“Semper Fi, buddy. It’s the least I owe you.”
Gabriel gave him a lop-sided grin. “Semper Fi,” he said softly. They’d been battle buddies in Afghanistan. Small world indeed. “Any of the prisoners show an interest in the dig?”
Billy’s brow knitted. “Yeah…Randy Means. They call him The Wizard because he’s educated and always has his nose in a book. He just earned himself a spot as a porter with free movement throughout the prison, but he asked to be transferred to construction.”
A plum job every prisoner vied for, and he wanted construction? “Well, at least I know where to start sniffing.”
* * *
Gillian had been making the rounds, walking past every cell of every tier, although most of the prisoners were milling in the commons below. Although she’d tried hard not to admit it to herself, she knew the moment Vlahos entered the unit.
Gazes turned to the floor below her. Backs stiffened. Inmates lined the rails and peered down to see the new inmate. See whether he was made of the right stuff or someone they’d carve up on the first day just because they could.
She couldn’t help herself. She stalled on the third tier up, found a space between the inmates, and watched. Whistles followed Vlahos as he entered, carrying his bundle of freshly issued bedding and clothing.
A row of inmates ambled toward him, tall, black, fierce. Vlahos was halfway past the list when someone puckered and smacked him a kiss. Vlahos was handsome and solidly built. A dream for some of these guys who might not have swung that way when they entered the system, but were willing to bend that way now, because sex was just a part of nature and the urges had to be acted on.
Vlahos halted, aimed a glare at the man nearest him, and dropped his bundle at his feet. “You talkin’ to me?”
He’d spoken softly, but then again, there wasn’t a single noise to buffer the coldly issued challenge. Breaths held. Hers included. She started to make her way toward the steps, knowing this wasn’t going to end without there being trouble.
“You’re a pretty one,” another of the inmates said, closing in on Vlahos’s side.
“You’re not my type. No offense,” Vlahos replied, his hands fisting on his hips.
“Pretty boy like you doesn’t need a type.”
Vlahos’s head canted, and his chin came up. His narrowed gaze sliced at the first one who’d spoken. “These your pretty boys?”
The one at his side, jerked. “I’m no ‘punk’ but you smell mighty pretty.”
“I like soap. You should try it sometime.”
The one who’d spoken first, stepped forward, so close his chest touched Vlahos. Although a big, brawny man, he had to lift his gaze a couple of inches to meet Vlahos’s. The big guy didn’t like the fact much, that much showed from the fury tightening his jaw.
“You’d better take a step back,” Vlahos said quietly. “I’m giving you fair warning. You don’t know who I am.”
The inmate snorted and looked down his nose at Vlahos. “You’re fresh meat. I run this unit.”
“We’ll see about that.”
Gillian sprinted down the last flight of stairs, her hand reaching for the button on her mike. She’d never get there in time to stop what was bound to go down. After a quick glance at the control booth, she cursed under her breath. McPhee was grinning gleefully. The bastard was just gonna let this happen.
When her foot hit the concrete floor, the fight broke out. The tall black dude swung a closed fist upward, hitting Vlahos’s midsection.
But Vlahos didn’t bend under the force. His mouth widened in a smile. “Try that again.”
Pissed now, the black man swung again, this time at Vlahos’s face, but his fist never met flesh.
In a move so fast it was a blur, Vlahos’s hand met the fist and wrapped around it, bending back the wrist and forcing the bigger man to his knees.
Gillian sprinted up. “Break it up. Now! Everyone in their cells. Now!”
The group around Vlahos hesitated, features tight and menacing.
She fisted her hands on her hips. “Every goddamn one of you is gonna catch paper if you don’t move now.”
The one at Vlahos’s side gave a quick glance to the leader still crouching on the floor, groaning at the strain on his wrist. He snorted and shook his head. His chin came up at Vlahos, a short respectful gesture that still managed to brim with warning.