Total pages in book: 20
Estimated words: 18916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 95(@200wpm)___ 76(@250wpm)___ 63(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 18916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 95(@200wpm)___ 76(@250wpm)___ 63(@300wpm)
I'm innocent, but no one believes me. Not the judge, not my mother, and definitely not Warden Killian Rew, the most terrifying, gorgeous man I've ever seen.
I’m just a number to him. 5075. He makes me call him sir and obey his every command. One second he’s warm, the next he’s ice cold, tearing my heart in two directions.
But when the other inmates come for me, he saves me. When I'm shaking and broken, he holds me together. And when his cold mask finally cracks, I see what’s underneath.
Obsession. Possession. I belong to him.
I should be afraid of this man. Instead, all I can say yes, sir.
A human-written, instalove romance featuring a dominant alpha warden, a sweet and innocent FMC, age-gap, forced proximity, no cheating, no cliffhangers, just pure escapism, steamy scenes, loving devotion and a guaranteed HEA!
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
1
ALICE
“Alice Clement, I find you guilty of theft, breaking and entering, and destruction of private property and sentence you to one year in prison!”
The judge’s gavel comes down hard, echoing through the courtroom, causing my stomach to sink like the Titanic. Somewhere behind me, I hear my mom’s desperate wail as the tears start to fall.
“I’m innocent! Momma, help me!” I cry out. But it’s too late. Big men in uniforms are already dragging me away, my wrists handcuffed like they’re worried I’m actually dangerous. Me. A five-foot-three girl, barely one hundred pounds. Who am I a danger to?
“You’re no daughter of mine,” my mom hisses, eyes bloodshot as she stands. “I broke my back raising you on my own, and this is how you repay me?”
“Mom, I swear—” But I don’t even have time to finish as I’m hauled out a side door and into a grim corridor. My legs turn to Jell-O, but it doesn’t matter. The guards hold me, dragging me on.
“Don’t try that with us, sweetie. You’re going to prison, and it can be the easy way or the hard way.”
The other man chuckles, his voice like sandpaper. “Sure wouldn’t mind if it was the hard way, am I right?”
This cracks them both up as my pulse goes wild and my heart rattles like a flag in a hurricane.
How did this happen? I’m the world’s best-behaved girl. I’m eighteen and have never been suspended, never had detention. I’ve never even been late to school. And yet suddenly, I’m a criminal.
It all started three weeks ago when Jamie, the lady who runs the nail salon where I work—well, worked—came rushing out of the back office, screaming at the staff that cash had been taken from her safe. I didn’t even know she had a safe, but she instantly accused me because I ‘looked guilty’ and was the new girl.
Nothing I said could convince her otherwise. She never liked me. Even tried to accuse me of being late when I was on time. Before I could even defend myself, she called the police and I was arrested and booked.
Mom and I couldn’t afford a lawyer, so one was appointed by the state—one who could not have cared less about me. I swear, six months in law school and I could have given myself a better defense.
Now here I am, on the verge of a full-blown panic attack, as two double doors open in front of me, revealing a white prison van.
“No, please!” I cry out, squirming against the impossibly tight grip of my captors. “I didn’t do anything!”
“Shut up,” one of them barks as I’m hurtled into the back of the van. My vision blurs and my head spins as I’m chained to the wall and the doors slam shut behind me.
The engine roars and the van leaps forward, sending my head slamming into the wall. I cry out in pain and pray for a miracle. But it doesn’t look like I’ll be getting one.
The ride to the prison feels fast, but I have no way of judging time back here. No phone, no watch, no human contact. Just me, a pair of handcuffs, and a chain.
Just as I’m starting to drift off, the doors open and the same two men snatch me up like a fresh new delivery and carry me out with the same lack of care. Somehow, I manage to look up and see a sign over the door that reads: Last Rites Penitentiary.
“You’ll love it here, sweetie,” one guard chuckles. “The only girl. You’ll have the pick of the litter.”
Adrenaline rakes through me. “W-what do you mean, only girl?”
The other guard smirks down at me, his lips dry and cracked. “Oh, they didn’t tell you? Until last month, this was an all-male facility.”
A sense of doom crashes into my stomach, weighing me down as I stare up at the stained brick walls, the fences ringed with razor wire, and the armed guards at regular intervals.
All this for petty theft? Petty theft I didn’t even commit?
“How many men?” I ask, my voice no more than a breath.
“Five thousand and seventy-four.”
I swallow hard, fighting the urge to vomit. A shiver courses through me as the gates open and I’m pulled inside. I want to kick and scream, fight for dear life against this terrible sentence being thrust upon me, but what good would it do?
All the energy has been drained from me, and I’m nothing compared to the men at my sides. They could lift me over their heads with one arm just for a laugh.
They think I’m some kind of floozy, when in reality, I’m closer to a nun than a regular girl my age. I’ve never had a boyfriend. Never even been on a date—Mom made sure of that. Then again, none of the boys at my high school were interested in me anyway.