A Pound of Flesh (A Pound of Flesh #1)(11)

“Give me a smoke and I’ll tell you all about it.”

Riley pulled a cigarette from his pocket and flicked Carter a match. They made their way to a small seating area at the back of the court.

“Move!” Riley barked.

Carter snorted when the two newbies who’d been sitting in their spot scattered like leaves. He sat down, closing his eyes to the sun beating down on him, letting the smoke whisper from between his lips.

“So what gives? You been somewhere jerking off since yesterday?” Riley laughed and lit a cigarette.

“If only,” Carter replied, watching the basketball game across the yard. “No, it was Ward.”

“No shit,” Riley murmured with a shake of his head.

“I had a slight disagreement with one of the tutors and he put me on twenty-four-hour punishment.”

“It’s on, man.” Riley bumped Carter’s fist. They’d known each other many years, both inside and outside Kill. If Carter needed him, he’d be there.

They both turned when they heard a loud bout of whistles and jeers from courtside.

Riley snorted. “Talking of tutors,” he said, cocking an eyebrow.

Carter followed his stare through the fencing to see a redheaded woman with the sexiest curve to her ass he’d ever seen. Wrapped deliciously in a black knee-length skirt, she crossed the parking lot toward a sweet Lexus sport coupe. Her awesome legs disappeared into black heels that, even from Carter’s viewpoint, were hard-on-inducing.

“Who the hell is that?” he asked, trying to see past the other inmates who were milling at the fence like kids at a damned zoo.

“That’s Miss Lane,” Riley answered, leaning back on his elbows. “My lit tutor. She’s cool, actually.”

Carter snorted. “Well, at least that’s a plus.” He snuffed out his cigarette on the bench.

“What?” Riley frowned, confused.

Carter waved his hand toward where the car had disappeared. “The tutor will be one good thing about doing lit.”

Riley chuckled. “You’re doing lit, too?”

“Yeah,” Carter answered with a roll of his eyes. “Jack wants me to prove to the powers that be I can ‘improve’ myself inside. Some shit about how it could help toward an early parole. I’m not holding my breath.”


“Sounds like a crock to me.”

“Agreed,” Carter replied, leaning back and lifting his face to the blazing sun.





4


Kat dropped her bag by the front door before walking over to play the answering machine, and immediately heard her mother’s voice, urgent and clipped.

“I’m assuming you’re still alive and well, even though I haven’t heard a peep from you since Saturday. I hope you haven’t forgotten that you’re coming to the house this evening for dinner. If you aren’t here by seven, I’ll be sending Harrison out to make sure you’re all right. Bye.”

Kat sighed and pressed call back on her phone, leaving it on speaker. She walked over to her tropical fish tank and sprinkled food across the smooth water, smiling when they came to the surface and puckered and kissed at the flakes.

“Katherine?” Her mother’s anxious voice filled the living room.

“Yes, Mom, it’s me. I’m alive, I’m safe, and I’ll be at the house at seven, so cancel the search party.”

Kat could have done without having to have dinner with her mother after the day she’d had. She’d woken late that morning after, once again, being awake half the night having the same vivid dream repeatedly. She’d tried to go another night without her pills and had done nothing but regret it as soon as her head hit the pillow.