Page 36 of The Devil’s Escape (The Devil’s Soldiers #7)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

AVERY

I’m pretty sure my brain short-circuited for a second.

Why does this man have to be so hot? And why the hell haven’t I insisted on him putting on a shirt?

I mean, he doesn’t have to walk around half-naked; a shirt won’t irritate his stitches other than maybe making them a bit itchy or something every once in a while, but that’s easy enough to handle.

Instead, I have to sit here, pretending like all those muscles don’t affect me.

He’s not the first hot guy I’ve seen, but damn it, he’s the only one who’s ever made me take notice for longer than a few seconds.

Maybe it’s my brain processing this whole business weirdly, but this entire thing is just a pain in the butt.

I need to remember he—for all intents and purposes—is my patient.

Not to mention, he’s also a man who has been through some horrific things, and that can take a long time to get over.

He doesn’t need a woman lusting after him too.

So that settles it, I’m going to get a grip on myself and act professional.

“You’ve been staring at my abs for the last few minutes,” he suddenly whispers in my ear, startling me. “Had I known you would be that mesmerized by me, I’d have found us a quieter spot for you to look and touch.”

Shit. “Sorry, I zoned out,” I say casually, lifting my eyes back to his.

Damn it. They’re full of amusement, and a heat that I really wish wasn’t there.

I don’t need to know this is reciprocated.

“I did notice that the bruising on your belly is going down, though.” There, that’s better.

Back to medical professionalism. “And your ribs are starting to lose the black and blue and go more green and yellow, so those seem to be healing nicely.”

His lips quirk up into a knowing smile, but he nods.

“Yeah, things are getting better. Still stiff and sore, but the shower helped.” The mention of the shower instantly brings back the image of him standing there naked and just how perfect he looks without any clothes on.

Damn it! He winks at me, clearly knowing the direction of my thoughts, and I try to fight back the blush that I can feel heating the back of my neck. Thank God I left my hair down today.

I force myself to look over at Isla and Sawyer, who are watching me with a mixture of amusement and a smug knowingness that makes me roll my eyes at them.

Thankfully, neither of them says anything, and instead, Sawyer tells Hulk, “Torque showed me your bike and all the modifications you did to it. Was it hard to do that?”

Hulk shrugs. “Some things are, but I had Torque and the guys at the shop do most of the hard stuff. They have smaller hands than I do for the finicky stuff that I hate doing. You’re interested in working on bikes?”

Sawyer nods, eyes lighting up in excitement to talk about one of his favorite topics.

My heart swells a bit in my chest. He hasn’t had anyone in a long time who was willing to talk about it, or in my case understand it, and he’s soaking up the time with the guys around here as much as he can.

“I want to be a mechanic,” he explains. “I’m good with my hands, and Dad and I liked to work on cars growing up.

He taught me a lot. We rebuilt and restored old cars all the time.

” A twinge of sadness fills his voice, but then he’s gone when he grins and adds, “And as soon as I get a job, I’m going to start saving up for one of my own to work on.

Nothing fancy, but something I can make my own.

Then, when I get my license in a few months, I also want to try and get my bike license too. ”

Hulk smiles. “That sounds like a good plan to me. When you’re ready to buy something, make sure you talk to Torque or one of us. We’ll make sure that you’re not getting ripped off. Might be able to give you some help on things that you need too.”

Sawyer nods and smiles. “Thanks. Torque offered already and said he’d keep an eye out if something comes in that might be a good fit. I’m patient, though, so I don’t mind waiting for a bit to get the right thing.”

“Good. Patience is key in life.”

“It’s annoying how patient he can be,” Isla huffs.

“Do you know how many times I’ve tried to piss him off on purpose over the years and all he does is stare at me or walk away?

It’s infuriating.” She glares at her brother, sticking her tongue out at him.

Sawyer just gives her a bland stare in return.

“God, you two remind me of Torque and King when they were younger,” Rose laughs.

Her eyes sparkle with laughter and memories.

“King would do everything to ruffle Torque’s feathers, and Torque would just walk away or ignore him for the most part.

There were a few times we had to pull them off each other, but thankfully those were few and far between.

Well, at least until they were all teenagers.

” She rolls her eyes. “I still say girls would have been easier.”

“You say that, but I have a couple of friends with sisters and they’re just mean and sneaky when they’re trying to get back at each other,” Isla states, shaking her head.

“One time, one of my friend’s sisters took a limited-edition plate and tossed it into a sink full of water just because my friend took one of her favorite shirts and got a stain on it.

” She looks over at me. “Aren’t you glad I’m not like that? ”

I arch a brow at her. “Says the one who got pissed at me a couple of months ago and hid my car keys in the back of the toilet making me super late for work. All because I accidentally embarrassed you in school by talking to some boy you liked and somehow making you seem like some kind of nutcase. Still not sure how I did that, but sure, you’re not like your friends.

” I roll my eyes. A part of me has always been glad that Isla is so much younger than me or we probably would have been exactly like her friends and their sisters, but probably worse.

“You told him that I mentioned how cute he was,” Isla sputters. “You basically made me sound desperate and a stalker. He refused to look at or talk to me again for like a week!”

“I already apologized for that. Besides, weren’t you the one who told me that he was being a dick to your friend, and it made you realize that just because he looks good doesn’t mean he’s a good guy? So maybe you should thank me instead for helping you see that early.”

Isla glares at me and turns away to look at Rose. “You’d be mad if your sister did that to you, right?”

Rose gives a sage nod, but when Isla turns back to give me a righteous look, Rose winks at me as if trying to tell me not to worry. “But sounds to me like your sister might have helped you out so she should probably get a little credit for that.”

Isla shrugs. “Fine, a little, but that doesn’t change the ban. If you come to pick me up from school, then you have to make sure that you stay in the car and speak to no one. I’m developing a reputation at school and I need to keep it.”

“And what kind of reputation might that be?” I ask drily. This should be good.

“The kind where I’m a bad bitch that you don’t mess with me or my friends, and that you don’t step on the little guy. All the people that people bully, if I find out, I go toe-to-toe with their bully and most people stay out of my way.” She gives a decisive nod to that, and I smile.

“I can live with that reputation,” I say, reaching out to rub the back of her head. “And people knowing you have a crush on a guy could get in the way of that.”

She nods. “Exactly. Besides, I don’t want a stupid boy who’s going to spend all of his time trying to change me.

I want one who gets who I am and has the same ideas.

” She rolls her eyes. “Which is about one percent of the entire school population, so you can see why it’s going to be hard to find someone. ”

“The right one will come along,” Rose promises her, reaching out to grab her hand in hers and give it a quick squeeze before going back to the delicious food she’s making.

“But don’t rush it. You’re fifteen, so now’s the time to have fun with your friends, not worry about boys and their constant need for attention and validation.

” She winks at Sawyer. “Present company excluded, of course.” Sawyer smiles at her, unoffended.

“Now, all of you grab a plate and come and dish up something to eat before the rest of the horde descends to get something.”

“The brothers should be served first,” a voice says behind us disapprovingly, and when I turn my head, I see one of the men from the other MC.

I’ve seen him around, but other than the name on his cut, Crook, I haven’t spoken to him.

Probably for the best with how pissed off he looks right now.

He looks at Hulk, who regards him with a cool gaze, and he backs down a little bit before he looks back at Rose and gives her a narrowed- eyed glare.

“That’s how shit is. Brothers first, then everyone else. That’s how a proper club runs.”

“Is it?” Rose returns mildly, and I can feel the tension in the air rising.

I edge closer to Isla and Sawyer because I don’t want them in the middle of whatever this is.

“Well, that might be how your club does things, but in this club, the children are served first, then those who are injured or sick, before the women, and finally the men. Considering the first three are in here, minus one other woman, that’s how my kitchen will be running.

I’ll have everyone else in here to grab something in under five minutes. Or is that too long for you?”

Crook’s face hardens, and his eyes go stormy. This is a dangerous man, and he does not appreciate a woman telling him no. I hope to God he’s not married, because I feel sorry for his wife. His eyes move to Hulk, completely dismissing me and the kids. “You’re going to let her talk like that?”

Hulk merely gets to his feet, towering over him without even needing to be near him.

“That’s how our President’s Old Lady runs this kitchen,” he states mildly.

“That’s the way things are and have been since you got here, so getting pissed off about it now seems pointless.

Tell the others that it will be ready in a couple of minutes.

No one is going to starve between now and then. ”

Crook’s hands ball into fists. Even still recovering, something tells me that taking down Hulk will be a hard thing to do. Turning on his heel, Crook stalks out, the swing-style door moving so hard that I’m surprised it doesn’t slam into the wall with the force.

“Someone’s hangry,” Isla mutters.

“Tensions get high when things are stressful around here sometimes,” Rose states lightly, though I can see the anger burning in her eyes. She does not like Crook even a little bit. “Don’t mind any of that. Once they get fed, they’ll be good. Now, all of you get your plates and dish up.”

“We’ll eat out in the common room,” Hulk states. “Rose, Bullet’s on his way down and he said he’ll give you a hand.” I note the pointed look he gives Rose, who nods as if understanding whatever silent message he’s trying to get across.

Something is going on here, and everything inside is standing up and urging me to start paying attention.

I grab my plate of food—a helping of spaghetti with salad and a fresh roll—and follow Sawyer and Isla out into the common room, Hulk not far behind, just as Bullet comes down and walks through to the kitchen.

There’s a look in his eyes that I can’t quite make out, but it’s enough to have me feeling bad for anyone who goes at his wife again.

Hulk follows me and sits next to me at the table the kids pick.

One that I note is on the opposite side of the room from where the Misfits are sitting with their men. I see a couple more Devil’s Soldiers, but they are mostly talking amongst themselves and not with the other club.

I move my eyes away from them, but find them snagged by a dark gaze of a man at the center of the table with the most men sitting around it.

I hold his gaze, refusing to cower to the dominance he’s trying to project toward me.

I can’t make out the name on his cut from here, but something tells me that he’s important, and from the way the men seem to defer to him in their movements, I’d say he’s their President.

And he does not like me. It’s written all over his face.

A part of me wants to look away, knowing that this little staring contest isn’t going to accomplish anything good, but the larger, rebellious part of me refuses to back down.

I don’t let anyone intimidate me. There’s a flash of something in his eyes before he finally looks away and murmurs something to the man beside him.

Neither of them looks back at me, but I’m sure I’m the topic of discussion.

I turn my head and see Hulk watching me and then his gaze sliding to the table. His eyes harden, but his expression is calm, even serene, as he looks back at me. Yeah, that’s not going to fool me.

I don’t know what’s going on around here, but I’m about to find out.