Chapter One
Present Day ~ August
Sunnyside Maximum Security Correctional Center, Ontario Canada
Thirty-three year old prison convict Axel Rosetti frowned as he entered the penitentiary's visitor room.It smelled of a flowery disinfectant in here, and the concrete walls were painted beige with large colorful flower decals.He’d heard the decor was designed to give off a happy ambience for the visitors.Like they could be fooled into being cheerful after having their loved ones locked up in here.
Axel wasn’t used to coming to this part of the prison.His mother was his only visitor, and she came only on his birthday or holidays.Today was not his birthday, nor a holiday, so he suspected a mistake must have been made.
His frown deepened as he spied a young, thin, blonde woman sitting at one of the metal tables scrolling through her cellphone.Her hair was straight, shoulder length with bangs and parted in the middle.She was dressed in a smart-looking navy blue pant suit with a prim and proper white blouse.
He figured she had to be some sort of professional.He didn’t recognize her and before he could tell the guard there was a mistake, the solid metal door slammed shut behind him with such a clang that Axel winced.
The woman looked up and the instant she spied him standing there staring at her, she had a momentary frightened expression.It disappeared when her gaze darted to his cuffed wrists and then quickly followed the two chains that dripped from the middle of the cuffs down to his shackled ankles.
She visibly relaxed when she realized he was restrained but she continued to watch guardedly.
Great.Now he was in the business of scaring kids.
His momentary guilt melted away.She was a petite thing, and he doubted she was more than twenty.
“Mr Axel Rosetti?”she asked in a shy, feminine voice as she slowly stood and reluctantly placed her cellphone onto the table.
“Who wants to know?”he growled.
Her eyes widened at his loud, booming voice.
He hadn’t meant to sound gruff, but it was lunch time, and he was hungry.He’d like to get back to the cafeteria before the food ran out, which usually happened on spaghetti day, which came along once a month.
To his surprise, the young woman strolled around the table and walked assuredly toward him.At least she was trying to appear confident.He was quite sure that if he said boo, she would jump six feet into the air from fright.
When she reached him, she held out her hand.
Okay, she wanted to shake hands.He would oblige.
He extended his arms and the clink of chains shrieked through the air as they awkwardly shook hands.
Man, he hadn’t touched a woman in years.Had forgotten how fragile and how soft they could feel and how nice they smelled.
“My name is Cyn Peterson.I'm a lawyer.I'd like to talk to you about Jenna.”
At the mention of his ex-fiancé, all the air went out of Axel’s lungs, and he felt as if he’d been sucker punched.Emotions, thick and raw, welled up in his chest and he let go of her hand as if it were suddenly on fire and not in a good way.
He exhaled as memories of the woman he should have married danced in his head.Jenna’s cute teasing smile, her sweet laughter.Their dreams of having lots of kids.Of the two of them growing old together with a bunch of grandchildren playing at their feet.
He forced himself back to reality.Back to the kid standing in front of him.To the serious expression on her face.And to the question that was now crashing through him like a storm, making his gut twist in a real bad way.
“Is Jenna okay?”he whispered, his voice cracking.
Suddenly his legs were trembling.He felt weak.He knew he couldn’t bear it if Jenna was dead.
Could this kid hear the pain in his voice?The guilt at what he had done.Of how he’d crushed their dreams in one violent night of rage.
The woman appeared frazzled.Probably realized he was suddenly very worried about Jenna.
“Oh, yes.I'm sorry.Yes, she's fine.I didn't mean to upset you.Please have a seat.”
Upset was an understatement.
