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“I’ll have to get my wife into protective custody, get her away from here.” Hamish rubbed his chin. “Has Sebastian mentioned me?”

Rory shook his head. “No. He talked about killing Lester, but he’s not mentioned you. He doesn’t talk much, or at least not to me.”

“You don’t have to be best friends with him, just close enough to overhear him. He doesn’t call anyone on the prison phones, he doesn’t send letters, he doesn’t have visitors, but I know he’s getting messages out. He might have a phone hidden in his cell.”

“I’ve not heard him talking to anyone at night.”

Morris snorted. “You’ve only been there a week.”

“Even so, I didn’t see a phone.”

Hamish released Rory’s shoulders. “If he really is making bombs to sell, you owe it to the public, to whoever his intended victims are, to stop him, to save their lives. We’re counting on you, Rory.”

5

Rory had been nervousthe first time he stepped onto the wing, but walking onto it again a day after he’d been injured was ten times worse. His stomachfizzled, and the pain in his side pulsed with each step he took. The man who had sliced him open was still on the wing and still unknown from what the officer escorting Rory told him. They’d found the weapon, most likely discarded immediately after it had been used, and that was enough for the officers to deem the wing safe again.

It was anything but safe, and a part of Rory wanted to spin around, run back down the corridor and burst into the office where he’d last seen Hamish and Morris.

He wasn’t cut out for undercover work.

He didn’t have aspirations to work undercover or to become a detective; he just wanted to be a police officer on the streets, arresting lowlifes, but he owed Hamish.

“Here we are.” The officer sighed, unlocking the gate.

A few inmates were still eating breakfast and lifted their heads at Rory’s approach. A heavy silence descended over the wing, only broken when Pauly blew Rory a kiss from his table.

“I missed you, sweetheart.”

“Shut it,” Captain growled as he climbed to his feet and headed over. He paused, gave Rory a visual once-over, then smacked a heavy hand down on Rory’s shoulder.

“Did the doctor fix you up?”

“Yeah, it was only a scratch.”

Rory raised his voice so the inmates on the closest few tables heard. The wound wasn’t life-threatening, but it did pull and ache with every step, twist and turn. Ollie poked his head out of his cell, gasped, then rushed over with a big smile on his face.

“Thank God!”

He took three big strides across the wing, then wrapped his arms around Rory in a firm hug. Rory gingerly returned the embrace with one arm.

“You had me worried.”

Over Ollie’s shoulder, Rory spotted Teddy coming closer.

“Are you all right?” he whispered in Ollie’s ear.

“Yeah.” Ollie let go. “I’m not the one that got stabbed.”

“He wasn’tstabbed,” Captain mumbled. “More like sliced, and if I find out who did it…” He turned his glare on the wing, and a few prisoners lowered their heads. “I’ll return the favour.”

“Did you have breakfast?” Ollie asked.

Rory shook his head. “I’m not really that hungry.”

“You have to eat something,” Captain said. “Or else you’ll waste away.”

“Come on,” Ollie said, leading Rory over to a table. Captain strode over to the servery and grabbed a tray.

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