My back began to ache like fire was lapping at it, and my leg muscles burned. I stopped, and Laken turned to glance along the hall behind us. “Uh, you don’t look so good. Should I get someone?”
“Like who?” I grumbled.
“Uh… a guard?”
“Fuck no. Just go to lunch.”
He pouted, which was outrageous. We were in fucking prison. He was going to get killed. “I don’t want to—”
“Go!” I snapped. Sweat snaked down my forehead and stung my eyes. He flinched, and my heart gave another twist. “It’s okay, all right? I’m in pain. That’s all.”
He relaxed a bit. “Um, if you’re sure.Areyou sure?”
“It won’t help you to miss the meal. Just go.”
He nodded and didn’t turn around to face forward for a good piece of the hallway, I guess waiting for me to call him back. When I shook my head, he hooked around and took off. He appeared pitifully young in his baggy sweatpants and T-shirt, and while I deserved to be here, I wondered what a boy like him had done to get behind bars. Not that I hadn’t done plenty of awful things at his age, too. I backed up against a wall and sank down as carefully as I could, using my weight to keep from dropping, but a few inches from the floor I slid the rest of the way hard. I clenched my eyes closed and slammed my fist against the tiles, breathing heavily.
Why had I thought I would be okay without the chair this morning? I’d woken up feeling scared, but hopeful, and that had made me imagine I could get around this bullshit somehow. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back. If someone wanted to take me out right here, well, they’d have a pretty easy time of it. At least I’d sent the kid along, so he’d be out of harm’s way. My heart twinged again.
What would happen if I called Angel? I missed him. I’d mishandled nearly everything that happened in my life and had done worse with his. As much as I fucking hated Casey Uhlig, it was a strange comfort knowing Angel had someone else watching out for him. It was weird. I’d done my level best to chase my son off, but I’d always wanted to be there for him. I’d always wanted to make his life easier and keep him out of trouble. I’d fucked up—bad.
Time slipped past and my stomach grumbled. I’d gotten in the habit of not eating well, so the pain gnawing at my gut was a familiar annoyance. I closed my eyes and tried to figure out how I was going to get onto my feet again when I was finally feeling better.
“I can’t leave you alone for a minute. At least it doesn’t look like anyone knocked you on your ass.”
Drew’s tone was a touch snarky, but warmth was also threaded through it. I cracked an eye to find him standing to my left with his arms crossed and his chin tucked. The corner of his lips twitched into a smile, and my stomach ran hot.
“Sat down, thank you very much.”
“Why?”
I smacked at my legs and rolled my eyes. “The spirit is willing. The body is a fucker.”
“Seems about right.” He lowered his eyelids for a moment, and all I could think about was sex, but the moment passed, and he crouched beside me. The hand he rested on my arm was friendly and warm.
“Is your chair still broken?”
“Yeah.”
He glanced around and sighed. “I’m going to go get the one from medical you were using.”
Nodding, an old humiliation crawled up my throat to choke me. “Okay.”
He hopped to his feet, strong as ever, and was off like a shot. I watched him go. He had enough muscle that he nearly swaggered, but not quite, and it wasn’t because he was an asshole, that’s simply how a body that strong moved. I knocked my head back against the wall and gritted my teeth. I’d had him in my bed last night, warm and perfect, his hard body pressed against mine. His cock interested inme. That was some motivation right there. If I couldn’t move around, I wouldn’t get much of what I wanted out of anything physical with him. I didn’t want to be a fuck toy for him later… or not only one, anyway. I smacked my legs. There would be no standing straight up, so I got to my knees and closed my eyes when even that seemed like a feat.
Drew was back by the time I had one foot on the floor and my arms crossed over my thigh while I contemplated standing. He moved the walker and crouched to my level. His arms were gentle but solid as he wrapped them around me, and I found myself sliding my hands behind his neck to grip him as he stood with me. The pain in my back as I straightened about knocked me out. I’d definitely pissed off the muscles near the base of my spine and the old injury, though a lot of it could be down to muscle tightness from overwork. I rested my forehead on his shoulder for a moment.
“You okay there?” he murmured in my ear. I nodded as he shifted us and set me in the chair. He glanced around and turned his back to an odd angle facing the far end of the hall as he bent in front of me.
“What are you doing? You’re up to something.”
Drew’s lips quirked into a mischievous smile that flooded the pit of my stomach with heat. “Don’t want anyone on the camera to see this.” He took something that looked like a pen out of his pocket and tucked it into the waistband of my sweats before quickly yanking the hem of my T-shirt down over it.
“What did you just do?” I asked. A stab of adrenaline spiked through me.
He stood and patted my shoulder, moving around again so he was behind the chair. I caught a whiff of his cologne and heat washed through me—a bright burn of need. “I’ll come back for the walker. I’m going to push you to the mess hall.”
“Drew?” I said quietly and patted my front where whatever he’d given me was cold against my skin.
