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

CHAPTER SIX

AVERY

I’m raising two smart-asses.

I’m so tired when I finally get home that I almost miss that both Sawyer and Isla are waiting for me in the living room, pale-faced, as if they’re sure I was never going to come home to them.

My heart plummets to my stomach at the sight of them.

“Are you alright?” I demand as I rush to shut and deadbolt the door. “What happened?”

Both of them rush forward, falling into my arms and holding me tight. “We saw men outside and knew they took you,” Isla rushes out, her nails digging into my back where she’s holding on to me. “And we heard them talking outside that they had orders to come in if you didn’t cooperate.”

“Grabbed the bat,” Sawyer adds, and I glance over to see his baseball bat near the couch, easily within reach.

My heart clenches and I hug them tighter. “I’m so sorry, guys,” I murmur, kissing their foreheads like I did when they were younger. “I’m so sorry you have to go through this with me. It’s not fair.”

“It’s not your fault,” Sawyer reminds me firmly, pulling away.

He doesn’t look a day over his sixteen years, but his dark brown eyes are far too old.

While he should be out enjoying time with his friends or getting his first girlfriend, he spends every evening and spare moment he has making sure to be here for me and Isla instead.

And I hate it. I hate that he has to deal with this.

“Mom’s the one who fucked us over,” he adds bitterly, an angry scowl covering his face.

“Language, Sawyer,” I admonish without much heat, which he promptly ignores.

“Why do they keep taking you?” Isla demands. “How much could Mom owe them that would have them constantly taking you?”

I fight not to wince at that question. I’ve kept the information from them on purpose.

I don’t want them to worry. “I’m not giving you specifics,” I say when they open their mouths to argue with me.

“The less you know, the less chance you’ll slip up and say something you shouldn’t.

” They try to argue, but I hold up my hand to quiet them.

“I’m not saying that you would ever do that on purpose, but even the slightest slip of the tongue and it could be the end of everything, including you. I’m protecting you.”

“But what happens if they never go away?” Isla whispers, terrified. “Or what if they kill you and then come for us?”

It’s a worry and one that’s kept me up at night since this entire thing started.

It’s not like we have family, and I certainly don’t have any friends that could help.

I wouldn’t want to involve any of them anyway.

“I’m working on that,” I promise them. “For now, they need me, and they’re not going to get rid of me.

Just keep your head down, make sure every door and window are locked, and the deadbolt’s engaged, alright?

” They nod, though the fear in their eyes is nearly my undoing.

“Alright, it’s late, so go and get ready for bed.

I need a shower and catch some sleep since I have an early shift in the morning. Okay?”

Isla and Sawyer share a look, and I nearly groan. I don’t like that look at all.

“So, I kind of forgot that I have a project due tomorrow morning,” Isla tells me with a sheepish smile.

“I did the work for everything that has to go on it,” she rushes to add as I groan.

“I just need something to attach it to, and since those guys were here, I didn’t want to leave to get it just in case. ”

“And how the hell did you forget about it until now?” I ask, annoyed. I glance at the clock. Hell, it’s almost ten o’clock and I need to be up at five in the morning to get ready for a six o’clock shift.

“I’ve been stressed,” she pouts. “I just need to stick it to something and we don’t have anything here big enough.”

I sigh heavily and scrub my hand over my face. “Get your shoes on. We need to be quick or I’ll be a bear before we get back.”

We head down to my car, and I quickly scan around to make sure that Vlad and his men aren’t still hanging around.

I’m sure they have someone watching us. If I thought I could, I’d grab them both and run, but when it comes to criminals like this, there is no way that we’ll be able to get very far before they’d find us and drag us back.

We make it to the store in record time, and as we head inside, I can feel exhaustion gripping me. I’ve been running around and on my feet for almost sixteen hours straight, and dealing with Vlad and his men was a good four of that. It’s fucking insane.

Isla and Sawyer make their way through the aisle ahead of me toward the supplies they need, and I ponder my options again.

I don’t have any friends, other than Sherry at work, but that’s strictly professional.

I’ve been so busy carrying for the kids and working that friendships haven’t been a priority.

But I did in college. Maybe I can reach out to one of them for help?

Or at least hope that one of them might know of someone who can help me.

Another part of me, though, wants to keep them close, so that I know they’re safe.

It’s a lose-lose situation any way I look at it. So for now, things will have to stay the same until I can figure something out.

Isla and Sawyer are arguing over the best supplies to get. I bite back my irritation and instead remind them calmly, “Just get something that will work. I want to be in bed within an hour. Any longer and I’m liable to string you up by your ankles and use you as a pinata for a few hours.”

Isla and Sawyer roll their eyes at me, used to my dark, but completely baseless, threats.

Except, I didn’t see the older woman just past them who turned to look at me with horrified eyes.

“You would do what?” she practically screeches, making Sawyer and Isla jump in shock, and then give me wicked grins before they school their expressions.

Shit. This is the last thing I need.

“She’s kind of mean,” Sawyer tells the lady with a serious face. “I mean, she doesn’t even stuff us with candy before she starts swinging.”

Isla nods. “At least she doesn’t use a bat and only uses a stick,” she adds.

“Though I wish she had taken off those points. And her aim is terrible. I thought she was supposed to hit us in the bellies, but she’s always hitting my ass.

Maybe we need to get her some glasses.” She looks at the woman with wide eyes.

“Your glasses are nice and big. Where would you suggest we send her? Who do you use?”

The smartassery is strong with these two. I really should watch what I say around them because clearly, they’ve been soaking up a little too much from me. My dark sense of humor can sometimes be taken the wrong way.

The older woman’s face reddens to the point that I’m almost concerned I’m going to have to check her blood pressure, but before she can blast them, and me, I hear some loud chuckles behind me, and I turn my head to see a couple of large bikers standing there, grinning.

I’ve seen the Devil’s Soldiers around, and I’ve heard they’ve had some people targeting them recently, but they’ve never struck me as the kind of people I should be wary of.

These two certainly look like men you don’t want to piss off, but they have kind eyes and smiles that has me relaxing slightly.

The one on the right is a large black man with dreads pulled up into a ponytail at the back of his head, a thin goatee, and bright blue eyes that are full of amusement as they look at me.

The one on the left is a bit shorter and closer to my height, with dark hair, dark eyes, and a scar that looks like it healed well along his jaw.

“Damn, I’m going to have to remember that one for when Archer gets a little older and a smart-ass,” the one on the right tells the other. Then he looks back at me. “What kind of stick do you use? I might need something a little different.”

I smirk, unable to help myself, despite the stress I feel. Humor has always been my go-to stress relief. “I mean, I just grabbed something from the tree outside, but I’m sure you could find something really good if you go searching.”

“You all should be in jail,” the older woman screeches, making Isla and Sawyer burst out laughing. “How can you just joke about something so awful?” Then she turns and stalks away, shaking her head and muttering.

“See you, Karen!” Isla calls after her sweetly, making Sawyer laugh even harder.

“The cops are going to be knocking on our door, smartasses.” I sigh when they finally get themselves under control. “Get your stuff so we can get home. I’m tired and I need to get out of these scrubs.”

“Can we get some candy?” Sawyer asks with a teasing grin. “You know, so when you hit us later with the stick, something might come out.”

The two bikers start laughing again, and I groan.

“Just get stuff and head for the cash,” I tell him with a glare.

Isla and Sawyer grin and head off, leaving me to shake my head and turn back to the bikers who are still grinning.

I look at the names on their cuts, Viper and Shadow, and ask, “Your club need some free labor? Might need to work some of the smartassery out of them.”

“’Fraid not,” Viper says apologetically.

“I don’t know if I want them around my daughter.

” Shadow laughs. “My daughter is six and she’s already having me set aside money for a bail fund for her.

I don’t need her getting ideas from those two as well.

She’ll be going around hitting things to see if there’s candy inside.

” His smile dips slightly and his eyes flash guiltily, piquing my interest, but then he smiles again and adds, “Or she’ll convince the other kids to do it and they’ll all be going around hitting things. ”

“No, let’s get this right. She’ll tell Rose, who will put candy in things and encourage her to hit things to find out where.” Viper snickers. “That would be her revenge if we ever piss her off.”

Shadow looks horrified at the idea.

I already like this Rose person. She sounds like my kind of woman.

“What did you say her number was?” I joke lightly, pretending to pull out my phone. “Sounds like she and I should connect.”

“Never,” Shadow vows firmly, but his lip twitches in amusement.

Isla and Sawyer come back to stand close to us, and they grin. “We saw the lady in the other aisle and she’s still looking horrified.” Sawyer snickers. “But we got our stuff and left her alone. She probably will call the cops on us next time.”

“I’d look great in orange though, and it might be worth it to mess with her again,” Isla laughs.

Viper lets out a burst of laughter and jabs Shadow in the side. “It’s like looking into the future with Macy, isn’t it?” he jokes.

Shadow groans and scrubs a hand over his face.

Isla smirks and says, “I don’t know who Macy is, but she sounds cool.

So, are you guys stalking us or something?

” She flutters her lashes at them expertly, and I feel a moment of concern.

I know she’s fifteen, but jeez, I’m not ready for this part of her life yet.

“Or are you just standing here to look pretty?”

Viper and Shadow share a look but grin. “No stalking, promise,” Viper assures her. “We’re here to grab a few things for one of our club brothers. He’s got a concussion.”

My nurse hat instantly goes on. “Has he been checked by a doctor?”

“We have one that’s a club member,” Shadow assures me. “He’s good, but it’s a higher grade so he’s going to be taking it easy for a bit and Medic will be checking him again soon to check on his progress.”

I’ve never heard of a doctor named Medic, but I think I heard there’s a doctor who does rounds at the hospital that’s associated with the local MC, so maybe that’s who they mean.

I relax and nod. “Good. Head injuries should never be taken lightly.” I instantly think of the man trapped by Vlad and my mood sours.

I wonder if he’s doing okay or if he’s got anymore head trauma I’ll need to worry about the next time I’m dragged in to oversee his care.

“We should probably grab those and get back,” Shadow says. He grins at Sawyer and Isla. “You two keep out of trouble. Sounds like your mom has her hands full.”

“She’s our sister,” Isla corrects him. “And don’t worry, we’re amazing kids.” She adds that with an innocent smile. I can barely resist rolling my eyes.

Sawyer nods and looks at them curiously. “I’m going to get my license soon. How old do I have to be if I want to join a club?”

Sawyer has never once shown interest in joining a motorcycle club, just in getting his license. Though, I assumed that meant a car.

“Eighteen,” Viper answers him firmly. “And even then, you have to be ready to do the work to join. You can’t just ask to join a club and be in.

You have to work hard and do what the club asks of you, no matter what it is, as a Prospect.

Then, if you do all that, and the club agrees, you get voted in as a patched member.

” He looks at me briefly. “And we’re not an outlaw club, so there are strict rules you have to follow as well.

If you’re still interested at eighteen, come and talk to me.

” He pulls out a card from his chest pocket and hands it to him.

“Until then, keep your head down, do good in school, and don’t be doing anything stupid.

And keep an eye on your sisters,” he adds pointedly.

“We’re big on protecting women in our club. ”

Sawyer takes it. “Thank you,” he says to Viper with a respectful nod to Shadow.

“Have a good night,” Shadow says with a nod, a smile for Isla and me, and they make their way down the aisle, murmuring to each other.

I force myself to follow the kids to the cash, but I glance back at them once before we leave, my mind already starting to spin.

We’re big on protecting women in our club. But what about children? Would they help me if I had to send the kids to them? Would they be able to help me get them out of here and away from all this bullshit with the Russians?

It’s something I need to keep in the back of my mind because if shit goes south, I might not have any other choice. I’ll do whatever I have to do to protect my family, even if it means sending them away.