“And you know I have responsibilities, so no.”
“I don’t have to let you leave,” he returns, a thin threat sliding in behind his words.
Avery’s feet shift slightly, like she’s turning to face Vlad more. What is she doing? “I’m not staying here. Our agreement was I come when you need me and I leave when everyone is patched up. You take money off my mother’s debt per visit, even if you think that you’re going to keep me here forever. I have two children at home that need me, and I’m not leaving them alone. He will be fine for six hours without me. Me sitting here and monitoring him is a waste of time unless he’s dying, and right now, he’s not.”
“There are many things you can do that don’t involve you staying in here with him,” Vlad answers. “Far more interesting things.”
Fury surges through me at his suggestion, but I stay still and quiet.
“And I already told you that I’m not a whore.”
Vlad hums, and that sets me on edge. He’s enjoying this. Enjoying toying with her. He has no plans on making her his whore. He has no plans for her to make it out of debt or alive. “You may change your mind when you find out that your mother has added another twenty-five thousand to her debt. One she insisted thatyoupay. At this rate, Ms. Clarke, you’ll be long dead before the debt will ever be paid.”
“We’ll deal with it when we get to that point. Now, if you need me back here in six hours, then I need to get home and get a bit of sleep. I have an early shift tomorrow and kids to get ready for school.”
Pity fills me thinking of her doing all of this and trying to take care of her kids. Is she married? Does her husband know about all this going on? Why the fuck would he allow this? I want to ask so many questions, but I keep quiet.
I strain to lift only my eyes to try and see them, and I get a glance at the two of them staring at each other, neither willing to give in. I’m not sure if she’s brave or stupid for standing up to him, but Vlad must be amused enough to agree. Or he’s plotting, and that will never be a good thing. “Very well.” Then he walks around her and heads for the door.
Avery picks up her bag and follows, back straight, and she never looks back at me. Not even when she walks out and I lift my head in time to see Vlad shutting the door.
Darkness surrounds me again, and I let my head drop forward again. I gave her my name and who was looking for me. I don’t know if she’s going to help me, or even if she’s going to remember, but I can hope, and that’s all I have right now.
Maybe my blue-scrubbed angel will be my ticket out of here. Either back to my family or down to the devil himself.
CHAPTER EIGHT
AVERY
Are the Devil’s Soldiers trustworthy or the enemy?
I tryto memorize the twists and turns before the car finally stops, and I’m yanked out of the vehicle. The cover over my head comes off, and I blink as I look around and realize that I’m not at home. I’m a few blocks away. They dropped me off in the middle of a darkened sidewalk, no one around, and just expect me to walk home and hope I don’t get mugged or attacked?
Bastards.
I should probably be glad that they just dropped me off and didn’t try to grope me like the last time, but I’m too tired and stressed to really be relieved. Instead, I just start walking, trying not to groan in pain at the ache in my feet. I need new shoes, but when the hell am I going to manage that?
I need to get home and to bed. Especially if those fuckers are going to try and grab me again to keep their prisoner—Hulk—alive for a little longer. If he even makes it through the night.There’s a high chance that he won’t, but in my line of work I’ve learned that things have a way of surprising you.
I bite back a groan when I see the man coming toward me. I don’t need this. I’ve seen him around, and I don’t know his name, but he’s the local mugger who tries to grab purses or valuables from anyone he can. He’s a menace but he’s mostly left me and the kids alone. Probably because the one time he tried to come toward us I reminded him that I knew how to surgically remove his balls and it scared him away. Except, that was during broad daylight with people around. This time of night, I doubt I’m going to get that lucky.
The minute he places himself in front of me, forcing me to stop, I know I’m right.
“Give me your money, bitch,” he rasps, with enough force in his voice I’m sure he’s practiced to make people comply.
“Fuck off,” I growl at him. I tower over him by a good few inches, which makes him look up at me, eyes narrowed, as if trying to gauge how hard it’s going to be to take me. “Pick someone else to try and rob, because I’ve got nothing for you.”
“I don’t fucking believe you. I’ve seen you around. You’re that uppity nurse, which means you’ve got the good shit. So hand it over. Now.” A flash of steel glints in the street light. “Or I’ll start making you.”
Concern fills me because even with my size, I don’t know that I can avoid a knife, but it’s quickly replaced with anger. The stress of the night has me running my mouth instead of backing down. “Do I fucking look like I have anything on me?” I bark at him. “With how tight these stupid scrubs are, you can clearly see I don’t have anything in my pockets. So turn around and leave me the hell alone.”
Anger morphs his expression. Shit. I immediately go up on the balls of my feet, but before he can swipe at me with his knife, a deep voice says, “You wouldn’t be thinking of stabbingthis nice lady now, would you, Roger? I thought I made it clear what would happen if I caught you trying to rob innocent people again.”
Roger’s entire demeanor shifts, and he steps away from me instantly. “I wasn’t doing nothin’, Frost,” he rushes out, and I see him slide his knife back into his pocket, lifting empty hands to the man who comes to stand next to me, and then another man comes to stand on the other side of me. The menace coming from both of them has me instantly on edge.
Who the hell are they?
“See, that’s where you’ve fucked up, Roger, because I know that you’ve been pulling this shit the last couple of days. You’ve managed to avoid me, but now?—”
