Caught In The Mafia Lord's Prison

Sandra Robben POV

"Sandra!!! What the hell are you doing?! Stay inside that damn cell, because the second you step out there, you're dead today." My cellmate warns frantically, but I ignore her completely.

"Relax, Imp. I can't spend my whole life hiding. " I release a tired yawn before stepping lazily out of the cell.

The very first rule inside Red Hollow Prison is painfully simple. If you fall, you die.

The blade flashes toward me before I even notice the woman gripping it. For an entire week, I have been waiting for this exact moment.

Once a rotten chicken leg is thrown in front of your bunk, it means you've officially been marked for a death match.

You don't ignore the challenge. You don't pretend it never happened. The moment you refuse, they eventually hunt you down.

And when they do, they'll kill you as cruelly and terrifyingly as possible.

"Move, Robben!" someone screams behind me, but the warning comes too late.

The sharpened blade shoots directly toward my ribs.

I twist sideways at the last second, barely avoiding a fatal hit as the knife tears across my stomach instead. Agonizing pain explodes through me instantly while warm blood begins soaking through my shirt.

"She's finished." Several muscular female inmates stare at me with pity while others watch in horror, but strangely, my body surges with adrenaline instead of fear.

Something about the pain makes me feel alive. It burns away every ounce of terror inside me.

"You filthy bitch," I snap coldly.

I slam my fist directly into her face, breaking her nose almost immediately.

The prison yard erupts into chaos. More than thirty inmates scatter away from us while cheers, laughter, and loud betting consume the atmosphere.

Prison fights are far more entertaining than those pathetic basketball games the guards pretend to supervise every evening.

The woman trying to kill me is massive. She towers over almost everyone in the yard, her neck thick like concrete pillars, her back and throat covered in vicious tiger tattoos.

Her name is Reina Alvarez, one of the loyal attack dogs serving the infamous Vanessa Cruz, leader of the feared Queensmen gang inside Red Hollow. Apparently, I am her assignment today.

"Let's see if your mouth is still loud after this," she whispers while circling me slowly. The homemade knife in her hand glitters beneath the burning afternoon sun.

Above us, the guards in the tower remain motionless. None of them cares enough to interfere.

At Red Hollow, guards step in only after someone starts dying.

I spit blood onto the concrete and wipe my chin roughly. "You really want to do this?"

She scoffs irritably. "Vanessa wants to make an example out of you."

"Then tell the bitch to write me a damn letter!" I fire back fearlessly.

My response enrages her instantly. That has always been my strategy in this prison: get inside your head, destroy your patience, and force you to fight with anger instead of skill.

She lunges toward me again, this time blinded completely by rage. The blade slices violently toward my stomach.

I grab her wrist midair and use her own force against her, twisting violently until her wrist snaps with a horrifying crack. The sound alone sends chills across the suddenly silent yard.

A second later, Reina screams in agony, and the crowd explodes with savage excitement.

Desperate, she slams her forehead against mine. Stars burst behind my eyes instantly.

"Fuck..." I stagger backward, struggling to regain balance, but Reina notices the opening immediately and charges again.

Using the rusty knife she dropped moments earlier, I duck beneath her arm and stab her three times rapidly in the stomach.

But the crazy bitch barely reacts. She grabs my shirt violently and hurls me against the concrete floor.

Still, the damage eventually catches up with her. Blood pours heavily from her wounds before she finally crashes to her knees.

The second the guards spot blood, they flood into the yard aggressively.

Batons and tasers raised high, they storm toward the screaming inmates like rabid animals.

Reina collapses beside me, clutching her stomach in horror while gasping desperately for breath. I slowly raise my hands in surrender, but mercy does not exist in this prison. One guard kicks the back of my knees, forcing me face-first onto the concrete.

They cuff my hands roughly before dragging Reina away for emergency treatment.

"Well, well, well..." a familiar voice sneers darkly.

I recognize that disgusting voice instantly: Guard Captain Marcus Kane, a man who practically feeds on the suffering of inmates.

He grabs my hair violently and jerks my head backward. "Trouble follows you everywhere, Robben. You really don't know when to shut that mouth of yours, do you?"

I spit blood directly onto his boots. "Tell your little puppet to learn how to fight first," I mutter with open disgust.

His boot crashes into my jaw immediately.

Pain explodes through my skull as my vision blurs violently, and ringing fills my ears.

"You just earned yourself another trip to solitary," Marcus growls furiously.

"Drag her away."

In that moment, I feel a cold shiver run down my spine. Marcus is already involved, and this can only get uglier from here, if not messier.