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Ace stepped in farther and squatted to look in his eyes. “All I need is your eyes, Llew. I don’t want you doing anything to jeopardize you getting out of here. But you can’t join my crew and not do shit. All you’ll do is watch my back. How hard do you really think that is, huh? I just want you to watch shit, and when I ask you about what you saw, you tell me.”
Sounds easy… too easy.
“Don’t ask me why, Gardner. You just remind me of someone I had a soft spot for once. Nothing hidden in my agenda. But you watch my back and I’ll watch yours. Simple as that. Whatever your decision… enjoy the stuff.”
Ace got up to leave. “Rivers and Detrix will stay with you for a couple days, because you’re still blacklisted. I’ll be back then for your decision. If it’s no, I won’t bother you again. But I suggest it be a yes. I can help you survive this place, Gardner.”
The guys had stayed with Llew like Ace promised they would; and Llew was able to come and go as he pleased. He’d worked out in the yard without any problems, no one even made eye contact with him. He went to chow and didn’t have to sit in a corner against the wall. It was nice to sit with Ace and actually laugh with the rest of the guys. It’s when he’d told his guards to leave him alone for a while and Llew went to the shower room thinking it was empty that he was cornered by Damon. He called for his guys but they must’ve been taken down by Damon’s gang, who were just as big, if not bigger than Ace’s.
He fought with everything he had, but it wasn’t enough. As he was beaten and pummeled, he prayed for his brother, that he would go on and live for him.
Llew woke up who knew how many days later, in the infirmary, to Ace yelling into his cell phone. He knew it was him without even opening his eyes, because Ace’s voice held a growl that made you pause and cringe.
“Those motherfuckers should be brought up on attempted manslaughter charges, babe! They almost killed him and my men. I want those bastards in the hole for a goddamn year. Leave ‘em in there until they can’t fuckin’ think straight!”
Who is babe? Did Ace have a fancy lawyer as a boyfriend? Is that why he got so much done? Llew tried to stop his mind from thinking, because his head was pounding harder than a jackhammer on concrete. He reached down and could feel the heavy bandages around his hips. What the fuck? What happened to me?
“Gardner, hold still man. I’m gonna get Anne, she’ll get you something for the pain. Are you in pain, Llew?”
Can a bull buck? “Yeah, man. Hurts like hell, Ace. What happened?” Llew kept his words to quick sentences, the thundering in his head growing in intensity with each word he uttered.
Ace’s voice had gone soft and sympathetic, and Llew wondered just how jacked up he was. Was he paralyzed? Because it didn’t feel like he could move. Oh no. No. No. He didn’t know what was happening to him but his entire body felt like it was on fire, and he couldn’t breathe.
He heard the fear in Ace’s voice. “Gardner calm down. Llew! Llew! Can you hear me?” There was nothing else after that except silence, darkness. His last thought was that he should’ve chosen Ace a long time ago.
When he woke up, it was dim in his area, and a large but gentle hand was rubbing his thigh.
“You awake, Llew? Open your eyes.”
His eyes opened in more ways than one. Ace was there, and so was the Doc. It took him a long time to come to terms with what was going to keep happening to him if he didn’t get with the only person that had shown him any decency since he’d been there. He had counseling and therapy, then more counseling. But nothing prepared him for the aftermath of surviving the attack. Absolutely nothing. Regardless, he knew he wouldn’t physically survive another like it. Even with Damon’s gang gone, there were more waiting to take their place. So joining Ace’s crew was the best thing for him. When he’d recovered from his surgeries, he left the infirmary to begin to really live and breathe prison life.
Chapter Nine
“I can’t believe how big you are, Llew. Jesus. Did you do anything else in there besides lift weights, man?” Llew didn’t answer his brother. He’d only been home for a few hours. Just long enough to take a shower and look through his bedroom. Everything was still the same. His full-size bed and two dressers full of clothes that were now four sizes too small. He’d always been big and tall, but now he was extremely big and tall. All the tools he’d worked long summers to be able to pay for were still in the closet, neatly tucked into his canvass bag. The only things different were the brand new laptop still in the box, and two new design and building software packages. His brother knew it was what he’d use to cope with the changes in his life. He’d build.
