Page 3 of Hidden By the Convicts
The convicts here, Level 4s, were almost as violent as the murderers and rapists sent to Level 5 prison planets. But were these men as bad as the guards? She hoped not, because she didn’t think she could make it past Bowen, especially without shoes.
She would have escaped to the jungle weeks ago when she arrived, except the water on Narkos was poisonous. The prisoners and guards on West and East Side alike relied on the water treatment plant.
“Worse,” said the older of the three prisoners, a stocky man with dark hair and amazing gray eyes. “She’s here for the guards. She’s theirs.”
“What do you mean?” The youngest of the three, a man who looked roughly her age, and the one that seemed to annoy the other two from what she’d heard, stared at her as if he hadn’t seen a woman in a very long time. Maybe he hadn’t.
“The third purpose of East Side. Recreational activities for the guards,” Gray Eyes explained.
On your knees or back. Either way will suit me fine, my little whore.
Teagen pushed back the tears, trying to wipe away her boss’s image. Crying wouldn’t help her.
“Fuck,” Gray Eyes said as he stood up, ran his fingers through his hair, and paced.
No, not stocky. Broad, powerful, just not as tall as Bowen. And utterly gorgeous.
“What are we going to do with her, Bowen?” he asked, forcing a smile as he glanced down at her. Rather sweet, and not at all nerdy-looking, like she expected a horticulturist would be.
“Gavin, take a walk. And take Harlis with you.”
Gray Eyes—Gavin—grabbed the younger man by his shirt. “Let’s go, kid.”
Harlis yanked free of Gavin’s hold. “Why do you get to have her first, Bowen?”
Bowen leapt up and punched Harlis in the jaw, sending the man reeling backward. Gavin deftly stepped out of the way instead of breaking the younger man’s fall.
“What the fuck, Bowen? Gavin said she’s here to provide recreation. That should include us. The guards will never know. It’s not like I’d hit her or anything.”
Bowen turned his back to Teagen, standing between her and Harlis. “Gavin, get him the fuck out of here before I forget he’s in my unit and I do more than punch him.”
Gavin grabbed Harlis by the shirt and dragged him to his feet. “Let’s go, asshole.”
Bowen breathed a heavy sigh, waiting for Gavin and Harlis to leave before he turned to face her. “Hi, there,” he said without moving closer. His voice held a warmth to it, and he didn’t rake his eyes over her like the guards.
“You’ll have to forgive Harlis,” Bowen said, casually pointing his thumb toward where the young man had been moments before. “He’s young. And stupid. Not intellectually. He’s East Side’s chemist. Keeps the soil balanced and shit like that. Hell, I don’t even know half of what he does, but he’s considered essential in keeping the crops safe for everyone on Narkos. So, I can’t kill him. I’d like to, but I can’t. But I’ll keep him away from you.”
Harlis didn’t worry her. At worst, he was a horny guy, unlike the guards. They wanted more than sex from her. Pain. Humiliation. Someone to beat and knock down to make themselves feel good. Harlis didn’t have that type of anger coming off of him, at least not directed at her. Bowen, on the other hand, was less than pleased by her presence.
“I’ll sleep with you, all of you, if I have to. Just don’t let the guards find me.”
That surprise in his face from earlier morphed into anger. She tensed, expecting him to strike her.
“That’s quite the enticing offer, but no,” he said, folding his arms over his chest.
“No?”
His frown eased, much of the anger fading away. Bowen didn’t look like he wanted to hurt her. And he said no to sex. Maybe he liked guys instead.
“You’re filthy and you stink,” he said, scrunching his nose on that rugged face of his.
Filthy had been her plan, but it didn’t stop the guards from touching her.
“Eventually that stench will tip them off to where you’re hiding. In here, among all the soil and chemicals, they didn’t smell you. But that won’t be the case elsewhere.”
“I’ll shower. Do and wear anything you want. Just don’t send me back.”
Blue eyes the color of the sky stared down at her. As Bowen grabbed her hand, he mumbled, “Fuck, I think I’m a bigger fool than Harlis.”
