Page 24

Chapter twenty-two

Lucien

Present Day

D arkwater is a beautiful place.

I have hot meals multiple times a day, a shower with water that comes out in more than a single stream, a bed that has blankets, and working plumbing. There are people for me to sit here and watch all day, learning the hierarchy that inmates respect, and so much more. I have experienced similar jail amenities in the past, but nothing to this degree, this is bordering on a five-star experience. Where do I leave my prison review? There’s just one little thing, rather one person, who has dominated my thoughts, and I’ve yet to meet her.

Officially, that is.

Between the Lord and I, I have been watching her since I arrived. A few days after the cafeteria incident, I walked right past her and could feel the hostility radiating off her. She vibrated with anger and disdain, likely for those that she guards day in and day out. I feel the exact same way, little Nadia. If only you knew that you are admired so.

I almost didn’t recognize her at first; she has changed so much since I saw her last, but I couldn’t mistake those eyes. Once sharp and bright, now dulled with the passing of time. Keeping my distance, I can see the juvenile version of her in her older features. The cherub cheeks she had when we were adolescents, long gone, and replaced by a young woman that turns heads without even realizing it.

Part of me wants to know what happened between then and now. Why she looks so vacant, why she walks the halls of this prison like she isn’t a little lamb in a cage full of predators. Instead of staying near the other guards, she manhandles the inmates like they’re not twice her size.

She’s brutal, just like me.

She may not know the extent of what she is capable of but I will show her. The Lord deems it so. If he didn’t, I wouldn’t be here. I would be sitting in a hardwood chair, with straps and leads attached to me. Creating a circuit that would only be missing the electrical current needed to send me out of this world and into the next. I can, no I will, show her the strength she has inside—the monster lingering within that is begging to come out.

Little Nadia, how I have missed you.

Watching as she goads the group of Neanderthals, I stand back with one arm folded over my chest as the other rests on it, chewing on the thumb nail while I stare at the interaction. My teeth pinch the keratin into slivers before I spit them out unceremoniously. She is stunning; how she handles people while acting like she has not a care in the world. I can see right through her though, she may not care about the bulk of the population, but there is something deep inside of her that keeps her from truly lashing out. I need to find out what it is. What will send her over and beyond.

Poor thing still has humanity lingering in that brain of hers, and I need to extract it. If not for myself, then for her.

I could say she maintains a level of innocence about her, but we all know the truth, she is damaged. And just like the rest of us, she belongs here. The men in this prison may think she belongs to them, the glue that holds the population in their designated places, but she belongs to me. And perhaps it is time that they learned that Nadia is mine.

I may not be a greedy man, willing to give to those less fortunate than myself, but I’m not sure I can share her like God intends. She’s to cause havoc amongst the masses, both inside and outside of these walls. Her participation is vital to my success, but she doesn’t need to know that, not yet.

Right now, what she does need, is an extra set of eyes on her in the event the chess pieces move too soon and they come for her.

You’re doing so good, Lucien. Look how far you have come; I am proud of you.

There’s the feminine voice again—Mother. She perks up when I need reassurance from a source outside of my savior. She has helped lead me to this point with her words of encouragement.

“Thank you, Mother. I don’t know if I would have the strength without you,” I speak aloud albeit quietly.

Time, it’s going to take time to put things in motion, but luckily for Nadia, I have all the time in the world. Until then, I think I should go introduce myself. Rekindle the spark we had when we were children.

With one foot in front of the other, I make my way over, her curious glances following the men as they pass through the open door beside her. From here, I can see a group of Hispanic men and black men standing in the center of the rec yard. Whatever it is they are scheming, I’m going to use it to my advantage.

As I move quietly over to stand just to the right of her back, I lean in and draw in a deep breath. The scent of her shampoo floods my nostrils and makes me groan. The sound startles her causing her to whirl around, and put space between us. The furrow of her brows makes me chuckle along with the fire in those silver orbs.

“Jumpy,” I tease.

“Keep your distance, inmate, you know the rules,” she hissed swiftly, hand hovering over the retractable baton she carries around like a life raft. Too bad that’s the only thing, aside from her little side gig, that keeps her safe.

“Do I?”

I blink at her, my lips threatening to smile at the way she goes into an immediate defense. It’s refreshing to see that she has fight in her, one thing I will have to break.

“Don’t you have shit to do? Get lost.”

“I do, I wanted to introduce myself though. I’ve seen you around, you have quite the upper hand here. It is fascinating to see how you handle these men. Tell me, what do you have on them, I’m curious.”

“What do you mean, have on them?” she actually looks surprised at that.

“Don’t play coy, Officer. You know what I’m talking about.”

“I can’t say that I do, move along now.”

“You know, omission is the same as lying and lying is a sin. Don’t be that girl, Officer. Don’t lie.”

Lie again, Nadia, make this easier for me.

“Inmate, I said, move on. We are done here.”

Though she was the one who dismissed me, she takes it upon herself to move away from our little encounter. Pity, I really wanted to spend more time with her.

Without letting her get too far, I jog up beside her, grabbing her left arm and ducking back when she swings at me—a laugh falling effortlessly from my mouth.

“I wasn’t finished speaking with you.”

“I don’t give a flying fuck what you were or were not finished doing. Now keep your hands to your damn self.”

“I’m Lucien by the way.”

“Good for you, now go fuck yourself.”

“Fortunately, I don’t partake in sins of the flesh, unless you’re interested in joining.”

“Hardly, is there something you want other than weirding me out?”

“I just wanted to say hello and make sure you had a name for the face you’re going to be seeing a lot of.”

The way she scowls at me and makes a face of disgust can almost have put me in stitches. She’s funny.

Be gentle with her, Lulu.

“Yes, Mother,” I quickly reply.

“Don’t call me that, you fucking freak.”

“What? Oh, no, I wasn’t speaking to you. I was talking to Mother. She’s here.”

Finally releasing Nadia’s arm, I reach up and tap my temple, indicating that she exists in the dark of my mind. She grew quiet for a moment, taking a single step back as she grabs hold of the mic on her radio headset.

“This is Pierce, can I get a transport to the ding-wing over by the rec entrance? We got an inmate hearing voices.”

“No, no, no, you don’t want to do that.”

I tense and draw closer to her, towering over her by several inches, but she was sure to match me—unafraid and ready to tussle. Her chin tilts up, eyes lock on to mine, hands clenching.

Very admirable.

“Call them off before I make your day significantly worse, Nadia.”

It takes every bit of self-control I have not to curl my hands around her frail throat when she refuses to call off the hounds. I don’t need her to start jumping to conclusions so soon and put me away. Not that it matters, I could get out of observation with ease after mastering therapy over the past several years.

“This is your last warning, inmate. Back up or catch a beating,” she grumbles.

I linger, the smile that once wanted to take over my face now transforming into a look of contempt. When she doesn’t budge, or cower, I know I have met the woman who was going to complete me.

The whore of Babalon and her consort, Chaos.

My first encounter with Nadia was interesting to say the least. I learned a lot more about her from it than I ever did as a child. A good thing for me, a terrible problem for her. Either way, I am pleased that it went down the way that it did. I was wondering how she would react in the true face of evil, and now that I can see what kind of player she is going to be, I can’t wait to teach her all about herself.

Having parted from her, I moseyed down to the cafeteria as chow was finishing up. Spotting my new friend sitting alone and minding his business. The last time I spoke with him, I feel like we may have gotten off on the wrong foot, but let’s be honest, everyone starts off that way with me. It’s the nature of the beast.

Grabbing a tray and the bare minimum of food, I stroll over and sit next to Kace, avoiding all the other empty seats at the table.

“What the…” he starts.

Turning to look at him, I could see that he was caught off guard by my presence—he and Nadia need to get better at being discreet and watching their backs. In a room full of convicted killers, he isn’t guarded enough.

“I hope you don’t mind that I join you for meal time.”

“Uh, not at all, but why don’t you choose another seat instead of nearly sitting on my damn lap?”

“Good idea, but I am already sitting so I don’t see the harm in it. You look like you were deep in thought, care to talk about it?”

He pauses, looking me up and down, pinching his brows together. I don’t know what he was looking for per se, but I don’t care. We were like night and day. He seems bright with his pale blond hair and vivid blue eyes. If I don’t know any better, I would say he has the lingering blemishes of freckles across the bridge of his nose. Like he has spent entirely too much time indoors instead of out in the sun like a normal human being. He has color in his features though, he looks full, healthy, and strong.

I, on the other hand, am thin where he is athletic, dark hair, grey eyes, scarred, tattooed, and have gone stints longer than socially acceptable between baths. To the point I have permanent dirt stains on my fingertips from the nights I would wake up clawing at the filthy floors beneath me. Nightmares having consumed my dreams and left me fighting for my life amongst the stars in the sky.

He obviously came from money, whereas I scraped my way out of poverty into more of the same—like most of the men in here. Being poor leads to many of the decisions made by criminals; society and communities shunning us until we are forced to do what was necessary for survival.

“I don’t feel comfortable discussing anything with a stranger.”

“I’m not a stranger. We met the other day. I know we may not have exchanged names but that is not important. Either way, I am Lucien, and I know you’re Kace.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Word gets around. Especially when they’re whimpered and gasped.” I almost laugh.

Turning to take a bite of a simple bologna sandwich, I sense him tensing beside me—I must have struck a nerve.

Goody.

“What the fuck did you just say?”

“You’re not as discreet as you think you are. I saw you with that officer the other day in your cell. The way her throat took you was… impressive, to say the least.”

Kace never gave me the impression of a violent man, but I may have been wrong to assume that, especially when he leans in and his voice lowers a little in volume. The words he speaks laced with venom.

“If you so much as open your goddamn mouth about what you saw, or about her again, I’ll rip your fucking throat out. Do I make myself clear?”

Gritting my teeth, it took everything in me not to retaliate. I warned him about his language once before, yet here he is again, disrespecting the Lord. He will be punished for that—his one chance has come and gone.

“I told you to watch your mouth, this type of behavior isn’t conducive for a friendship.”

“I don’t give a shit about your friendship, Lucien, mark my words though. It’s the only promise I’ll ever give you.”

Reigning in my anger, I smile, tilting my head to the side while feeding the sandwich into my mouth. We stare at each other for a moment before he stands up, grabs his tray, then talks away.

He has quite the soft spot for the officer, which may present a problem. I cannot quite corrupt her further if he is standing in the way. I suppose I will need to find something that pushes him right out of the picture. It is amusing to see, however, how far he is willing to go to keep the woman who has spent the last three years of her career making his life miserably safe.

How odd.