Mea Culpa

Chapter 6

Coco parked in the prison visitor lot, most of his weight still resting on his bike, with Angel parked a few feet away watching closely. He was anxious, holding the wad of cash tight in his hands and running his thumb along the edge of the bills then flipping through every single one once he reached the corner. Assuming the woman who approached him, wearing a stuffy pantsuit, was the lawyer they were there to meet, Coco looked directly at her and nodded.

"Coco," she said with a smile. "I'm Elizabeth Connor, Roxanna's lawyer."

"Hey," he said quietly. They shook hands and Coco handed her the cash.

"500?" She asked.

Nodding, Coco pulled his cigarettes from his pocket. "I really appreciate this."

"It's fine," she said quickly. "My cousin, the guard that'll be taking you in, said she's been getting harassed, she's got a black eye and some cuts, so don't freak out when you see her. He also said that she fought back this last time, so he's going to keep an eye on her to make sure she proved the point and didn't just piss them off."

Attempting to hide his emotional reaction, Coco brought his cigarette to his lips and just nodded.

"You'll have about twenty minutes with her in the conference room," The lawyer explained, "Sorry. Next time it should be less expensive, first time brings trust issues. You understand I'm sure."

"Yah," he assured her. "I get it."

"Enjoy the visit," she said politely.

"Yo," he said quickly. "What's going on with the case?"

The lawyer shrugged a little. "We're hoping our mutual friend will grease the wheels of justice but other than that, all we have to play on is her age at the time of the crime and how she's changed since. We can't bring up her loss, her family weren't exactly upstanding citizens so it paints her in a negative light."

Coco's stomach turned. "What's taking Galindo so long?"

"It's not easy," she frowned. "The DA here is a real prick and Miguel doesn't have the history here that he does further west."

"A'right," Coco huffed. "Thanks."

Flicking his cigarette butt to the ground, Coco gave Angel a little wave to let him know it was a go before he swaggered up to the visitor entrance. He felt naked without his kutte but they'd never let him pass through with colors on his back.

Coco went through the usual checks and, as planned, went moved to the lawyer's cousin for a faked pat down. On the way to the group visitor's room, the guard checked for the confirmation text from his cousin. When he received word that she had the money they slipped through a side door and Coco was led to the private rooms saved for lawyers and official visits.

"Twenty minutes," the guard told him. "You can touch her but no fucking."

"Can she use my phone?"

"Yeah, that's fine," he shrugged. "I'll knock when you got a few minutes left."

"Thanks," Coco said earnestly.

"Yep."

The guard opened the door for Coco and pushed him in before slamming it closed again and locking it.

"Oh my god," Roxy cried as soon as she saw him. Jumping up from her chair she grabbed him roughly and buried her face in his chest. "Johnny," she whimpered.

Coco just held her, unsure what to even say, until she managed to compose herself enough. Roxy pulled away and wiped her face, she wasn't always comfortable with such intense shows of emotion, despite her feelings always being larger than life.