Love Locked Down

Chapter One

Nick

The day had finally come . As I looked up at the sky and took in a deep breath full of the morning air, I knew that within minutes, I’d finally be a free man. Now I was outside, staring at the gate that I’d be walking out of within a matter of minutes.

I wished that I’d had enough sense to bring a couple of clothing options. Being close to winter, the cold air was blowing through the thin material of my t-shirt, causing my muscles to involuntarily flex and leaving me feeling as though I was being chilled to the bone.

I tried to maintain the hard demeanor that I’d earned for myself while inside, but my body didn’t want to cooperate. Instead, I was left shivering like a child.

Even the jeans that I’d worn in weren’t fitting anymore. I tried shoving my hands in the pockets to keep them warm, but they didn’t reach very far into the small pouches. The size of my knuckles didn’t leave very much room for my hands.

The gates began to open and, almost immediately, other inmates that were being freed had a whole lot to say to the guards keeping watch. I heard every insult and curse word there was to say, but I wasn’t going to take any part of it.

I looked down at the ground and quickly made my way out. Once on the other side, I looked around at others as they ran into the arms of their loved ones. I didn’t have that luxury. I simply walked past all of them, unnoticed by everyone, which wasn’t an easy feat considering my size.

I was 6’4" and weighed close to 260 pounds, the majority of which was solid muscle. I’d always been a big guy, opting for hard, manual labor before I got sent to prison.

With nothing but time on the inside, however, all I ever did was workout and did my best to stay out of trouble. What was a solid and rough form when I went in had had been transformed to be cut and chiseled in all the right places.

Most of the people who I thought cared about me had abandoned me when I went to prison. Since I didn’t have any loved ones to pick me up in their warm cars, I was left to walk, having no idea about what was in store for me.

The only things I was certain of was that I needed to eat a real meal, preferably a huge steak, and I needed a shot of Jack.

I had a single change of clothes inside of a plastic bag, which I knew wouldn’t fit me any better than the clothes on my back. I also had a little cash leftover from my account at the jail.

The rest, I was going to have to figure out on my own. Even though everyone else had ditched me, I was fortunate enough to have one friend that stood by my side through my entire ordeal. He was willing to give me a place to stay and he was setting me up with a job at the construction company he owned.

I was grateful to him for being there for me. I didn’t have any real family of my own. The only families I ever knew were foster families who were just taking me in so they would get a check from the government.

The only time they gave a shit about me was when I turned 18, and that was only because they couldn’t wait to be rid of me.

My upbringing led me down a path where I made bad choices followed my even worse choices. I ended up spending my days working and my nights in bars getting drunk and seeing what kind of trouble I could get into.

One night, I found more trouble than I should have and lost my temper when one asshole wouldn’t stop running his mouth. The end result was five years in prison.

I hadn’t meant to put the man into a coma. It was just a bar fight, after all. That didn’t stop the prosecutor’s office from hitting me with an attempted murder charge.

I was looking at a 40-year sentence if I allowed the case to go to trial so I accepted the plea deal and welcomed my punishment. I did do the crime, even if it wasn’t something I meant to do.

Prison wasn’t really as bad for me as it is for some people. I had size on my side going in, which deterred a lot of inmates from trying to flex their muscles around me.

I pretty much kept to myself and the other inmates left me alone. Now that I was out, I wanted to fit into society instead of always being the one trying to buck the system. The problem was, I wasn’t even sure how to do that. I just wanted to stay out of trouble. I knew I wasn’t a bad guy.

In all reality, I wasn’t even a troublemaker. I just didn’t take any shit from people trying to start trouble with me. I was dealt a shitty hand of cards that didn’t play well with life.

That was the past, and I knew only I had the ability to change that. I had a place to stay while I worked and saved up some money. After that, I’d be able to find my own place and, as long as I kept my head down, I’d be okay. After that, who knew what could happen.

I didn’t have a clue how many miles I walked. It honestly didn’t matter. It was cold but I’d gotten used to it. The temperature was nothing more than a minor annoyance.

That changed as the sun went down and the snow started to fall from the sky. The wind chill dropped to near zero, and the roads and sidewalks were starting to freeze. In the distance, I could see the city where all the bullshit went down, but I continued on.

The first building I came to was a bar. It wasn’t just any bar but the bar. The last place I visited as a free man was going to come full circle. I wasn’t sure whether or not I should go inside but it was freezing, and I didn’t really have it in me to walk anymore.

I opened the door slowly and made my way inside, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to myself. The smell of food frying in the kitchen entered my nostrils and instantly made my mouth begin to water. I was already starving before I left the prison and the walk had left me feeling famished.

The bar was having a pretty busy night, and as soon as I walked in, most of the patron’s heads swung in my direction. I had heard a lot of whispers and saw lots of widening eyes before everyone looked away, not wanting to anger me I suppose.

That was something I felt like I was going to have to get used to. Not only did I get in trouble for seriously injuring a man but I was a pretty intimidating character.

I’ve always been large. People have always told me that I should have been a professional wrestler. People were intimidated, but I wasn’t there to cause trouble. I spotted an empty barstool and made my way over, being careful not to make eye contact with anyone.

I sat my bag down and enjoyed the heat inside the building. I sat down on the stool, my feet still touching the floor and was able to relax for the first time all day.

What are you having? the bartender asked.

A shot of Jack, a beer and the biggest burger you’ve got back there.

Sure thing. Coming right up.

While I waited, I stared at the counter, looking at the lines in the wood and thought about all the stories it would tell if it could talk.

I rested my face in my hand and anticipated my food making its way to me. I’m sure I looked as though I was deep in thought. In reality, I was thinking about absolutely nothing, other than how good the food was going to taste.

As soon as the bartender sat my food in front of me, I felt like I was in heaven. I downed the double cheeseburger in a matter of minutes but still managed to savor every damn bite. I hadn’t had a good burger in years. Yeah, they served burgers for lunch in the prison every once in a while, but I’m not sure those round bricks were even made with real meat.

The burger did a good job at satisfying my hunger and the shot of Jack that I chased it down with hit the spot. After that, I sat around and nursed my beer. I would have loved to order more shots, but I had to be smart with the little bit of money I had. It was going to have to last until I had paychecks coming in.

About twenty minutes later, I felt a hard slap on my back. It was the kind of hit that would make anyone jump out of their seat to see who was about to start shit. I almost did that very thing but composed myself before turning my head to find out who did it.

Instead of some asshole trying to start a problem, I saw my best friend Curtis standing there with a big smile on his face and his arms open for a hug.

Nick, you big son of a bitch! he yelled loudly. Get your ass over here.

I stood up, forgetting how much I towered over the top of him, leaned down and scooped him up, putting him in a bear hug.

Oh shit! he groaned as I playfully squeezed the air out of him. Put me down you beast.

I sat him down and shook his hand.

How’s things been going brother? I asked.

I don’t have a thing to complain about, he said as I downed the rest of my beer. You ready to get out of here or are you wanting to hang around for another drink?

Nope, I’m ready to get the fuck out of here. The only thing I need right now is a shower and a bed. I’m hoping you’ve got both of those for me, I told him, grabbing my bag and throwing it up onto my shoulder.

You’re all set. I’ve got the guest room ready for you and it has a private bathroom. Kim’s cool with you staying with us for a while, but she doesn’t have a clue you’ve been in prison. I actually told her that you’re coming down from California so let’s just go with that story. Can you go with that?

That’s fine with me. Hopefully, nobody will see me around town and know my story. Everyone in the damn bar seemed to recognize me when I came in, I said, following him out the door and into his pick-up truck.

This bar is like a world of its own. I don’t think we have anything to worry about.

You’re the boss. I’ll just follow your lead and go along with whatever you say.

The less we say, the better off we’ll be.

We drove for about a half-hour and pulled up in front of his house just before 9:00 pm. It was the first time I’d seen it as he’d just bought it a couple years earlier, not long after he got engaged.

As far as I could see, he didn’t have a neighbor for miles, which was a welcoming sight to me. The further I was from people, the less likely I could get myself in trouble. The way the snow sat on the roof made it look like a house you’d see in a greeting card or something.

I followed Curtis into the house that he shared with his live-in girlfriend, Kim. I’d never met her either as, again, they met while I was in the joint. I’d actually known Nick since I was a little kid.

We shared a foster home for a while until the cops raided it and found a meth lab being operated inside. Over the years, we’d always cross paths with each other and made sure to keep in touch.

He’d even visited me in prison, which of course took place without his girlfriend’s knowledge. As far as she knew, I was just a hard-working guy from California who was coming to Minnesota to work with my old friend.

When I walked through the front door, I had to duck my head to prevent from cracking my skull on the trim. The house was full of nice plush carpet, so I took my wet boots and socks at the door. My feet were still numb from the long, cold walk to the bar.

Follow me and I’ll take you to your room so you can get cleaned up before you meet Kim. I stopped at the store and bought you a few pairs of pants and some shirts. I knew you wouldn’t be fitting what you went in with, and I can see that I’m right.

You didn’t have to do that, man.

It’s fine. I’ll just dock your first paycheck, he joked.

He opened a door at the end of the hall, and I made my way inside. The room was small, with a full-size bed, a small dresser, a closet and a television.

As small as it was, it looked like a presidential