Chapter 26: Rachel

63 9 20
                                    

A car picked her up a small ways from her home and dropped her off at Oliver's

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

A car picked her up a small ways from her home and dropped her off at Oliver's. The chauffer gave her a pleasant greeting and farewell, but he had an appointment escorting some VIPs to a party downtown, so he didn't linger. Once outside the sleek limo, she headed up to Oliver's door.

Staring at it, she knew the place was way too big to knock and get any response, and she was wary of ringing the doorbell. So she just walked in. She'd never been in Oliver's personal home, and was half expecting him to drive her out with a heated pitchfork. It made her a bit nervous as she wondered just where in this huge ass mansion she was supposed to find Tanner.

They had agreed to meet here this time, but she wasn't exactly sure which part of "here" she was supposed to be in. She didn't have to ponder long with figuring out where to go, though it brought its own problems.

"How could you let this happen?" Tanner yelled; she could hear it from down one of the hallways, and it was loud enough to travel straight to the door. She had never heard him yell before, at least not like this. It was frightening.

"I didn't let it happen, Tanner." Oliver's voice was raised but deadly even in tone, and she followed it to the room they were in. "Watching the pen's inmates is complimentary, not required. The men who let him slip through have been reprimanded, but I can't do more than that. They are my men, not babysitters."

"Do you even understand what this means?"

A crash shook the floor, and Rachel rushed into the room faster than she thought she would considering the possible danger. She was more concerned that they were fighting, and inside the room, she found a bookcase toppled and cracked on one side. Tanner glanced back to her with rage enough that she stepped back when he clenched and unclenched his fists. Without saying anything to her, he strode past and slammed the door behind him.

Unsure of what to do, she just stood there, but tears lined her eyes. For him to just leave her with Oliver, something must be really wrong.

"Forgive him, Rachel," Oliver said with a sigh as he sat in a chair behind his desk.

"Are you two... not getting along?" They were the best words she could come up with. If Oliver and Tanner had a falling out, she wasn't sure how safe she would be. The only thing keeping Oliver off of his trigger finger was Tanner.

"No, Rachel. It has nothing to with us personally. Tanner is very upset and likely doesn't want to frighten you. I also wanted to speak with you, so I imagine he thought he'd kill two birds with one stone by leaving and giving us some time. Come, take a seat." Oliver ushered to a chair in front of his desk, and she stepped over the books and splinters to settle into it, still shaking enough that she needed the chair to stabilize her.

"You want to... talk to me," Rachel said nervously. "Am I getting detention?"

Oliver looked to her, smiled, and then chuckled lightly. "It's nothing bad, Rachel. Just a chat about your future."

LCP : Last Chance PenitentiaryWhere stories live. Discover now