asks.

“You don’t.”

The mirth in his eyes evaporates instantly as a flicker of the cold-blooded killer he is comes to light.

“What?”

“You’ve been denied bail. The official report is that you appear to be too mentally unstable to be trusted. You’re a flight risk. So, no bail until your hearing.”

“Who said I was unstable?” he practically snarls. “It was that little bitch detective, right?”

“Easy,” I say in a way that seems to snag his attention.

His eyes are filled with fury, but he understands what I’m saying. Not here, not like this.

“I’ve contacted the best defense attorney in the state, and he’s agreed to represent you. He’s working on getting you a hearing in three months.”

“Three MONTHS?” he shouts before closing his eyes and shaking his head.

“I can’t be in here for three months. I need to get out, now,” he says, a dangerous look filling his eyes that has my head cocking.

“What’s going on in there? Everything okay?”

He shakes his head. “It’s not about in here, it’s out there. I need to…” He pauses for a moment, sinking his teeth into his lower lip.

“I can’t be in here for that long. I…” He trails off again before clenching his jaw tight. “If I’m going to be in here for that long, I need you to do something for me.”

I nod as I let him continue.

He glances over his shoulder at the security guard, who is obviously eavesdropping but pretending not to be.

“There is something I need you to watch over for me at Hooked & Sinker. You’ll know it when you see it.”

“Time’s up!” one of the guards shouts to the room.

Inmates begin lining up as their loved ones say goodbye and walk away until it’s just Zayden and me on the phone.

“Promise me,” Zayden demands, a strange note of desperation in his tone that has me nodding my head.

He exhales, but it doesn’t look like it’s in relief, per se. His eyes flick up at me once more as I go to stand, still gripping the phone.

“Take care of my angel, brother, or I’ll end you.”

With that, he walks away and lines up, giving me a lethal look on his way out the door. My interest is officially piqued. We’ve never kept each other in the dark about anything before, ever. Whatever or whoever this “angel” is has somehow been able to turn Zayden into their own personal guard dog, and based on the way he was following her before she was attacked, I’d bet my life she doesn’t have a clue.

Chapter Five

BLAKE

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