There would be no hiding from me.
The next morning, I still hurried through breakfast with the rest of them, but this time, I said screw it and grabbed a cup of coffee. Hawk had told Gunner to leave me alone, so maybe that meant I’d get away with the small borrowing of liquid gold.
Grinning at what was beginning to be a new usual, Anthony shook his head at me, but he didn’t say anything when I sat down and took my first big gulp. I drank the coffee before I ate my food, just in case things didn’t go as I hoped.
Though, the Fabled Four never showed up and the common area remained loud and obnoxious as everyone talked over each other. A fight broke out a few tables away from us, and I was just as curious as everyone else until the smaller dude pulled a blade of some sort out and stabbed the bigger one.
Blood sprayed everywhere, including on my plate, and I wasn’t happy about it. Nobody got seconds when it came to food, and I’d been saving my bacon for last. I pouted as I threw it away and watched the guards take the two men away.
When the commotion died down, Anthony said it was time for showers. He, Ethan, and Gabe promised not to look and said they’d try to block me from view as best as possible, but I honestly didn’t care what people saw, as long as they didn’t try to touch.
We walked through the common area to a door at the south end I hadn’t paid attention to before. Brent was holding it open, and when I passed by him, he made sure to stick his foot out and give me an equally nice glare. Thankfully, I didn’t kiss the floor, so I let it slide. I didn’t need trouble with the guards who could keep me from the warden. He was due back tomorrow, and I needed to see him.
Towels and bars of soap sat on a cart before the entry to the showers. I took two towels and hoped nobody said anything. As soon as we were inside, men began stripping all around me without a care in the world, while I wrapped my hair up.
There wasn’t any conditioner, and I didn’t feel like dealing with the knots, so my hope was to keep my strands dry and only worry about my body. The four of us managed to snag a couple of corner showers and the guys started undressing, so I did the same.
Whistles began, but I ignored them as I hung my hideous yellow jumpsuit on the hook followed by my granny panties. With a hand placed over my boobs, I stepped under the shower and soaked my body with warm water as the guys quickly showered next to me.
After I lathered up, I stepped back under the water and had my back to the room when a shadow fell over me. Assuming it was one of the guys moving in closer to block me from view, I ignored it until I realized there was a bigger problem.
“Come on, Jake. It’s not like you’ve never seen a naked woman. Leave her be and mind your own business,” Anthony said.
“Don’t be selfish. You shouldn’t be the only one to enjoy that sweet body,” Jake practically purred.
Deciding it was time for me to step in, I turned around only to come face-to-stomach with the dude leering over me. Jake, as Anthony had called him, was nearing seven feet tall with cold, dark eyes and a grin that told me he had no plans of walking away from me before he was ready.
Pretending I was fully dressed and not the most vulnerable I’d ever been in my life, I put on my mask of bravery and tried to level with the guy with a bravado I was completely faking in hopes of de-escalating the situation before it became a thing.
“Listen, Jake. You don’t want anything to do with this body. It’s given so many diseases to people that even Planned Parenthood knows me by name. I get it. You’re horny, you’ve been in here for who knows how long, and you’re dying to sink your junk into something. Though, I’ll warn you, if you come anywhere near me, it’s more than likely your junk will fall off.”
His head tilted at me as if he was actually considering my story, so I continued.
“The clap, herpes, crabs. Hell, even the clam. It’s some scary shit down there. Pretty sure the warden put me in this block as punishment to you guys. So, by all means, if you want to accept his punishment and find out just how bad it is, then be my guest.”
My body moved a step closer to the behemoth of a man, but he didn’t budge. Everything in me tensed as I waited for him to make his next move, but he didn’t. Instead, another prisoner charged in from behind Jake and knocked him aside.
“She’s full of shit, and I’ll prove it to you all.” Rough hands of a man I hadn’t seen yet grabbed on to my arms and pulled my body flush with his very naked body as I threw up a little in my mouth. Anthony, Gabe, and Ethan tried to step in, but others held them back and, unfortunately, that was the downside of not making friends with the biggest and baddest mofos in the prison.
When I needed it most, I didn’t have any backup.
The dude holding me lifted me up until we were almost eye level. “I’m going to be the first to prove you wrong, and you can bet your sweet ass I won’t be the last. Just remember, the more you fight me, the more I’m going—”
His words were cut off at about the same time he crumbled and we both fell to the floor. Everyone around us except for Anthony scrambled away as four more shadows fell over me and the douche who’d grabbed me.
“Up. Now,” Hawk demanded, but I didn’t know who he was talking to, so I stayed put.
My attacker began to move and received a boot to the jaw when Hawk kicked him. “Not you.”
Apparently, Hawk was a man of few words. When I still didn’t respond, he growled before bending over and picking me up, which meant my wet and still-naked body was suddenly pressed against his clothed chest and all sorts of feelings erupted within me.
Gunner threw my towel over me, followed by my clothes, then he trailed behind us while Yeti and Ace stayed in the shower area to do gods knew what.
Somewhere during the commotion, I’d lost the towel around my hair and my strands were a tangled mess. Long sections were wrapped around Hawk’s arm that was tucked snuggly under my shoulder blades while his other arm was holding my legs precariously close to my bare ass.
Chancing a look, I peeked up at him and took in his five o’clock shadow and the twitch in his square jaw. Feeling brave, I decided to use my time wisely.
“Thank you for stepping in,” I whispered, hoping to keep Gunner out of the conversation.
His reply was only a grunt. He was really good at that. Dude was probably a shifter.
“Did I do something wrong?’ I asked.
Instead of responding, he glanced down and glared at me. Then, the twitch increased.
Gunner’s hand clamped down on Hawk’s shoulder. “Easy, Brother.”
It wasn’t until Gunner said something that I realized Hawk was vibrating beneath me. Deciding it was better to leave him be, I stayed quiet until we arrived in an unfamiliar room.
Since I had been so distracted by the warm body close to me, I hadn’t been paying attention to where we were going. I had no idea where we were inside the prison, but it definitely wasn’t the cell areas.
Hawk lowered me closer to the ground and then completely let go when he figured I wouldn’t fall on my ass, but little did he know, my body was a bundle of nerves and the adrenaline was wearing off from what had almost happened. So, instead of standing like a strong woman, I crumbled to the ground like a ragdoll.
“Shit,” he murmured before helping me as I grabbed my clothes and towel. “Dry off and get dressed, then knock on that door.” He pointed toward my left before storming away.