Page 78 of Omega's Fever

“Is he okay?” Thackeray’s voice is carefully neutral. He’s good at that—staying neutral, not picking sides. It’s how he survivesin general population. Don’t make enemies, don’t make friends, just exist in the spaces between.

“He is.”

“Present tense?”

I stare at the ceiling. Someone’s scratched their initials into the paint. JB + MM. Wonder if they’re still together or if this place ate that too. “He’s pregnant.”

Thackeray goes quiet for a long moment. I hear him set his book aside, the careful way he moves. Everything deliberate, considered. “That why you took the plea?”

“Ten years or life.” I shift, trying to find a position that doesn’t make the springs dig into my spine. The mattress at Milo’s place was like sleeping on a cloud. “Kid needs at least one parent on the outside.”

“Could’ve fought it. Sometimes people win.”

“Sometimes people die.” The words come out flat. Matter of fact. Kenneth Haymore is in this deep and his words were clear. He’s protected Milo so far. He won’t do it as long as I am in the picture.

“So you made a deal.”

“I made a choice.”

“Hell of a choice.”

I think about Milo this morning, practically glowing with happiness and the look on his face when I insisted on taking the plea.

I wanted to fight it. I did but I’m a fighter by trade. I know odds and they weren’t in our favor. Someone would have died. Maybe it wouldn’t be me or Milo. Maybe it would have been Pen or Damon or someone else. I’m certain that any choice to fight Cobb will result in someone dying. I just don’t know who. I can’t do that. If I knew it was me who would make that sacrifice, then I’d do it. No questions asked. It’d be worth it to remove him from the world but I can’t make that kind of decision for someoneelse.

As soon as I’m convicted, the threat goes away. Yeah, they’ll probably send me cards on my bunk every now and then to make sure I don’t forget but if they kill Milo, they’ll kill the leverage they have on me.

All I need to do is wait. I’ll do my time and then when I’m out, Milo and I can leave and never look back.

“Only choice,” I say.

Thackeray hums, considering. “My wife was pregnant when they arrested me. Had the baby while I was in county lockup, waiting for trial. Sent me pictures. Beautiful little girl, looked just like her mother.”

I’ve never heard him talk about his family before. It’s an unspoken rule—you don’t ask, don’t share, don’t make yourself vulnerable. But maybe he figures I’ve earned it. Or maybe he just understands.

“How long you been down?”

“Six years. She was two when I got here. She’s eight now. Doesn’t remember me except from visits.” His voice stays carefully level. “The wife divorced me year three. Said she couldn’t wait anymore.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. She was right. This place...” He waves a hand at our cell, the block, the whole complex. “It poisons everything it touches. Your omega’s smart to stay away.”

“He won’t.” The certainty surprises me. But I know Milo. Stubborn as fuck when he decides something matters. “He’ll visit. Bring the kid. Make sure they know me.”

“That might be worse.”

Yeah. It might be.

Dinner is the usual mystery meat in brown gravy. Could be beef, could be pork, could be something they scraped off the highway.

I take my tray to a corner table, old habits kicking in. I’ve got my back to the wall, clear view of the room, close enough to the guards’ station that most cons won’t start shit.

The food tastes like cardboard soaked in grease. Nothing like the pasta I made for Milo last week. He’d watched me cook like I was performing magic.

Stop. Just stop.

“Hey, Hayes.”