Page 23 of Unleashed

Tansy taps my arm. “Here. I’m done with your phone. I’ll text you.” I’ll hold my breath.

Tesco swings his finger from me to Tansy. “And what’s going on here? Are you trying to score a date with Tansy?”

I push my phone into my pocket. “Don’t worry about what I’m doing, Tesco. I’m living my life just like you should live yours.”

“Tansy, come on. You’re dredging the bottom?”

“Fuck you,” I sneer, crossing my arms.

Before Tansy can defend me or agree with Officer Cunt Lick, I hear, “Rod?”

Turning, I see Hadley walking out of the hallway with a dark-haired, bearded man who is not much taller than her. His blue ballcap is askew like he’s fucking twelve or a Justin Bieber roadie. With genuine surprise, she asks, “You’re here? But needles?”

I shrug. “I joined a support group.”

When Hadley glances at Tesco, I notice his cocked eyebrow. With zero shame, he says, “You know how Finn feels about Rodwell. Why is he with you?”

Hadley shifts her purse and flinches. “Because I asked him to be. I didn’t think you were free, and Simone said she had her class. I didn’t expect anyone to show up.”

Tansy says, “A woman stopped by for you, but she left.”

“That had to be Simone.”

I watch Hadley moving like a stiff turtle for a finger tattoo. The Belieber hands Tansy some papers, and she asks, “Two tattoos?”

Hadley smiles but doesn’t look happy about it. “My finger and my chest,” she tells the inside of her purse.

Ricky bangs his fist on a counter with a laugh that could break glass. “Oh, Christ, Hadley! What did you do, woman?”

When she looks up, she shrugs and then makes a face. “It’s small. His name. That’s all.”

I tease, “So it says Man Child?”

“Dickless wonder,” Officer Whorehound mutters, shaking his head at me.

“Or that one.”

Hadley gives Tansy a credit card with a quiet giggle. “Sparks.”

I ask, “I thought you only inked the finger?”

“My finger says Finnigan. Ronin drew up another design for me. I must be insane because I couldn’t resist.”

Disappointed she’d ink herself for that stuck-up prick, I sigh. “Well, let’s see it.”

She shakes her head with fear in her eyes, aimed at Tesco and me. “No way.”

I laugh. “So only Wilder gets to see it? That’s shitty.”

Ricky drops his smile for an icy glare. “Why?”

“Stand down, Kojak. It wasn’t a dirty request. I’m sure everyone could see it if she wore a tank top.”

“Well, no. I rarely wear low-cut shirts. Anyway, Finn should see it first.”

Ricky’s grating grin returns. “So, Miss Hadley, you took a risk and inked my boy’s name forever over your heart. That’s badass.”

I frown at Tesco. “Are you high? Getting a tattoo is no big deal. Hadley used Wilder’s horny cumwad to grow a human inside of her and then pushed it out of her hoo-ha. This shit sort of pales in comparison.”

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