Page 10 of Hidden By the Convicts
Get used to it.They’ll be doing a lot more than looking soon enough.With that thought, Teagen stepped into the shower to wash the filth and horror of the past month away.
Chapter Three
HARLIS
Harlis had taken another load of dirt out with Gavin, scattering it far enough from the house that the animals and wind would work it into the soil.
“You’re quiet all of a sudden,” Gavin said, his voice more tolerant than usual.
“Thinking,” Harlis replied.
“About what?”
“The woman. Bowen said her name is Teagen.”
“Like you care,” Gavin said. “You better not touch her, Harlis. I don’t care how horny you get, and with a female sharing the house, it’s going to be hard not to think about what you’re missing.”
“I peeked into the bathroom when you were talking with Bowen.”
“Liked what you saw, no doubt.”
“She was bruised up, Gavin. Really bruised. And cut. Deliberate cuts, I’m sure of it. Evenly spaced cuts across her ass and lower back.”
Gavin took another handful of dirt and tossed it. “Fucking guards. It’s bad enough they use her, but they hurt her too.”
“I thought. . . I mean. . .”
“You thought she slept with them willingly, even after what I said, Harlis? Or that maybe she traded sex for special treatment of some sort? Come on, you’re not that stupid.”
“I just thought. . . Well, women are rare in this sector.”
“I know all about the virus a few generations back. I came from a family unit of four dads and one mom. I didn’t even know of any families with less than three dads.”
“My point is The Company wouldn’t waste a woman by sending her here. Not unless she was a mass murderer or did something that risked The Company’s interests in something major like securing a planet full of zurlite. And that woman back there doesn’t look like she could kill a butterfly let alone a person.” He shrugged. “I figured she was here earning credits, and at most she pissed off one of the guards. That’s why she ran.”
“No woman would voluntarily come to a prison colony, not even for credits. I assure you that whatever she did doesn’t justify what Dresden’s doing to her here. So, the next time you open your big fat mouth to say something crass to her, think of those scars you saw on her and ask yourself if she deserved them.”
“No one deserves them.”
“I’m starting to think there’s hope for you.”
Harlis struggled with getting the image of her all cut up and bruised out of his head.
When they returned to the house, Bowen had replaced the floorboards and the bed and washed down any remaining dirt.
Teagen sat on the bed by the far wall, wearing one of Gavin’s shirts, towel-drying wet, dark blonde curls. When she spotted him, bright green eyes shone from a sweet, round face. Cleaned up, she looked so much younger than he’d first thought.
“How old are you?” he asked.
“Is there a magic number that will keep you from using me?”
“No magic number. Just Bowen. And Gavin.” Harlis shoved his hand through his thick hair. “And me, I suppose.”
A dainty eyebrow lifted.
“He saw the scars on your back,” Gavin explained Harlis’s change of attitude.
“What scars?” Bowen asked, coming out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and the filthy dress Teagen had been wearing scrunched up in a ball. “And who fixed the shower? We’re finally getting warm water.”
