Page 49 of On Your Life

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Oh, this is perfect. The paper taped to the desk shows my little killer is on duty this evening. I couldn’t have planned this better if I tried.

Thank you, captain.

It’s around eleven, which means that Riggs has already had his lunch and is content for the evening. The pod has settled down for the night, and he’ll be more than happy to deal with them now that they’re all sleeping.

“Riggs,” I say into the radio.

“Yeah?” His voice is gruff, like I just woke him up.

“I need you to watch my pod. I have to check on an inmate on work detail.”

“Copy,” he replies.

He may not be thrilled about it but he’ll get over it. It doesn’t take long before the buzzer sounds and he’s walking over to the desk. He may bitch like a lazy sack of shit, but he’s reliable at least.

“I shouldn’t be too long. Who’s watching your pod?”

He throws his feet up on the desk and leans back in the chair.

“Some new guy. I don’t really care. They’re all asleep anyways. Bingo took it out of them. I heard them snoozing before the lights even cut off,” he says with a laugh.

Must be nice to get the prison grannies. It would bore me to fucking tears though. As much as I like to complain about my job, it’s entertaining most days.

Lately, my mind has been occupied by a dark haired vixen that I can’t seem to shake.

My boots echo through the empty halls, the incessant squeak against the floor following me every other step. A constant reminder that I need a new pair.

The offices never take long to clean, but everyone has always taken advantage of the position because of the freedom it provides. I don’t know how she sweet talked her way into it, but she’s going to regret that decision shortly.

I shove my badge up to the reader and wait for the lock to release. The door clicks open and I slip inside as quietly as possible. Once it closes, I stop to listen for movement. I’m greeted by something so much better.

She hums a tune further down the hallway, oblivious to the predator in her wake. The closer I get to the soft melody the more something inside hardens. The tune is almost painfully cheerful. She sounds carefree, almost happy.

She doesn’t deserve to be happy.

I move silently down the narrow hall until I finally see her. She’s bent over on her hands and knees, scrubbing the corner of an office. The smell of bleach hangs heavy in the air, burning the back of my throat. It’s overwhelming, like she practically covered the place in the shit.

Dark hair is twisted into a lazy bun on the top of her head, a few loose strands escaping around her face. She’s wearing the new navy blue uniform. It fits her a hell of a lot better than the jumpsuit did. Her pants are rolled down a few times at the waist, and when she shifts, a sliver of skin at her lower back peeks through. My dick instantly hardens.

Fuck. I hate what she does to me.

Her humming continues, completely oblivious to me standing only a few feet away. I stay in the doorway and watch her.

She really is a beautiful creature. Murderer or not, I’d be a fucking idiot to deny it. Usually, prison life has a way of stripping that from women. Eventually they stop caring about appearances. Stop caring about anything outside these walls. The place wears them down until there’s nothing left but survival.

She hasn’t gotten there yet. She’s still careless enough to turn her back. Still naive enough to believe she’s safe.

You aren’t safe here, little killer.

Sooner or later, she’ll realize just how big of a mistake it is to keep your guard down when someone wants you dead.

Chapter 27

Kira

Ihave cleaned these offices so deeply they should be sparkling by morning. You can tell that Suzie only halfway did her job by the sheer amount of dust embedded into every crevice I come across. But I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt because I’m sweating bullets, crawling around on my hands and knees while scrubbing this place like my life depends on it. Maybe it does.