Page 30 of Hardy

“Yes, that’s thehope.”

“Then go and see her.Seewhat she likes, report back to me, and I’ll work on getting herinvited for dinner,” Rose said.

“What about me?”Hardyasked.

“You do whatever it is youdo.”She took a pastry, biting into it.“If I wasn’t alreadymarried, I’d ask you to be mine, Baker.Seriously, these aredelicious.”

“Hey, I’m sitting right here,”Hardy said.He wasn’t annoyed as he’d caught the wink Rose sentBaker.

“Don’t worry, baby, you’vegot many good qualities.”

He laughed unable to resist herteasing.

****

Gash stood around the back ofthe club smoking a cigarette.Whizz couldn’t find him anything, andhe wasn’t prepared to giveGash exactly what he wanted.There were two peoplein this life, and they were going to pay.He needed them to pay forsetting him up.Going to prison for something he didn’t do wasreally fucked up.

First, he didn’t rape that fucking bitch.Gash couldn’t even bring himself to think of her name.He knew hername, and he had remembered every single detail of her.She’d beenbegging for his dick, practically fucking him out in the open she’dbeen so desperate.Gash didn’t rape women, and he didn’t murderboyfriends either.The bitch he fucked didn’t have a boyfriend comein halfway through.

Gash had fucked up though,leaving evidence of his presence in the room.He had a past history ofviolence, and lashing out, and even Gash had started to wonder ifhe’d blacked it all out.

No, he hadn’t done what he’dgone away for five years for.He’d not fought every single day onthe inside for himself not to get revenge.The Skulls had arrangedprotection on the inside, but it hadn’t always been sunshine and roses forhim.Gritting his teeth, he recalled the time he was cornered inthe shower by three men who were bigger than he was, which wasfucking saying something seeing as he was scary.

They’d wanted to make him very aware ofthe fact he owned an asshole.Fortunately, he’d been saved as TheSkulls had bought off one of the guards.He’d made sure Gash wasn’thurt, and that was how it became for him.Those battles that theguards couldn’t help him with, he fought out of.Years of wonderingif his cell mate had been bought off had plagued him, but he’dgotten through it.

“I thought I’d find you outhere,” Angel said, coming to stand beside him.

He threw the cigarette to the floorand stubbed it out.

“You didn’t have to dothat.”

“You don’t likeit.”

“So, you were smoking, and I wasinvading your space.You shouldn’t have put it out because of me.”She rubbed her hands together and leaned against the wall.“Why areyou out here all alone?”

“I’m thinking.”

He liked Angel, and respected her.She wasa strong woman who a lot of people mistook for being weak becauseshe didn’t resort to violence.Angel rarely swore either.When hefirst met her, he’d really thought it was a joke that Lash hadmarried someone so placid.Her temperament was like her name.Shewas an angel, through and through.After getting to know her, hesaw the charm she possessed.He wanted to help Lash preserve herinnocence of the world, and to bottle it up so no one could destroyher.She was beautiful inside and out.

“What are you thinkingabout?”

“Life.”

“On the inside?Do you missit?”

“No, I don’t fucking missit.I fucking hated that place.”

“I’m sorry.”She held her handsup in surrender.“You’re out here all alone.I noticed you talkingwith Whizz a lot just lately.”

“Are you being nosy,Angel?”he asked, finding her adorable.

“I’m worried about you.Can’t I be worried about you?”

He wrapped his arms around hershoulders.“You don’t need to be worried about me.”

She gave him a squeeze, and Gashreleased her.

“I, er, I know you went throughhell at the prison, and I really wish there was something I couldhave done to stop whatever awful things happened, but I just wantyou to know that you’re cared about.”

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