The Bars That Hold Us by Shelly Pratt Read Free Book Online

continue with their discussion, stopped now because there’s nowhere else to go but back to where they came from. It’s like I’m the third wheel – present but completely unwanted. Suddenly Clarence gestures to me.
    ‘We had an incident here just last night. Four inmates managed to get out of their cells and came and attacked one of the prisoners.’
    ‘They got out?’ she asks, her voice devoid of emotion. Clarence responds quietly, knowing that my ears aren’t really privy to their conversation.
    ‘We believe one of the night guards let them out. He’s been under suspicion for a while, but now he’s been stood down while the matter is under investigation.’
    ‘What about the guy in t—’ she stops suddenly. She was gesturing towards my cell when her arm just freezes mid-air, her eyes finding mine unexpectedly.  
    There’s a lot of damage there, her own bars put up to keep the unwanted out. But I can see through the bars, to somewhere much deeper. She may not want to let anyone in, but I just breached her exterior. I touched her, without even raising a finger. I’m not unaffected either. My pulse quickens as she licks her lips, stunned into silence.
    Lord have m —
    ‘Mercy? You were saying?’
    Damn, that’s actually her name?
    ‘I, ah, was just wondering about the prisoner in here. Did a death occur?’ Her eyes drop from mine down towards my chest and , unavoidably, my washboard stomach. She takes a deep breath and drags them away.
    ‘He’s in the infirmary right now, but I’d imagine they’ll put him in protective now. Looks like Saxon here will need a new cell mate.’
    Pick her, please pick her! So not gonna happen, but a guy can dream, can’t he?
    I want her to look at me again, but she replaces her surprised interest with a cold, hard veneer of indifference. They ignore me, their chat continuing as the prison still erupts around us. I watch as they head back towards the custodial station, wishing like hell this was one of those minimum security prisons where we can just walk around as we please. I’m pretty sure me and hundreds of other inmates would just follow her around like the Pied Piper all day.
    Mercy? It’s pretty clear she isn’t going to show anyone any. All I can do is watch her walk away like I’m as insignificant as the rest of these turds. I’m not, though. I matter. I fucked up and made a mistake. Now all the women in the world are going to tar me with the same brush as every other crim before me. This blows, and it’s not the first time I wish like fucking crazy that I never killed the bloke.
    Guilt eats me alive like an infectious disease, because while I know I saved Jamie’s life, I really wish I wasn’t the one. I don’t want to be the hero any more. I just want my life back. I want to be free to chase women like the one I just saw and convince her to marry me and have my babies. All I can see in my future is scorn and disappointment. It’s a huge blow to a guy who once had it all.
    I had a girl when this all went down. Unfortunately she didn’t see us as serious enough to wait the four years for me to get out. Jamie tells me she’s married now with a kid. Good on her, I suppose. Who am I to stand in the way of her happiness?
    I put my T-shirt and jumper back on now that the source of my heated body temperature has left the vicinity. I’m kind of happy that Clinton isn’t here right now to invade my thoughts with his incessant chatter. I’ve never seen a woman work the jails before and I wonder what the hell she’s doing here. It’s not every girls dream job to work in a prison, surrounded by the likes of us. Yet here she is.
    She’s sparked an interest in me. I want to know her story, because let’s face it – everybody has one. There are no more thoughts of sleep as my mind works overtime. Sometimes I wonder how the hell I ended up here. I know how, it’s just coming to terms with it. Saying it out loud and admitting that I’m a hot-headed,