AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The sergeant shook his head. “Full. So’s solitary.”
“Well, this block is out. That block’s out. If you put him here, they’ll fucking kill each other.”
“Is thereanyoneyou get along with, professionally speaking? Chinese? Italians? Mexicans?” The sergeant raised his brows at me, while I furrowed mine at him.
“Nyet.”
“Course not.” He sighed and scratched the back of his neck, pointing at something on the screen. “Try here.”
The other man’s brow wrinkled. “You sure? They just sent that Mexican to the hospital. Twenty-two stitches.”
“It’s one night.” The sergeant looked me over. “I’m sure he can handle it.”
The jailer nodded and unchained me from the railing I was handcuffed to, directing me down a windowless hallway.
The barred door buzzed and slid open to a holding cell with only two other men. From my experience, they normally they held ten times that.
“Good luck,” the jailer murmured, unlocking the handcuffs and gesturing me inside.
I surveyed the two as I strode in, dropping onto the bench on the opposite side of the cell. They eyed me with the same suspicion, both sitting up a bit straighter on their shared bench.
They were built, for sure, but I still had the height advantage. From the bloody knuckles, ripped t-shirts, and stained jeans I figured I was dealing with two brawlers, one of my least favorite type of fighters. If they were trained, you already knew something of their strengths and weaknesses. Brawlers were unpredictable.
“Who the fuck is this?” the darker of the two asked before the guard walked away. “We told you we don’t want no more cellies, pal!”
“Hey! Smitty! My man is talking to you!” the blond added.
The jailer muttered something, but didn’t answer either of them.
Alone at last, we sized each other up again. They were American, obviously. From the Celtic knots and shamrock tattoos visible on their arms, safe to say they were some type of Irish. Sergei had contacts on the North Side, but I’d never had interactions with any of them. With my luck, these guys were from the South Side, which meant no one was getting any sleep tonight until someone went to the hospital.
“Whatcha think?” The darker one leaned his shoulder up against the blond, their eyes fixed on me. “Resisting? Disorderly?”
The blond shook his head and made a face at his friend. “Armed robbery.”
“Armed robberyandresisting,” the dark one said with a laugh. “Look at the fucking size of this guy. I’ll throw in an Agg Batt, too.”
I lifted a brow, glancing between the two. At least they were amused by their little game. Maybe I’d just pretend I didn’t speak English. It was a tried and true tactic for those times I didn’t feel like talking or answering stupid questions.
“Ok, we give up,” the blond sighed. “What’d you do?”
Only an idiot would answer that question, which meant they were seasoned criminals, trying to suss out where I ranked in our world.
Smirking, I shifted my attention past the two and back into the hall, assessing the small crowd that had gathered at the cell door across the way. The group openly stared at me, talking amongst themselves, elbowing one another and nodding in my direction. Fucking Italians. Always hands flying and tongues wagging, squawking like chickens.
My cellmates glanced back and forth, exchanging grins of their own.
“You know Joey and Tony over there?” the darker one asked, leaning forward and bracing his elbows on his knees. “Couple of Marchese’s guys. Well. What’s left of them. Whole family’s pretty much been annihilated. Stubborn wops keep using the name though, like we’re supposed to be fucking scared!” His taunt got louder and louder with each word, clearly meant for the Italians and not me.
Before I could even decide if I was going to answer the Irishman or not, one of the Italians was shoved forward as the apparent spokesperson of the group. “Hey! Hey you! You’re that Russian who whacked Carmine last week, right? Yeah. Heard you were a big fucker. All tatted up. You know you’re not leaving this city alive, right? We’re coming for you.”
I rolled my eyes and leaned back against the cinderblocks, trying to get as comfortable as I could for the night. I’d heard that threat before and I’d hear it again. The only one out there who truly worried me was Kazimir, and that was only because no one had been able to locate him yet.
“Why don’t you shut the fuck up, Tony?” my blond cellmate shouted. “No one believes any of the shit you say ever since you pissed yourself during that robbery.”
“Shut your fucking face, Brehaney! Goddamn potato heads.”
“What are you going to do? Come over here and shut it for me, you Dago prick?”
