But today, I’m too pissed off to be polite and spare his feelings.
“Here’s your cream and sugar.” Hunt holds out my coffee in his left hand and a couple of packets of cream and sugar in the right. “I know you like to add your own.”
I clear my throat. “Can I talk to you for a moment? Alone.”
Hunt’s eyes light up. “Sure, Brooke.”
Great. He thinks I’m going to make out with him.
We get inside the exam room, and I shut the door behind us. A voice in the back of my head tells me it might not be the best idea to be alone with this guy, especially when I’m about to confront him, but I can’t have this conversation with him in the hallway. Unfortunately, this is definitely encouraging the idea that I am hot for him.
“Marcus,” I say in a low voice. “Why didn’t you tell me you were in my class in high school?”
He freezes, his mouth open but no words coming out.
“Don’t say you weren’t,” I say. “I was looking through the yearbook and saw your picture. You were in my class. You must have known who I was when you first met me.” He starts to say something and I add, “Don’t lie.”
“Fine.” His shoulders droop. “Yes, I knew you right away. I mean, it’s pretty hard to forget the girl who almost got murdered by her boyfriend during senior year.”
“You also never mentioned that Shane and his buddies beat you up.” I fold my arms across my chest. “That they put you in the hospital. And you’ve been harboring a grudge against him for years, and now you’re making him pay for what he did to you.”
“That,” he says, “is an exaggeration.”
“Is it? Tell me he did anything here in prison to warrant the way you’ve been treating him.”
A dark expression passes over Hunt’s face. “He doesn’t have to do anything here. I already know what kind of person he is. He’s the kind of guy who would kick me in the ribs while laughing about it.” His hand balls into a fist. “You know what he’s like too, Brooke. I don’t know why you’re defending him.”
He makes an excellent point. I should hate Shane. I should be happy to see him locked up here, his hands and ankles shackled together. I should want to see him suffer after what he put me through.
But ever since I saw him lying in that infirmary bed, all the angry feelings I held towards him seem to have evaporated. Maybe it’s because he’s my son’s father. Or maybe there’s another reason.
When I testified against Shane, I felt so certain he was the one tightening that necklace chain around my neck, trying to kill me. But the more I think about it, the less certain I feel. There was something that happened that night I am missing. One little detail that has escaped me.
I’m sure of it.
Hunt leans in close to me—too close. “I could make him really pay for what he tried to do to you. Nobody on the outside gives a shit about him. I’ll do whatever you tell me to do. I could throw him in isolation for weeks—or months. I could have him beaten up so badly, he won’t be able to walk anymore. Just you say the word.” He winks at me. “Nelson thinks I’ve been torturing him, but he has no idea.”
My chest tightens. “I don’t want you to do that.”
“What part?”
“None of it.” I swallow a hard lump in my throat. “I… I want you to lay off Shane.”
“Excuse me?”
“You need to stop.” I raise my voice, trying to seem more confident than I feel. “You need to treat him like a human being. Now.”