He studies me carefully.
“Mr. Dover, do you accept responsibility for the actions that led to your incarceration?”
I don’t even hesitate this time. “Yes, sir, I do.”
The woman clears her throat, asking for the floor. “Would you handle that situation differently today?”
I think about the night at the club, how that asshole grabbed Poppy, and the sound his jaw made when my fist connected with it. Would I change anything about that night? No. But they don’t need to hear that.
“Yes, ma’am,” I answer.
“What would you have done differently?” she questions, pushing those big round lenses up her nose again.
“I’d walk away.”
The gray-haired man raises a brow. “You’re certain of that?”
“No, sir,” I admit honestly. “But I’d try harder.”
For the first time, one of them almost smiles.
The chairman straightens the file.
“Mr. Dover, based on your conduct during incarceration, the recommendations from correctional staff, and your demonstrated efforts toward rehabilitation…”
My chest tightens.
“…the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners has reached a decision.”
The room goes completely still.
“Wesley Dover, you are hereby granted parole after serving three years of your five-year sentence.”
The words hit like a punch to the lungs, and I definitely know what that feels like. Hard, fast, and uncontrolled.
“You will be released under supervision within seventy-two hours pending final processing.”
I swallow down my nerves.
“Yes, sir.”
“Do you understand that any violation of parole conditions will result in immediate return to custody?”
“Yes, sir.”
He nods once.
“Then this hearing is concluded.”
“Thank you for taking this chance on me. I won’t disappoint you.”
All three of them nod in tandem. “See that you don’t. Next time, we won’t be as lenient.”
The screen goes black before I can answer them, and the room suddenly feels too quiet.
I’m free. I can’t believe that I’m actually free!
Rodgers steps forward and unlocks the chain from the table but doesn’t uncuff my wrists. He can’t, not yet at least. So, for a moment we just stare at each other in disbelief. The guard and the criminal he’s protected for the last two years.
