He coughed, and then his chiseled face twisted in agony again.
“Hey,” I asked, “are you okay?”
“I’m nowhere close to okay.”
“Do you need anything?”
Jayce frowned. “Nothing you can give me.”
He was right. I couldn’t even help myself right now, let alone a stranger.
I looked around my own cell. The floor was cement that gradually sloped down to a drain in the center.For easy cleaning, I thought. Just hose the room down and everything would wash away. There was a stain on the floor of Jayce’s cell that looked like blood. It probablywasblood.
The room was chilly, and a rivulet of water was running down the back of my neck. I took a deep breath, let it out, and then took another one.
I’ve already cried once tonight. I won’t do it again in front of a complete stranger.
“Word of advice?” Jayce said in that deep, smooth voice. “Don’t do anything else to piss off the sheriff. Or anyone else in this fucking town. Just keep your head down and your mouth shut, you understand?”
“Wish I’d known that an hour ago,” I said, keeping my voice low so only he could hear. “Sheriff seemed intent on throwing me in here the moment he pulled me over. I wasn’t even speeding!”
“First time in Eastland, huh?”
“Unfortunately.”
“Pretty fucking stupid of you to come here.”
“You don’t need to curse at me,” I replied curtly.
Jayce’s chest shook with silent laughter, which brought another wince of pain. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but your priorities are allfucked upif you give a shit about my cursing.”
His words stung and made me recoil. A moment later, anger rose up in my chest. Scott had too much control over my life. So did the power-tripping sheriff who had locked me in here. But I wasdefinitelynot going to allow the jerk in the next cell to have any power over my emotions tonight.
“I don’t see why you think this is funny. I’ve had my entire life torn apart and now I’m stuck in jail in some podunk little town in the middle of nowhere, Georgia. The last thing I need is somebiker criminal making fun of me.”
One of his sharp eyebrows rose. “Your life was torn apart? Join the party.”
I cocked my head to one side. “You think you have it worse than me?”
“I know I do,” he said flatly.
“Let’s hear it, then. How’d you end up in here?”
Kissable lips puckered into an amused smile behind his beard. “You don’t wanna hear my story.”
“Sure I do.”
“Nah.” He twisted sideways to lay back on the bench. Corded lines of muscle flexed as he covered one arm over his chest protectively, the one with the colorful tattoos.
Whoever this guy was, he was gorgeous. Like a big, sexy teddy bear. He didn’tlooklike a criminal. Was he a victim of the overzealous sheriff too? Regardless of the legitimacy of his crime, I realized I wanted him to be a jerk so I would be justified in taking out my frustration on him some more. I wanted him to be my punching bag.
But he just lay there on the bench, wincing with each breath.
“I shouldn’t be in here,” I said, more to myself than anything.
Jayce snorted without opening his eyes. “Like I said. Join the fuckin’ party.”
“Asshole,” I muttered, but my heart wasn’t in it.