Entering my room, he shuts the door behind him. “I’m taking a shower,” he announces and walks into my bathroom.
“What the …？” I trail off and jump up from my bed, storming into my bathroom.
He’s leaning inside my shower, turning on the water. “Get the fuck out of my apartment,” I order.
Instead of doing what I say, he reaches up and removes his T-shirt exposing his chest to me. My eyes fall to the bruise over his ribs. Looks like a fucking boot. Jesus, what the fuck has he been doing?
Giving me his back, he undoes his jeans and shoves them down his legs along with his boxer briefs. He’s got more bruises on his legs and back. I swallow nervously and go to step toward him, but he opens the shower door again and steps in.
Going under the sprayer, he places his hands flat on the wall and lowers his head. I watch his stomach suck in while he breathes deeply, making his ribs more prominent. He looks like he’s in pain.
Making up my mind, knowing I’ll probably regret this later, I remove my shirt and underwear, stepping inside.
I place my hands on his back, and he stiffens under my touch. “You okay?” I ask softly, knowing it’s a stupid question but needing him to reassure me that he is.
Instead, he turns around to face me and stumbles into me. I catch him, but his knees give out, and I’m not strong enough to hold him. I fall to the shower floor with him, and he leans his head against the wall, closing his eyes. “I’m so tired,” he mumbles.
The water from the showerhead above beats down on us, making me blink rapidly.
“What happened to you?” I ask, shoving my wet hair off my face and pulling my head away so I’m not directly under the water.
His head falls to the right, and he opens his heavy eyes, meeting mine. “It’s nothing. I just need some sleep.”
My teeth grind at his lie. He’s obviously had the shit beat out of him. He’s been gone for almost a week. Did he even get any sleep? “Ryat …？”
“I’m fine, Blake.” He pats my thigh. “I just want to clean up and go to bed.”
Letting out a deep breath, I nod. “Okay.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
RYAT
SOMETHING HARD HITS me in the back, knocking the wind out of me. I’m shoved to my knees, and my face is held down to the wet shower floor. My head to the side, I stare into a dead set of brown eyes. The Chinese star tattoo on his face.
Erik Bates.
Gotcha!
I killed the motherfucker! Took me a several days in solitary confinement, but I only needed one shot, and I just took it. I’m not stupid. Someone set this up and made sure that I was in here at the same time as him. I didn’t even have a chance to get undressed. The moment I saw him, I took the opportunity.
I’m jerked to my feet and dragged out of the showers, down the hallway, and back to my cell. The shackle around my waist is unlocked, but they leave my hands cuffed in front of me. My door is opened, and I’m pushed into it. The door shuts behind me and locks. Looking up, I see a man sitting on my bed who I don’t recognize.
Arching a brow, I ask, “Since when do they assign roommates in solitary confinement?”
He reaches up under my pillow and pulls out a short knife that wasn’t there before. “It’s amazing what they allow us to do when they need us to take care of something.”
I don’t miss the fact that the guards threw me in here still cuffed. This is a setup. Just like the one where I killed fuckface! “Who sent you?” I ask. It wasn’t Gregory. I did what I signed up for. If he turned on me, he would be terminated.
The man smirks, showing off his ugly brown teeth. He’s been in jail for a while. Probably a lifer. “Let’s just say a friend wants me to send you a message.”
“Friend?”
He stands, and I take a step back, but there’s nowhere for me to go in this concrete box. “I don’t know what you did, but he wants you to suffer.”
Fucking Matt! It has to be him. I beat him up and left him in our cell. He’s obviously been making friends while I’ve been in here alone. Good for him. The corner of my lips pulls back into a smirk when I confess. “I fucked his girl.”
His chuckles softly. “That’ll do it.” Lifting the knife, he looks over it. Pretty sure if he cuts me with it, I’ll need a tetanus shot afterward due to how discolored it is. I’m definitely not the first person it’s going to be used on. “Was the pussy worth it?” His eyes meet mine.
“Absolutely!”