Page 88 of Clawed
“Fuck.”Lawes reached for the car door to steady himself.He couldn’t believe how shrewd Fuller had been.
“Fuck indeed.”
“How much did it all go for?”Lawes had given up hope of ever seeing any of that investment again.
“A cool 1.5 million.”Conceit rattled off Fuller, but Lawes couldn’t blame him.“And because you’re my oldest friend, I have your half here, Mark.”
Lawes’ focus fell upon the large black bags on Fuller’s back seat again.“In cash?”
What he’d meant to say was ‘thank you’, but somehow, he couldn’t wrap his head around what he was hearing.
“Yes, in cash.”Fuller laughed.“£750,000, minus the fuel it took to catch up with you.Where the hell are you going anyway, and who’s that pretty young thing in the front with you?”
“I’ll introduce you.”It was Lawes’ turn to laugh.He wondered how Hannah would react to the latest development.“Listen, thanks, Brandon.This is fucking huge.”
“You got it.”Fuller took Lawes’ outstretched hand, his attention returning to the money-filled bags.“We’ve been through a lot, you and I.We need to look after one another.”
“Sir?”
Lawes straightened at the sound of her voice, wryly anticipating the way he was going to punish her for her disobedience.
“I told you to stay in the car.”His tone was hard as he turned to her.He couldn’t wait to give her the good news about the money he’d recently come into, but first, he had a reintroduction to make.
“I was worried,” she gasped.“And—”
“Hannah?”Whatever excuse she was about to conjure was interrupted by Fuller, his eyes wide as his gaze traveled between the two of them.“I didn’t recognize you with your clothes on.”
Hannah recoiled at the look of him, doubling over as though Fuller had punched her.
“Behave.”Lawes’ gaze narrowed at his friend’s quip.
“What areyoudoing here?”Her focus flew between the two men.
“Mr.Fuller was driving the red Audi.”Lawes motioned to the car.
“Oh my God...”she retreated.“I can’t...I can’t do this again.”
“Relax.”Lawes caught her wrist and yanked her back in his direction.“Nothing bad is going to happen to you, little girl.”
That was another partial lie.He was going to spank her ass until it was red raw for not obeying his command, but as it transpired, her impromptu arrival was proving to be fortuitous.He could show her off to Fuller and take the cash his friend had ever so kindly claimed for him—all at the same time.Snaking an arm around Hannah’s middle, he kissed the side of her head.Let Fuller see what she meant to him.Lawes wanted him to know.
“So,Hannah’sthe woman you’ve been wooing!”Fuller snorted with surprised amusement.
“How do you know what I’ve been doing?”It seemed Fuller had secrets of his own.Somehow, he’d managed to track Lawes down, and Lawes wanted to know how.
Beside him, Hannah’s breathing hadn’t calmed, and splaying his hand on the small of her back, he tried to stroke away some of her stress.He understood how disturbing it must have been for her to see both of her old captors together.Those were wounds he needed to help her heal.
“I hired a P.I.with my share of the loot.”Fuller stared at Hannah, his expression knowing.“The P.I.found out which hostel you went to after your release and went from there.You weren’t so difficult to find.”
How reassuring.
Lawes watched the attentive way Fuller was looking at Hannah.It didn’t thrill him that his friend also knew her intimately, but he couldn’t blame Fuller.Without him, Lawes would never have achieved the dental enterprise.Without him, Lawes would never have met Hannah.He hoped Fuller enjoyed the memories of those times with her.Lawes would make sure he never had the pleasure again.
“The P.I.must be good at their job.”Lawes thought he’d been careful not to leave a trail that others could follow.
“The best,” Fuller declared.“And what about you, Hannah?How did you come to be in Mr.Lawes’ company again?”
Hannah swallowed, her beautiful eyes closing when she replied.“Mr.Lawes decided to take me back.”
