Page 99 of Shattered Pieces

“Keep working. Whatever it is, we won’t find out until later.”

“Where did you two go earlier?” Vines asked bluntly, nervous glances going around the room at her boldness.

“With the creep. You literally saw him come and get us,” Lexi snorted, raising an eyebrow. “You accusing us of something, Vines?”

“I was just thinking if you’re going to do something, you should give the rest of your girls a heads-up.”

“My girls?” she echoed, and Jamie cursed under her breath as Lexi walked over to her. “When I do something, my girls do know. You don’t think you’re one of them, do you? You’re in my block, but you’re not part of my crew.”

“I heard Donovan’s new too. So how the fuck is she so chummy with you already?” Vines spat, my suspicion of her rising. Did she get in here in the hopes of finding me still alone without protection?

Lexi slammed a fist into her face without hesitation, the others stepping back to avoid getting dragged into it.

“Donovan proved herself when she stayed out of trouble and took a fucking shiv for me. Are you going to do that?” Lexi asked sharply, standing over her as she tried to get up off the floor. “You thought you could come in here and become my best buddy or something?”

“You were the one flirting with me the second I got here,” Vines scowled, and I had a good idea to cover up my knuckle issue.

“You need to back off. Bryant’s the boss,” I scoffed, her mouth twisting into a snarl.

“Fucking bite me. I’m no one’s bitch.”

“Donovan,” Lexi warned, but I ignored her and threw a punch at Vines, the girl launching herself at me to defend herself. I let her get a few good hits in so it didn’t look like I’d attacked the new defenseless girl, and I made sure to curse her out as if she’d started it, right as Miss Jarvis walked back in.

“Donovan! Vines! Break it up!” she barked, and I took a step back with my hands up, grinning as Vines tried to hit me again but was grabbed and dragged backwards. “I said, break it up!”

Vines cursed and fought her hold as she was taken from the room, Tilly coming over to fuss over me. Roberts was staring at me with wide eyes, and Jamie just sighed but wasn’t surprised.

“You’re going to get in trouble,” Lexi hissed, taking one of my hands to inspect my knuckles. They hurt like hell, but at least I had a reason for damaged knuckles now.

“Aw, you’re worried about me?” I cooed, and she shot me a dirty look.

“How can you fuck me tonight with hands like that?”

“I wasn’t going to in the first place,” I replied dryly, glancing over as the door opened and the warden stepped into view with an annoyed look on her face. “Are you here for me?”

“Whatever gave you that idea, Donovan?” she asked sarcastically, motioning for me to hurry up. Lexi gave me a firm look as I left, trailing behind the warden as we reached her office. She sat in her chair and glared at my hands, seeming to need a minute before speaking. “You started a fight with Vines. Why?”

“She was giving Lexi trouble,” I shrugged. “I didn’t know she’d start throwing hands like that.”

“Congratulations. You’re no longer the fastest inmate to end up in the hole. I don’t think I’ve ever had to drag someone there on day one before.”

“Lucky Vines. Does she get a prize?” I smirked, taking a seat opposite her desk. “Do I have to go back down there? I kind of like the silence.”

“We’re at capacity, thanks to your cell block, and since you backed off when told, you get off with a warning. Just so you know, all of these interactions and conversations get written down for your trial. If you don’t want to be known as the violent criminal, maybe stop acting like it,” she warned, making me snicker.

“Being a violent criminal and a murderer are two very different things, Warden.”

“Do you know anything about Anderson?” she asked, and I scoffed.

“She doesn’t like me and she has terrible dental hygiene. Apart from that, no. Why?”

“She was found beaten in the showers. The cameras were covered at the time, and it just so happened to be when you and Bryant were heading in that direction,” she sighed, tapping her finger on the desk impatiently.

“We were with⁠—”

“And he had to go and speak to security about something, claiming he sent you back to the laundry. The footage shows a gap in time from when you left there, to when you returned. What were you doing?”

“Dragging ass. I hate the laundry, so we took our time going back,” I lied with a shrug, her eyes narrowing.