revenge for a long time, and I’m not going to rush it because of you. What’s your hurry, anyway? What did he do to you guys that has you all so eager for me to do your dirty work for you?”
Rogers’ gaze slid to the left, and he opened and closed his mouth a few times before saying, “That’s none of your concern.”
Cy bit down on the inside of his cheek to keep from snorting his derision. Rogers didn’t know what Nicky had done or why they wanted him dead. He was just their mouth piece. Maybe they did know what a fucking weasel he was. That was good to know. “Fair enough, but how I get even with him is none of your concern. I like having him to myself at night. He’s a lot more…accommodating than Rodriguez.”
Cy hated talking that way about Nicky, but it was the only thing he could do to get them off his back for the moment. He needed to make them think he was the animal they all wanted him to be. Cy wasn’t entirely sure he wasn’t. Nicky had been vulnerable last night. Scared. Humiliated. Cy should have returned to his own bunk and let Nicky acclimate to his new life. Instead, when Nicky had offered up his body, Cy had taken full advantage.
Rogers gave him a slick smile that made Cy want to throat punch the man. “He didn’t look like he bent over and took it like a man. Looks like he put up a helluva fight. But he’s definitely smaller than Rodriguez. Any port in a storm, right?”
“When I’m done with him, you’ll know it,” Cy said, refusing to engage in anything that Rogers might mistake as camaraderie. He turned his back on the other man, moving to the next kennel.
“Yeah, sure. But don’t take too long. Your boy’s already gotten Thor’s attention. He’s chomping at the bit to make him his new pillow princess. It’d be a shame if word got around that your boy’s a chomo. How long do you think he’d last in the yard then?”
Cy’s nostrils flared at the not so subtle threat. Chomo. A pedophile. That label was a fucking death sentence, and Thor took full advantage of that knowledge. Prisoners had a code. Despite what fictional shows portrayed, rape in prison was rare. There were usually a few guys who let people know they were willing to exchange sex for protection. Usually newbies who were afraid of getting jumped by gangs. Those were Thor’s favorite fish, and he liked to reel them in slowly, make them think the sexual relationship was their idea.
But rapists and pedophiles were fair game. Whatever happened to them on the inside happened, and nobody cried about it. Nobody even blinked, really. It was a sick fucking irony that raping rapists and pedophiles made the attacker a rapist, too, but they were seen more as heroes. Punishing the wicked. Thor… Thor took full advantage of that, even though Cy knew for a fact the underage fish were Thor’s favorite. If word got out that Nicky hurt kids, not even Cy could save him. What the fuck had Nicky got himself into? How high up did this thing go? Was there any shot of him walking out of there alive? If not, was Cy willing to die for him?
Fuck. The short answer was yes. Just yes. He’d protect Nicky with his dying breath, but he couldn’t ever explain why. “I said I’d handle him. What’s your fucking hurry? He’s not going anywhere.”
Rogers sneered at him. “We gonna have a problem, inmate? I’d hate to have to throw you in the hole. Who knows what could happen while you’re in there?”
Cy leveled a glare at Rogers. “Nope. No problem at all…sir.”
Once they hit the yard, Cy felt a little better. He’d made a show of putting Nicky on the bleachers closest to him and telling him to stay where he could see him while he worked out. Preacher stood over him, pretending to spot him, but mostly just watching Nicky in a less than covert manner. Preacher wasn’t alone. Nicky wasn’t exactly being subtle. He’d peeled his T-shirt off and used it as a pillow as he laid across the riser, sunning himself, like he was at the beach.
“I see the family reunion went well,” Preacher snarked, taking in the bruises that marred Nicky’s body.
“You’re funny,” Cy said humorlessly.
“I’m hilarious,” Preacher said, his gaze still glued to Nicky. “You think it’s