Isela's Love (14 page)

She looked up at him, tears threatening to well up. “I just...when I saw you...I’ve never had feelings like this before. I’m usually not such a...”

Brendan laughed. He placed his finger under her chin, turning her gaze up to his. “Our situation is not impossible. I will do anything I have to so we can be together...if that’s what you want.”

“It is.”

“This is new to me too, Isela. I can’t stop thinking about you.”

Mae burst through the door. “Guarros just came in to the dining area. You do not want to get caught in here together.”

“What are we going to do?” Isela asked, frantic, “There’s only one door.”

“He’ll have to hide in the cooler,” Mae replied.

“It’s too cold in there with all the ice,” Isela argued.

Brendan squeezed Isela’s arm. “I’ll be fine.”

****

Guarros glanced around the room, casually searching for Isela. He’d purposely assigned her here so he could watch her without being obvious, but he couldn’t find her. The new man had been assigned to repairs, and he was nowhere to be seen either.

Guarros approached the repair crew. Two women stood there, who had altered their prison uniforms to fashionably slutty.
Mmmm. Note to self
.

“Excuse me, ladies,” Guarros said in a gruff tone. “Those certainly do not look like prison-issue uniforms. Clearly you have altered them without authorization. Guards!”

“No, no, no, please sir, you don’t understand,” Amber pleaded.

Guarros leaned forward, staring coldly, but smiling wickedly at her. “I understand perfectly, my dear. Let’s see how well you do.”

She nodded weakly.

Guarros snapped his fingers. “Guards, take them to my office. Watch over them until I get there.”

He focused on Pete, narrowing his eyes. “Where’s the new man?”

Pete glanced around nervously. “Ah, he went to the bathroom, I think.”

“You think?”

“Yeah, I was busy. He’s been complainin” about his stomach. I’m guessin’ he ran to the john.”

Guarros raised an eyebrow. “Really? A tummy-ache?”

Pete shrugged. “If he’s gonna hurl, better in the bathroom than here.”

Guarros nodded. “True. What about the lovely Isela? Did she run off too?”

“Sorry, sir, I don’t know her.”

Guarros chuckled, patting Pete on the shoulder. “Good boy, I’ll find her myself.”

He wandered toward the kitchen. Isela came rushing out carrying forks and spoons. She stopped to prevent colliding straight into Guarros.

“Where is he?” Guarros demanded.

“Where is who?” Isela asked, looking genuinely confused.

“The new man, Brendan Malone.”

“How would I know? I’m really busy, sir, so if this is another—”

Guarros grabbed her arm. “Isela, do you know where he is? You know the punishment for lying to me.”

Isela straightened. “Warden Guarros. I don’t know where the new man is. Perhaps you should keep closer tabs.” She fought with herself whether or not to continue, but her anger fueled her mouth and she kept on going. “You’ve accused me of having a thing for him, but it seems to me you’re the one with the obsession.”

Guarros backhanded her, dropping her to her hands and knees, sending cutlery scattering across the floor.

Brendan, having heard the exchange, moved toward the door, purely in reaction. Mae grabbed him, shoving him into the large cooler.

“If you do anything, you’ll only make it worse for her...not to mention get yourself killed. Wise up, Brendan. She has a sassy mouth. She knows what the rules are. Sometimes it’s worth it to her. Let her have that.”

Brendan crossed his arms across his chest. “I get it. Sometimes she has to exercise some power, but he doesn’t get to hit her.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I can’t stand the thought of that animal touching her!”

“Brendan, you’re new here, but you cannot be the prince on the white horse...not here. You have to be smarter than that. Please, for Isela’s sake.”

He nodded, feeling helpless, but understanding nonetheless.

“You should know better than to lip off to me, Isela,” the warden bellowed. “I think my hand has left enough marks on your cheek that you would think before you speak. Still, you try me. Why?”

Isela, only wanting to get rid of Guarros before Brendan lost it, gave the warden her best demure act. She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Warden. Sometimes I talk before I think.”

He patted her on the head. “Good girl. If you’d learn to keep that mouth quiet it would make your life so much easier, not to mention mine.”

The warden glanced around the room at the other inmates, who upon his gaze, hurriedly looked away trying to act busy. He snapped his fingers. “Someone tell the new man to report to my office when he returns. He needs to know that I won’t have my inmates coming and going as they please.”

Several of the prisoners nodded. As soon as Guarros left, Isela rushed back into the kitchen where Mae stood guard over the cooler.

“He’s gone,” Isela panted, “but he wants to see Brendan in his office. We gotta find out what Pete told Guarros first.”

“I’ll do it. It’ll be less obvious.”

“No, Mae. Let Brendan do it.”

Mae nodded, opening the door to the cooler. Isela relayed what she’d just told Mae to Brendan.

“Wait a few minutes and then go back to work,” Mae suggested.

Brendan returned to his duty, scowling while rubbing his stomach. “Man, I don’t know what I ate, but it’s killing me,” he falsely complained.

Without looking up from his patching, Pete said, “Yeah, well your day’s about to get worse. Guarros came lookin’ for you...and that chick he’s obsessed with, Isela.” Pete turned to face Brendan. “Do you know her?”

Brendan shrugged. “Not really. I think we’ve spoken a couple of times in passing.”

“Now that’s funny...because I could swear you ran right over to her after Amber kissed you...like you were worried about somethin.’”

Brendan chuckled. “You’re seeing things, man. I ran over to her because she dropped her shit all over the floor, and I didn’t want her to get in trouble. Everyone around here knows how hard Guarros is on her. Just trying to save her a little grief, that’s all.”

Pete leaned in closer. “Here’s a bit of advice for you. Picking up leftovers off the floor ain’t gonna get you in that girl’s pants. Even if it would, you do not wanna tap that. Ain’t no piece of ass worth your life.”

Brendan clenched his jaw, fighting with everything he had not to grab Pete by the throat and bash his face against the wall for the way he referred to Isela. Instead, he reminded himself while Pete was crude and abrasive, he was only trying to help.

“Not to worry, buddy. You saw it. I got women falling all over me. Why ask for trouble?”

Pete clapped Brendan on the shoulder. “Smart man. Hey, I told Guarros you were sick, but you better not keep him waiting, bro.”

****

Brendan raised his hand to knock on Guarros’s office door when he heard what sounded like a moan from inside the room, then the warden’s voice.

“That’s it, honey. I knew you’d see things my way. Oh yes.”

Brendan heard the warden grunt a couple of times. While he was happy to interrupt Guarros receiving any sort of pleasure, did he really want to go there? Shaking his head, he knocked.

Guarros answered the door zipping up his trousers. Amber was still on her knees, and Tiffany stood behind him, both women scrambling to get their clothes back on. Brendan glanced from them to Guarros. Guarros gave him a smug smile. Genuine nausea crept up from Brendan’s stomach. The thought of Amber’s mouth having been on his when he now knew where else she’d put it filled him with disgust.

“You wanted to see me, sir?”

Guarros, barely throwing a glance behind him, said to the girls, “Get out.”

When they rushed by him, Tiffany still struggling with her shirt, Guarros shut the door. Stepping around his desk, he sat down and lit a cigar. Brendan continued to stand, the warden staring coldly at him.

He blew smoke into the air. “I don’t think I like you, boy.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, sir.”

“That’s it? No promises to shine my boots or kiss my ass in some other way that might bring you into my good graces?”

Without looking at him, Brendan replied, “You don’t strike me as the type of man who likes a brown-noser.”

The warden laughed, a wheezy, hollow laugh. Then he sobered, standing. He stared into Brendan’s eyes, his gaze emitting pure malice.

“I came into the parlor a short while ago, and you were not at your post. Who the fuck do you think you are wandering off your duty like that?”

“I apologize, sir. My stomach...I didn’t want to get sick in the parlor and make a mess. I ran to the toilet, just for a minute.”

“So you weren’t having some secret tryst with my Isela.”

Brendan winced inwardly at the way Guarros said
my Isela
.

“No, sir. I know better than that.”

“I hope you do, boy, because things would get mighty unpleasant for you in a big hurry if you don’t.”

“If you’d have shown up a few minutes earlier you’d have seen for yourself. Amber was hitting on me.”

“Who?”

“Amber. The girl who was still on her knees when you opened the door to me,” Brendan answered, trying not to grit his teeth.

Guarros chuckled to himself. “Yes well, Amber, as you say, does possess certain...charms.” He began to laugh, slapping his thigh. “Perhaps that’s what made you ill.”

“No, sir, nothing like that”

Guarros shrugged, still laughing. He wiped a tear from his eye. “Oh well, your loss.” He grinned at Brendan. “She was quite spectacular.”

Brendan’s urge to vomit measured equally to the contempt he had for Guarros. The man was vermin, pure and simple.

Still, Guarros obviously thought there was something between him and Isela. They would have to be extremely careful if he was going to keep her safe. He knew he should stay away from her, but God help him, he couldn’t.

****

Pete tossed Brendan a paintbrush as he loped up to where they’d been working.

“Well, you’re not all bruised and bloody,” he said, “So I’m guessin’ things went well.”

Brendan shrugged. “Yeah, he just chewed me out for leaving my post. I told him I was sick. Apparently I amuse him.”

“I’ve learned the less attention you get around here, the better off you are. Trust me.”

“I’m figuring that out,” Brendan said with a chuckle.

Chapter Sixteen

Maggie sat on the living room floor playing with Lucan. Darrios peeked out at her from the bedroom to make sure she couldn’t see him. He quietly opened his top drawer, reaching into the back of it to retrieve a fabric-wrapped bundle. He unwrapped the fabric to reveal a gleaming, silver knife. The blade was about four inches long, small enough to conceal, but big enough to defend against an attack.

Darrios placed the knife back into its sheath, rewrapped it, and slid it into his boot. Glancing down the hallway toward his wife and son, he stood up and left the room.

Smiling at Maggie, Darrios crouched down to tickle Lucan and kiss him on the forehead. Then he pulled Maggie to her feet. She wrapped her arms around his waist, smiling up at him.

“I gotta go, babe,” Darrios said.

“I know,” she said. “Tell Brendan I love him and to hurry up, okay?”

Darrios kissed Maggie and promised he would. He stepped out onto the porch trying not to feel guilty about the knife hidden in his boot. He planned to take it to Brendan, but didn’t want to worry Maggie so he’d concealed it from her. Seeing Brendan all beaten up had shaken him and made him question if perhaps this undercover mission wasn’t such a good idea.

As he walked to the farm, he pondered other strategies that they could use to nail Guarros, but came up empty. Brendan was their only real option. At least having a knife would offer him some protection if he needed it.

Jerric and Alden were loading the meat onto the wagon as Darrios approached. They waved to Darrios. He nodded at them, stopping to check the wheels on the wagon.

“Just changed them this morning,” Alden said. “That left one looked a little wobbly to me.”

“Thanks, Alden. I appreciate how well you guys are doing...all of you.”

Jerric and Alden beamed. Darrios told them to continue and headed inside. Evan met him outside the door.

“Are you ready?” Evan asked.

“You bet,” he answered with a grin. “Always.”

They hitched up the hoodlas while their trustees finished loading. It was a large order, so they’d have to go slower than before.

“Man, I wish Bernie was coming with us on this one,” Evan said.

Darrios climbed onto the wagon. “Why’s that?”

“This is a big one, Darrios,” Evan said, gesturing to the back of the wagon. “Travelling slower makes us more vulnerable, don’t you think?”

Darrios scowled. “I hadn’t thought about it. Even if that’s true, we’ll handle it. Quit being paranoid.”

Evan rolled his eyes and snapped the reins. When Guarros placed the order, they had arranged for him to have a few men meet them at the Inland-Midland border. Once they left the hoodlas behind, the wagon would be too heavy for just the two of them to manage with an order this size.

Three big, beefy guards waited on the other side of the entrance. The two largest men took the yoke while the other one picked up the rear. Darrios and Evan looked at each other.

“Jeez, I feel incompetent,” Evan muttered.

Darrios chuckled. “I’m not touching that.”

Evan glared at him. They joined the man in the rear of the wagon. Darrios hollered “Ready” and they threw all their strength into getting the wagon moving. Once they did that, the pushing got easier.

“Hey, I wrote Brendan a note,” Darrios whispered so the guards wouldn’t hear him. He pulled it out and handed it to Evan.

Brendan,

Don’t get all caught up in your fake-inmate role. You need to make a move toward talking with Bashua. Talk to the girl. Be your charming self and find out what we need to know. The sooner you make contact, the sooner we can end this and pull you out of there. Besides, Maggie’s getting impatient and wants you home. She wants me to tell you she and the baby love you and miss you. Is there anything else you need?