Chris & Janique's love affair and crime spree were hopelessly intertwined. Until they got caught. Now it's going to take everything they have to get out of prison. Plus a book by Tom Robbins
Chris & Janique's love affair and crime spree were hopelessly intertwined. Until they got caught. Now it's going to take everything they have to get out of prison. Plus a book by Tom Robbins
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âHe was a hard-headed man / He was brutally handsomeâ â The Eagles, âLife in the Fast Laneâ
âTxt me bk Lv u!â
This was a new development. Chris crouched, pondered it for a moment, and then resumed his walk around the yard. The love of his life had just contacted him, and he was stunned at how she had done it.
They were both in prison.
The text message was a fortune-sized scrap of paper stuck to a small rock. It struck him in the chest from a great distance, with an accuracy that would have impressed Texas sniper Charles Whitman. He had no idea how she had pulled it off, but there was no mistaking her handwriting. If he hadnât reacted fast and caught it after it hit him, he probably would have never even known that there was a note attached. Moreover, he had absolutely no idea how to replicate her trick. Or even where to send it, for that matter.
They were both facing up to fifteen years for the same stimulant-fueled series of armed robberies and manslaughter, only one of which they were in danger of being convicted of. If they were lucky, they might get off with ten each for good behavior, good behavior being something in short supply in prison.
Ill-fated and star-crossed, their love for each other had blinded them to their fate as it approached like an out-of-control locomotive. What else would one expect of a couple whose theme song was âLife in the Fast Laneâ? He wanted to think that their troubles all began when they started committing armed robbery for fun, but he knew it had really started when he kidnapped her.
Chris Turner was a 28-year-old hustler with a hell of a habit. He was addicted to his hostage. He had abducted her shortly after her father had denied her hand in marriage. She had been reluctant to leave on her own, as she was close to her parents and even closer to their money. So, they hatched a kidnapping plot, their first and only. It had proven to be highly erotic, and they were together at last. Thankfully, they had abandoned the idea of extracting a ransom on top of everything else. But they had never cleared the matter up with her parents, so Chris now faced a felony kidnapping charge in addition to the laundry list of crimes the state had on him already.
âSheâ was Janique Tamerlane Patton, and his only reason for living.
He slid the note into his pocket and wondered how Janique was fairing in lock-up. She was a smart girl, and tough, but hardly the prison type. Ever since the arrest had gone down, he had worried about her.
###
âShe was terminally prettyâ â The Eagles
Janique held the girlâs face deep down in the stainless-steel toilet bowl.
âDrink, bitch, or youâre going to die down there,â she growled into the drowning womanâs left ear.
The girl, however, shook her head slightly side to side. Sheâd been holding her breath for nearly a minute. Janique and her new roommate were having a disagreement about sleeping arrangements.
In a move that would have made a contortionist proud, she kept the death grip she had on the girlâs afro and the arm she had forced behind her, reared back, and kicked her squarely in the ribs. A large air bubble escaped her mouth, and she began to go limp. But as she did, Janique watched her slap the floor a few times in a sign of submission. She swallowed a few mouthfuls before she was released, but whether she did it intentionally or as a dying gesture, Janique was unsure. Sheâd gotten her point across just the same. The fact that she had neglected to flush the toilet first only added insult to injury.
âIf we have to fight again, Iâm going to kill you. Understand?â she whispered into her cellmateâs ear. âI fuck who I want to fuck. And thatâs not you.â
The girl nodded in enthusiastic understanding.
Janique was confident that Chris was faring better than she was. He was so well-spoken and diplomatic. She was sure he was fine.
###
Chrisâs first day had been similarly eventful. His arrival and processing were routine and took until lunch, when he was released into general population without fanfare. He didnât think it was going to be like this so soon, but he knew he had to make a big showing if he was going to do long time. Luckily, he had a plan, and a few tricks up his sleeve, among other places.
Due to his genetic makeup, a mélange of Sicilian, Polish, and American Indian, Chris could pass for white, mulatto, or Latino. Or at least he could with a tan. The last few months, however, had left him faded.
He scanned the room once more and then found a somewhat isolated toilet. Within a minute he had a Leatherman Skeletool knife in his hand. He swished it around the bowl and unwrapped the Saran Wrap. Then he strolled up to the middle of the chow line and cut in front of a white guy who was standing behind a black guy.
âHey, what the fuck?â the white guy protested.
âHe let me in,â Chris said, and gestured at the black guy in front of him.
The white inmate tapped the black one on the shoulder, and the confrontation began immediately. Chris made two quick swipes with the razor-sharp blade and began walking away before either was aware they were bleeding.
âThat dude cut Mikey!â someone yelled. But he was pointing at the black guy.
Calamity erupted. In less than thirty seconds, two men were fatally wounded, and a riot was instigated. When he was far enough away from the action, he waded into a cluster of Latinos who were moving toward the epicenter of the disturbance, anxious to see if it involved one of their own.
âWhat happened, ese?â one straggler asked him.
Chris glanced around one last time.
âSomeone got cut, vato,â he said with a flawless accent.
âNo shit?â
At once, he brought the blade low and made a deep slash across the kidâs abdomen. Realization and horror dawned on his face, but no cry escaped his lips. For good measure, Chris snapped the knife closed and shoved it into the slit he had made. Then he found a safe place and waited. Pandemonium was breaking out everywhere. This was no mere riot. It was a becoming a full-blown race war.
Soon the guards flooded the mess hall in full riot gear, firing teargas and rubber bullets, and swinging batons. Chris watched with some amusement as one had his taken away and used against him. As he fell to the floor, several inmates gathered around, intending to stomp him to death. Eventually, the smoke cleared, and things were brought under control. But he wasnât taken to his new cell. He ended up in the waiting room outside of the wardenâs office.
Radar Love is an unconventional dark romance featuring a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde- Chris and Janique. The book is a dual perspective and is told in the past and the present depicting the development of their relationship and over-the-top antics that eventually land them in prison.Â
"Ill-fated and star-crossed, their love for each other had blinded them."
Chris is a construction worker with a rebellious streak that isn't afraid of hustling. Janique is a pampered princess who gets her first sip of rebellion through Chris and is immediately hooked. Their relationship dynamic was explosive and evolved from a forbidden romance to a darker, criminally charged fetish. Chris and Janique aren't fans of rules or the word no, so it was thrilling to watch their stimulant-fueled series of armed robberies and manslaughter.
Radar Love is an extremely crude and lewd love story, think of Harley Quinn and the Joker-type situations that kept me guessing. I think it's a fair assessment to say it continues as a "Prison Romance" which details their life as inmates they try to find themselves back to each other. These two are magnets for chaos and prison isn't stopping them from lying, cheating, and murdering their way back to each other.
Chris and Janique have that spark, it's like a flame that cannot be extinguished no matter the distance or time. I won't say it's the healthiest relationship as their passion was bordering on obsession with each other, but it made for a highly entertaining read.Â
Thank you to the author and Reedsy Discovery for providing me with an arc in exchange for a review.