Page 43 of The Devil’s Escape (The Devil’s Soldiers #7)

Hulk lets out a low snarl, but doesn’t try to get to them again.

Instead, he knocks the men holding him away and turns toward me, eyes wild as they take me in.

My heart knocks a little harder in my chest, but not out of fear.

His hands reach for me, and he cups my face, inspecting it, his hands gentle.

Then his head snaps around when Arson bellows, “I’ll have your fucking patch, you motherfucker. ”

“You beat my woman, you piece of shit!” Hulk bellows, dropping his hands from me and spinning around. I grip his arm, even as Viper and Crypt step quickly in front of him. “I should kill you now for daring to touch her.”

It’s a mixture of shouting, until finally, there’s a loud slam of metal, which has everyone going quiet.

I peer around the large men in front of me, and I see Rose standing there, a metal tray in her hand, and I see that she slammed it against the metal door, her face a mask of her own rage, but also a calmness that makes a small shiver go down my spine.

I’ve only seen Rose as a calm, jovial woman for the most part. This is not her.

This is a woman that I’m glad doesn’t have access to a gun right now, because I’m sure there’d be a few dead bodies on the floor.

“All of you will be quiet,” she says in a calm tone, her voice raised only slightly.

When the man in front of Arson and Silver opens his mouth, his face a mask of fury, she narrows her eyes at him and snarls, “Don’t you fucking start, Angel.

Your men beat one of our women. One of the women under our fucking protection.

I don’t want to hear a word. Not one word.

Bullet, deal with this, now, or I will, and none of them will be leaving here whole, or possibly alive.

Thea will take the kids up to their room while we handle this.

” The steel in her voice is so hard I’m surprised that we’re all still standing under its weight.

Shit. I hope I’m like her when I grow up, because, damn, she’s fierce.

Bullet must realize how serious she is, because he turns to Hulk and demands, “What the fuck happened? And don’t leave anything out.”

“I walked in here and heard someone slap someone. Then I realized that it was Arson, hitting Avery, and Silver holding her there to make sure she couldn’t get away,” he bites out, his body vibrating with rage.

He turns, gently urging me forward. His fingers tenderly move the hair from my face, and cupping my chin to turn my face to show what I’m sure is either bruising or a very clear handprint on my face. It’s certainly throbbing enough.

There’s a collective shift in the room. It’s downright hostile now, and I’m pretty sure that most of it is coming from Rose, who shoves forward and comes to stand next to me, pushing Hulk’s hand from my face and inspecting it herself.

The pure rage in her eyes has me fearing for their lives, but then it shifts to a cold, sinister determination that I never want to see aimed my way. Holy shit, she’s scary.

“Arson, start fucking talking,” Bullet orders, his voice sharp and just as scary as his wife’s. Alright, I’m starting to see why the two of them are so well suited.

“You have some fucking nerve talking to me that way as a visiting club President, Bullet,” Arson barks.

“And you’re lucky you’re still breathing,” Bullet barks back.

“You touched one of our women. A woman that we have made very clear is under our protection and is afforded the same respect as an Old Lady. If one of us had done that to one of your women, you’d have killed him on fucking spot.

So stop trying to stall and start fucking talking or I’ll let Hulk have another go at you, as would be his right. ”

“You’re a fucking weak old man,” Arson spits. “You’ve lost complete control of your club. Your men. You let your women disrespect?—”

“Enough!” Bullet roars. He turns and looks at me.

“Since he clearly is trying to stall and delay, Avery, you tell me what happened.” His expression softens slightly as he looks at me, his eyes landing on my cheek before going back to my eyes.

“I need everything. Leave nothing out.” There’s a slight undertone of insistence, and I give a small nod.

I explain what happened matter-of-factly, and when I finish, I add, “I did tell him to let me go and talk to you or get the fuck out of the room, which I think is what set them off.”

“You lying bitch,” Silver yells, stepping forward before Sniper thrusts him back. “She’s fucking lying, Bullet. She admitted that she’s working with Vlad. She’s only in here using you to get information to him. You’re really going to fucking trust her?”

“You should be fucking thanking us,” Arson adds righteously. “We’ve caught the cunt before she can do more damage.”

“And what kind of damage has she done?” Sniper demands. Neither Arson nor Silver replies, glaring at him. “What? You’re going to toss that out and not back your claim?”

“You shouldn’t be questioning our fucking president that way,” a furious voice calls out from just outside the room.

“Enough!” Angel barks, his eyes moving warningly behind him. Then he looks back at Arson and Silver expectantly, but says nothing.

Something tells me that’s a deliberate choice, but only because I see the fury now directed at him from Arson and Silver.

“We saw her snooping through shit and we knew she was planting bugs. Trying to listen in on club conversations to report back to Vlad,” Silver states smugly, his hand going into his pocket and pulling something out to show.