Cell Mates (boyxboy) (Book 1: Behind Bars)

Chapter 35 : Let's play pretend...

Chapter 35

~John’s POV~

With nothing more to do to past the time, I reviewed the timetable once more, glancing over the courses and the times. In the morning we’d be confronting Jason Kelly, the prison guard’s son and hopefully we’d have some answers before lunch.

Hopefully. I sighed, running a hand over my face.

“I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen you so worked up over a case.” Simon commented drily from his seat across the room. In hand he held a beer, his feet, which he propped up on the scarred surface of the coffee table, were comfortably crossed at the ankles.

I dropped the thin sheet of paper I was holding onto the side table next to me and straightened in the narrow bed. Beside me, Kyle groaned then burrowed deeper under the covers, still asleep.

“Yeah well it’s the first time I’ve ever had so much to lose.” I replied in an equally dry tone and Simon regarded me silently, his eyes locked with mine as that powerful mind of his worked out whatever conclusion he would draw from my simple statement.

“Makes sense.” He said finally taking a swig of his beer.

“So I guess the real question is, why’d you put yourself in a position where you could lose so much?”

I shook my head, conversations with Simon always had a clinical feel to it, as if he was more interested in understanding the inner workings of my brain than he was in the actual topic. “Is there a point to this question? You know why…Nate’s my partner, I’m here to keep him safe as always.”

He nodded thoughtfully and I felt my annoyance grow. “Tell me about those two.” He indicated to Kyle then to Riley who was also asleep in the bed across from me.

“What, you trying tell me you haven’t done your background checks yet?” I scoffed and he grinned.

“Of course not, but words on paper don’t mean a damn thing without more.” he continued and I shrugged.

“Nothing to tell really, Riley was framed, we’re trying get him off and in the process we’re going to see what we can do to help Kyle out.”

“They must be pretty decent guys if you and Nate are willing to go through all this trouble to help them out, but Riley’s innocent. You’re trying to break the law for Kyle, why? I mean, he’s a good looking guy, I can see the appeal, but to help him run from his own crime? That’s not like you John.”

My eyes narrowed. “Not everyone who breaks the law deserves to be in prison.”

He raised a brow at that, “You break the law, you suffer the consequences, that’s what you’re taught every day at the bureau, it’s why you do what you do and that’s always what you believed, it’s what Nate believed and now here you both are…wasting your training.”

“And here you are, wasting your training right along with us.”

He smiled at that, then held up his beer. “Touché.”

“Tell me more about Riley, is he good for Nate? Is all this really worth it?”

“Why’s that important to you?”

“Well I wouldn’t want my big brother to be here risking life and limb for nothing. I need to know what type of man he is.”

“Then ask him, you came here to help keep him safe and you two haven’t said more than two words to each other, what’s the point of that?”