Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 108709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Being as ready as I’ll ever be, I grab a yogurt from the fridge and hustle my ass out the door, my bag hanging from my elbow and a huge stack of notes shoved under my arm. Nothing but Mother Nature can fuck with me today. I’m too ready. Every little variable has been accounted for. I’ve studied the layout of the prison, and trust me, a copy of those blueprints was hard to come by. I know the names and faces of most of the guards. I’ve studied the cases of the men Stone is surrounded by every day. I know the goddamn menu for the next two weeks. Like I said, I’m prepared, though for the most part, I’m hoping that I won’t have to use any of that information, because today needs to stay on track with my one goal of getting to the bottom of what really happened that night, seven long years ago.
It’s almost a two-hour drive out to Hartley Creek from the city, but I’m here for it. I’ve got snacks, water, and I’ve prepared a prison playlist for the ride—songs like “Locked Up” by Akon and “Smooth Criminal” by Michael Jackson.
Not wanting to get behind on schedule, I put everything on the front passenger’s seat and hit the road. But despite the abundance of snacks and my killer playlist, with every passing mile, the nerves begin eating me alive.
This is it. I’m on my way to meet Stone Blackthorne, the one and only man who has ever held my attention, and I’ve never been so terrified. If the threat of a lifetime behind bars couldn’t get him to talk, then who the hell do I think I am attempting to demand answers?
This is going to be a shitshow.
The two hours out to Hartley Creek Maximum Security Penitentiary for Men feels like a lifetime, and despite having the air blasting right in my face, can somebody tell me why the fuck I’m sweating like this? Is that smell coming from me?
Oh God! What am I doing here?
The panic surges, making my stomach roll, and just as I cut the engine and go to step out of my car, every last snack I consumed comes racing back up, splattering against the sidewalk like a crime scene Lucy Chen and Tim Bradford wouldn’t even touch.
Holy fucking shit. Did that just happen?
Humiliation burns through me as I hastily look around, hoping like fuck that some guard watching over the parking lot didn’t just witness me projectile vomit out of my car door. Grabbing my water, I quickly clean myself up, and just as I notice Jedd’s car pulling into the lot, I panic once again and put my car back into gear, leaving all my dignity behind as I hit the gas and hurry to a brand-new parking space that hasn’t been destroyed by regurgitated Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Though I can’t lie, it certainly made for an interesting color that just came shooting out of me.
Stepping out of my car, I straighten my outfit and double-check that no evidence of my unfortunate snack regurgitation landed on my clothes, and just as I reach for my bag and grab the massive stack of notes I’d prepared, Jedd is pulling up beside me.
“Ready for this?” he asks, stepping out of his shiny Audi that puts my car to shame.
“Born ready,” I say, hoping he can’t see the way my hands shake as I grip my handbag and look ahead at the facility before me. It’s huge. One of the largest maximum security prisons in the country, housing hundreds of convicted felons, all of whom have committed heinous crimes.
The prison is divided into four quadrants—quadrants A, B, C, and D—and is shaped somewhat like a baseball field. Those four quadrants are then split again into four smaller, more manageable sections which are where the prisoners are housed. A1, A2, A3, A4, right up to D4. Each full quadrant shares a section of conference rooms, a canteen, a visitation hall, and a first aid bay.
Stone resides in section C3, possibly the furthest location from the main entrance, but that’s no problem. It will just be a long hallway that my small team will have to navigate through. Odds are, we won’t see any of the other prisoners. We’ll be escorted by armed guards at all times and then set up in one of the larger conference rooms far away from anybody else.
Jedd and I make our way toward the main entrance of the prison, where multiple armed guards stand waiting at the first security checkpoint. I can see the rest of my team further up ahead, already having gotten through the first set of heavy metal gates and trying to get through the next.
We reach the guards, and I immediately hand them my driver’s license. “Aria Ashford. I’m here to interview Stone Blackthorne. It was arranged through his lawyer at Wentworth Lawyers and Associates.”