The Perfect Cover (The Perfect Stranger #2) - Charlotte Byrd Page 0,18

them in for you?”

Mac looks at me when I turn back. He raises one eyebrow and smiles with the corner of his lips.

“How much do you want to know?” he asks.

I shrug then glance over at Tyler and back at Mac.

“How much are you willing to share?”

“Well, I could tell you that the power tools were just smuggled in through our connections and that’s it. Or I could tell you who did the smuggling.”

Now I’m intrigued, but I don’t get my hopes up.

I hardly know him and I probably shouldn’t know this anyway.

Mac glances over at Tyler and waits for him to give him the go-ahead.

“Hey, it’s your story. It’s up to you whether you want to tell it or not.”

“I’ve got nothing to be ashamed of.”

I wait for him to continue. He takes a deep breath and leans closer to me.

He’s so close that I smell the minty freshness of his breath from his gum. He makes a small bubble and pops it, showing himself to be an expert at building anticipation.

“I had a thing going with one of the guards.”

“Really?” I ask, inching closer to him, awaiting the next bit of juicy gossip.

“Yeah. We had a thing for about a year. He was very shy about it. Some guards aren’t. With some, it’s basically an open secret.”

“Is that allowed?” I ask.

“Which part? Same-sex relationships, relationships with guards, or relationships altogether?”

“I guess any of those. I don’t know,” I say, confused.

“Smart girl,” Mac says with a laugh. “You’re absolutely right. They frown upon all relationships in there, but especially the ones between inmates and guards. I’m not really sure how they feel about same-sex relationships though. Tyler? What do you think?”

Tyler shrugs and glances over at me. “You know that he’s fucking with you, right?”

“What do you mean?” I ask. “Did this not happen?”

“No, it did,” Tyler says. “Mac just likes to make everything a little game.”

“Hey, you would, too, if you were in the slammer for as long as I was.”

That sentence strikes me as the most honest thing that Mac has said in my presence up until this point. The reality is that he has been in there for years and that changes people. It can’t not make an impact.

“Listen, I didn’t want to make it this whole serious thing,” Mac says. “I was just joking around. The truth is that Lindsey and I had a thing going for a while. I liked him. He was fine and had a dry sense of humor. He also had a wife and four children that were making his time at home quite miserable. I’m not sure whether there was anything really wrong with his family, but I think that they were just wrong for him.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I mumble.

“Don’t be,” Mac says. “Really, it’s a tale as old as time. He refused to acknowledge himself as he really was so he went overboard trying to live this perfect little suburban life, with a hefty mortgage and too many obligations. I’m not saying that four kids is too many, just that they were too many for him. Frankly, I don’t think Lindsey had the energy to deal even with one.”

“So, no one knew about you two?” I ask.

“Tyler and Lester did, but not many others.”

“So, did Lindsey help you get out?”

“He wasn’t fully aware of the plan,” Mac says, “but when I asked him for the power tools, he got them for me. Take that as you may.”

“So, what do you think is going on now?”

“What do you mean?” Tyler asks me.

“Well, with your escape, do you think people are interrogating him? Like the cops or the FBI?”

“It’s a strong possibility,” Mac says, “but I haven’t heard anything about anyone helping us escape. I don’t think Lindsey will go and volunteer that information because he was pretty much of an in the closet kind of a guy as I’ve ever met. If his wife had walked in on us having sex, he’d deny it.”

I go through my phone and search for any articles that mention a guard, Lindsey Broker, or power tools, but nothing comes up. I check the message boards as well, but again I see nothing.

“There isn’t anything?” Mac asks, glancing over my shoulder.

I shake my head no.

“Good,” he says, sitting back with a satisfied expression on his face. “That’s a surprise, but a good one. I guess Lindsey is better at keeping secrets than I thought he would be.”

13

Isabelle

When we get some alone time...

I like Mac, but