Chapter 11

Darren's day started like any other, even if it was technically the weekend. But weekends didn't really matter in prison, so he got up and did his workout as usual, joined Matt for breakfast, and spent most of the morning doing nothing.

"No library study session today?" Nyle drawled, walking over just as lunch was about to start. His mischievous blue eyes roamed Darren's face appreciatively.

Darren felt his mouth lift even if he aimed for a stern expression. "Playing clueless?"

Nyle mock-gasped, touching his chest. "Who, me? I would never."

Darren leaned against the stairs' metal railing and cast his gaze around. The buzz of the mess hall as people lined up at the food counters was all around him, giving his and Nyle's conversation a level of unintended privacy. "Everything's in place then?"

"Mhm. Got delivered earlier this morning at the agreed spot. Three boxes of cigarettes disguised as a batch of that nasty pasta along with a box of lollipops posing as protein bars," Nyle said, wrinkling his nose as the kitchen staff clanked with their ladles and the queue started to move. "I'll save you a plate."

Darren whipped his head in the direction of the counters and squinted at the sad-looking fake meat curry and dry rice. "Don't bother. Just the fruit will do."

"I heard it's bananas today," Nyle mused, his smile turning sultry as he licked his lips.

Darren didn't miss the insinuation. He let his eyes roam Nyle's body with intent, then stepped in and stroked Nyle's delicate jaw. "Definitely save me one. And make sure you get the evening kitchen shift so we can go over the stuff together. I'll see you later."

Nyle crossed his arms and grinned. "You don't have to worry about that. I'm already on it. Catch you later."

With that, the blond man left to join the queue for lunch. Darren watched for a few more minutes until everyone was too focused on the shitty food to pay him any mind, and made his way to the gate on the floor above. His guard buddies—Mike and Louis—were on duty, just like he had hoped based on what he knew about the staff rotations.

"What brings you here, Howe?" the redhead, Mike, said in a voice that sounded a little snappier than usual.

A bad feeling settled in Darren's stomach, but he forced it down and smiled. "Heard you got a nasty cold. Glad to see you are back."

Mike frowned, sniffling. His shoulders tensed and he shifted his taser gun from one arm to the other. Along with the bracelets, the guards at the gates carried guns with higher voltage as well.

"What do you want, Howe?" he demanded in a low growl, and it became clear to Darren that Mike was definitely not in a good mood.

Great.

Catching Louis' gaze, Darren said, "We are short on pasta for dinner, like I told Louis we'd be the other day. The kitchen staff sent me to get some from the storage area."

Louis glanced at Mike from under slanted eyebrows. "Yeah, uh… We forgot to get that on Thursday, so gotta go now, Mike."

Mike didn't look like he was following. Or buying any of it.

Fuck.

Darren gave Louis a meaningful look. They had an arrangement, and he really didn't have time to explain now, especially since Mike didn't look like he was particularly interested in cooperating.

Nerves swamping him, Darren shifted his weight. He needed to get the boxes before his window of opportunity passed and the rest of the staff was back from break. An inmate had no business in the storage areas outside the allotted times and those were only on Mondays and Thursdays, so if they didn't go now, he'd have to wait another full day at the very least when he already had dozens of clients lined up for tonight.

Mike rubbed the side of his head and turned to Louis. "The fuck is going on?"

Darren flinched internally. The last thing he needed was to cause a scene and get his and Nyle's little smuggling ring shut down before they'd even realized any profits. Louis was supposed to have briefed Mike or whoever the second guard on duty would be today, but by the looks of things, he'd failed to do that. Darren had a pretty good guess as to the reason already: after all, why split the profit with a buddy if you can take it all for yourself, right?

He really should've seen that coming, but he'd thought Louis wouldn't try to screw Mike over, considering how tight those two were.

"Nothing, I told you," Louis tried, staring at his shoes. "Kitchen needs more pasta, so Howe and I will go get it."

Darren wanted to punch Louis. He couldn't have made it more obvious that he was lying.

Mike didn't miss that either. "The fuck you are!" he grumbled, aiming his angry mug Darren's way. "Howe put you up to something and you two think you can pull it off without me."

There it was, the real issue. Whether it was because he was still a little sick, or because it was just one of those days when a guard decided he was due a power trip, Darren didn't know, but the fact that his entire plan was about to be ruined remained.

"C'mon, Mike. Like I would do that!" Louis tried to defend, but it only made Mike's expression turn even sourer.

"Hell yeah, you are! You think I'm stupid or something, huh?"

Anxiety twisted Darren's stomach as he watched the two men argue. Things were escalating quickly and he was running out of time. Squaring his shoulders and taking a deep breath, he cleared his throat and stepped between them. Both guards clamped their mouths shut and looked at him, anger and dejection ruling on their faces as they put some distance between themselves.

Squeezing his hands into fists, Darren said, "Okay, Mike. Here's the deal. I have to pick up a few boxes of stuff from outside. My… associate and I are scaling up. You were supposed to be in on that"—he glared pointedly at Louis, though not too pointedly because Louis was a guard and Darren was still just a prisoner—"but I forgot to mention it to Louis since you weren't around that day. Hence the confusion."

Mike's face relaxed a little, but the spark was still in his gaze. "Yeah? You forgot, Howe?"

No, he hadn't; Louis had just decided he could play it smart and screw him over, and now he was the one who was going to have to fix it. "Thought you might be off until next week. Was going to make it up to you then," Darren explained, tossing Mike one of his professional smiles that had saved him so many times when he'd had to deal with a hotheaded client.

Mike squinted and studied his face. "Fine." He nudged the gate with his metal-soled boot, producing a clank-like sound. "What's in the boxes?"

Darren did his best to keep his voice casual even if he knew Mike was about to negotiate his cut. "Cigarettes and lollipops."

Mike's eyebrow shot up. "Lollipops? Who the fuck would even buy that?" he cackled. "Whatever, I don't care. Louis, what's your cut?"

A smirk settled on Louis' face. "Thirty."

Darren squeezed his fists tighter. Of course that asshole was going to screw him over a second time and claim Darren had promised him thirty percent instead of fifteen. He'd half expected it, if he was being honest, but he'd hoped his efforts in buttering up to the two guards would have had a bigger payoff. Like mutual respect, even if he knew he'd still have to bend over from time to time.

Mike whistled. "Guess that's another thirty for me, Howe, or you are not getting those boxes."

Sixty percent. He and Nyle were getting robbed of sixty percent. But he had no choice other than agreeing. The guards had the power here, even if they had no use for the contraband unless they could have someone on the inside sell it. And Darren was their best and only choice.

Gritting teeth, he smiled. "Sounds good to me. Can we go now? I need to get the boxes to the kitchens before break is over."

Mike leaned his back against the wall and got the gate open. "Who's stopping you? And Howe? Save me a pack, will you?"

"Of course," Darren said and followed Louis.

It crossed his mind to call Louis out on being an asshole, but it wasn't worth the drama or the risk of retaliation, so he swallowed down his annoyance. Fortunately, they managed to load the trolley with the shipment and get it to the kitchens just before lunch break finished, so at least he didn't have to worry about that.

Once he'd stowed the boxes all the way behind the ones already on the shelves, he returned to his cell. Matt was out somewhere, so he found himself alone. A single banana was on the table, courtesy of Nyle, but Darren's appetite was gone. His stomach was in knots from earlier, and he sat on the floor with his back against the wall, simply holding his head in his hands and letting his mind wander aimlessly until the agitation and nerves eventually subsided.

He stood up then, ate the banana and emerged from his cell, joining Matt at one of the mess hall tables so he could spend the rest of the afternoon playing cards and laughing with the other inmates until dinnertime. Then once that was over too, he set up shop by the dishwasher and, for a few hours, forgot he was in prison altogether.