I totally screwed up. I should have kept my mouth shut after Elena and I did the deed and just wrapped my arm around her and told her how beautiful she is and how glad I was that she came to see me. Because that’s the truth.
But instead, I went and opened my mouth about myself like an idiot and scared her off, and that was a major mistake. The question now is whether or not I’ll be able to come back from it.
I have to. The time we spent together was too incredible. I’ve never had that kind of an experience with a woman before, and that’s not just the pent-up frustration from being in jail talking either.
Elena is everything I could ever want in a woman. So gorgeous, so feminine, so seductive and intoxicating. I knew from the moment I saw her in that court room that I needed to have her, and I’ve been obsessed with her since then. Not a day went by that I didn’t think about her, and when I finally had her standing there in front of me, I almost couldn’t believe it. I actually pinched myself when I saw her walking up to the trailer to make sure I wasn’t having another one of my dreams.
But then I had my hands on her soft, warm body, and there was no doubt about it. It was really happening. My dreams were coming true, and they were even more incredible than I could have ever imagined.
And then what did I do? I went and fucked everything up. And now I don’t know if I’ll ever even see her again.
“Such an idiot,” I grumble to myself, glaring up at the ceiling with a burning hatred in my core. If only I was a free man, then I could make one of those romantic gestures like they do in the movies and march over to Elena’s house with a dozen roses and some kind of sweet treat and make my apology. But I’m a man behind bars with precisely zero options. All I can do is wait.
Actually, maybe that’s not completely true.
A lot of people think that prison is like something out of the movies where you’re on twenty-four-hour lockdown and can never leave your cell, but in reality there’s a decent amount of free time when you can go visit the common areas or go to your job if you have one. Seeing as there’s fifty minutes before dinner, I’ve still got time to call in a favor if Perez is on duty, but I have to move fast.
I hop off my cot and leave my cell and head for the guard station at the end of my block. Jackson’s doing something on his phone.
“Perez working?” I ask him.
“C-Block,” he replies without looking up.
“Thanks.”
C-Block is 90 seconds away, and I have to pass Tyson’s cell as I go. I give him a grin and a wave as I pass. I chuckle when I see the fear in his eyes. He probably thinks I’m coming back to teach him a lesson, but I’ve got better things to do today.
I see Perez at the C-Block guard station chatting with another one of the guards who I don’t recognize. I lean against the wall and give him our look, letting him know I need to chat with him, and seconds later, he excuses himself and comes over to me.
“I can’t keep doing this,” he says, his voice low. “I get caught bringing any more things in and—”
“I don’t need you to smuggle anything in for me,” I cut him off. “Don’t worry.”
“No? Then what is it?”
“I just need a phone call.”
“You can call your lawyer during regular hours.”
“Not my lawyer,” I say. “Someone else.”
Perez glances behind him. He never was good at keeping a low profile.
“Who?”
“Elena Sadler. She was on my visitor’s list for yesterday.”
“What’d you do?” Perez smiles. “Say the wrong thing to her?”
My anger flares, but I keep it in check the best I can. I can’t afford to lose my temper. Not with him. Not here.
“Do I need to remind you that you owe me?” I ask him sternly. “That your wife and daughter are safe because of what I did? Because of the strings I pulled for you?”
“All right, all right,” Perez replies, waving a hand in front of him. Again, he glances behind him before reaching into his jacket and removing a cell phone which he somewhat discretely hands to me. “You’ve got three minutes.”
I take the phone from him and turn the corner into the stairwell. It’s monitored by cameras but only live-feed and only by him and the other guard who he’ll be distracting while I make my call. But I’ll have to make it quick or the other guy, who I don’t know, will start running his mouth, and the higher-ups will come and bust both me and Perez.
Quickly, I dial the number to Elena’s firm pa, which I’ve memorized. A girl answers.
“Yes, Elena Sadler please,” I say in the most formal sounding voice I can muster.
“May I tell her who’s calling?” the girl asks.
“Tell her it’s a personal matter.”
There’s a pause, and for a second, I wonder if I’ve overplayed my hand. Should I have faked a case name and gone with that? Made up the name of another firm?
“One moment please,” the girl responds, and I cover the phone with my hand as I let out a sigh of relief. Seconds tick by painfully as I wait for Elena to answer. I can practically feel the time I have slipping away as I rehearse what I’m going to say to her. What if she doesn’t want to hear it? What if she’s already made up her mind about me and just hangs up? I don’t think I’ll be able to take that.
Finally, there’s a click followed by Elena’s angelic voice.
“Hello, Elena speaking.”
“Elena, it’s Bain,” I say. “Don’t hang up, please.”
Another long pause. “Don’t worry, I won’t. How are you calling me? Do they allow that?”
“No, not really,” I chuckle. “But for me, they bend the rules sometimes. I just wanted to call you and apologize for the way things happened – the way things ended specifically. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“No, it’s all right. You didn’t upset me—”
“Elena,” I interrupt. “I know I did. At least allow me to apologize.”
Another long pause. I can practically picture her on the other end of the phone, thinking, an adorable expression on her face, maybe biting her lip while she thinks over what I’m saying. Lord, please don’t let me have blown this with her.
“I shouldn’t have freaked out,” she says finally in a tone that fills me with relief. “I just…I wasn’t ready for that conversation.”
“And that’s fine,” I tell her. “I should have simply wrapped you in my arms and held you close and kept my mouth shut. And that’s exactly what I’ll do next time, Elena. I promise. That is…if you’ll see me again.”
