“I can’t. I just…I wanted you to know—in case something happens to me—you’ve already been the best part of my life.” Those words came in a rush; then he was gone.
Tears rolled down Peyton’s cheeks as she stared at her phone. He’d risked his life to tell her that. If Buzz called back to see who he’d been talking to and got her voice mail—or she answered and he recognized her voice—Virgil would be exposed.
But the fact that she meant that much to him made her care about him all the more.
She caught herself. Care about him? Her feelings were stronger than that. She s pretty sure she was falling in love.
Taking a few minutes to change her voice mail to a computerized response instead of a personal message, just in case, she hurried back to the house.
“You seem to be in a much better mood,” Rick said as he walked into the kitchen and found Peyton smiling over a bagel and her second cup of coffee.
Clearing her throat, she made an effort to rid herself of the goofy expression. “Yes, I’m, um, feeling better,” she managed to say.
He watched her curiously. “You must’ve slept well.”
“Well enough. You?”
“Like a rock.”
“Glad to hear it.” She added cream to her coffee. “What are your plans for the day?”
“I’m heading home. I didn’t pack enough clothes.”
“Things at work are probably piling up, too, huh?” She feigned interest in the paper, as if she was absorbed in an article. But she’d been trying to read it since she sat down for breakfast and couldn’t seem to comprehend a single word.
“I’m actually dealing with my workload. I handled quite a bit via the internet yesterday. Computers are great, aren’t they?”
Not if you preferred that he get back to the office…. “Mmm-hmm.”
“Where’d you get that?”
Peyton had been toying with Virgil’s medallion. When Rick asked about it, she slipped it under her blouse. “Oh, I picked it up at a flea market in San Francisco a long time ago. Why?”
He shrugged. “It’s sort of masculine, isn’t it?”
“Maybe a little.” She got up and turned away. “What would you like for breakfast?”
“A cup of coffee will do. I’ve got a lot of driving ahead of me. I’ll pick up a breakfast sandwich on the road.”
“Okay.”
She was handing it to him when he said, “I’ll be back tomorrow.”
The cup rattled in its saucer, but she covered her reaction by pretending to cough as he rescued his drink. “You’re coming right back?”
“Yeah. It’ll be more convenient to work here for a few days.”
“At my place?”
“If you don’t mind.”
She did mind. That was asking way too much. But she figured they could go over that when he returned. Right now, she didn’t want to give him any excuse to stay. “Mercedes doesn’t want you to…you know, get your things and move out?”
“There’s no rush. We’re going to break it to the girls tonight. Next weekend will be soon enough to pack.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “I’d rather be here to support you in what we’re trying to pull off. I know the anxiety isn’t easy for you.”
She didn’t challenge him on that, either. She was just happy he was leaving, for even a short period of time.
Her smile was strained. “I hope it goes well at home.”
“There’s not much chance of that, I’m afraid.”
Peyton felt genuinely bad about his acrimonious divorce, but she didn’t understand why he had to make her life miserable, too. “Hopefully, we’ll have everything down to a routine by the time you come back.”
“I don’t have to rush off. Would you prefer I came to the prison with you this morning? We could meet with Weston together.”
He seemed eager for any diversion or excuse that would keep him from facing the crisis waiting for him at home, but she wasn’t about to go for that. “There’s no need. It’ll be simple.”
Sighing, he poured some coffee into one of the foam cups she’d put on the counter. “You’re not going to let me in, are you.”
She began to wash up. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re completely closed off. You’re not even giving me a chance.”
“This is a stressful time, Rick. We’ve already discussed it. I’d rather leave it for now, okay?”
He lifted his cup in a small salute. “You’re right. Everything will be different once Virgil’s out of the picture. Then you won’t need to worry about him anymore. He’ll be off somewhere, living his own life, and things around here will get back to normal.”
She felt relieved that he’d been willing to accept such a flimsy excuse. “Right. First things first.”
“Call me after work,” he said, and surprised her with a quick kiss on the mouth before gathering his briefcase. “Think about that while I’m gone.”
As soon as he’d picked up his briefcase, grabbed his coffee and headed out, she wiped her mouth. She didn’t care if it was childish. Then she collected her keys and hurried to Pelican Bay.
When a stocky young C.O. came to get him from his cell, saying the chief deputy warden wanted a word with him, Virgil was told it had to do with the fight. Buzz believed it, but Virgil knew better.
“What’s the matter, man?” Buzz said. “If she was gonna put you in the SHU she would’ve done it already.”
Virgil realized he was scowling. It wasn’t that he was unhappy about seeing Peyton; it was that he wanted to see her too badly. He’d let himself fall into the very trap he’d been trying so hard to avoid.
“Tell her I’m busy,” he said in a last-ditch effort to save himself.
The C.O. brandished his extendable baton. “Get going, and do it n-now,” he stammered.
Had that been anything close to a believable threat, Virgil might’ve refused and let the poor kid go to the stress and trouble of physically removing him. Why not? There wasn’t anything this guy could do that would be worse than what Virgil had in store for himself. He might as well tear his heart out as fall for the chief deputy warden of Pelican Bay. Even if she thought she wanted him in return, it couldn’t last.
But this poor C.O. had to be a new hire. He was so scared Virgil couldn’t make him use his baton.
Cursing his own stupidity instead, he allowed the guard to shackle his hands and feet to a belly chain and moved out of the cell.
The trek through the prison took longer than Virgil expected—because once he knew he was going to let himself see her, he couldn’t wait.
When they finally reached an office that had the name Joseph Perry, Associate Warden, on the door, Peyton was sitting behind the desk. She wore a suit similar to the one she’d been wearing on Friday, and he felt his chest constrict as she looked up. He’d never seen such a beautiful woman….
She ordered the guard, Officer Dean, according to his nametag, to leave. Then Virgil understood why she’d sent such an inexperienced C.O.
“But…Chief Deputy,” Dean responded. “This man doesn’t have a good attitude.”
Virgil cocked an eyebrow at that. He considered himself to be on his best behavior. If he really wanted to, he could disarm the kid in a heartbeat, even with his shackles on.
Peyton gave him a look that indicated she’d handle it. “I’ve got someone else coming for him. In the meantime, I have an alarm box right here.” She pulled it out of her pocket. “Besides, I was a C.O. for years. I can handle him.”
Dean was only about two-thirds Virgil’s size, but he was still bigger than Peyton. He shot Virgil an uncertain glance before asking, “You’re sure you don’t want me to wait until—”