“You all get out there and keep an eye on things,” Bullet orders, a pointed look at the remaining three men. “I’d like to talk to Avery alone for a moment.”
They all nod, and head out without another word, shutting the door behind them. I look at Bullet for a moment and finally blurt out, “I know you’re probably mad at me but?—”
“Avery,” Bullet interrupts quickly. I snap my mouth shut, stiffening as he moves to the end of the bed, putting his hands on the footboard and staring at me with an expression that I can’t quite decipher. “You have my gratitude for more than you will ever understand,” he tells me firmly. “Without you, Hulk would not be here. We would still be turning this city upside down to find him, and we’d have probably been too late. So you have nothing to worry about from me. You or those two kids you’re raising.” He gives me a wry smile. “But just so you know, my Old Lady is in the habit of adopting any of the kids that step foot in here, so you’re going to have to share them with her forever.”
“Something tells me they aren’t going to fight that too much,” I reply with a slight smile. I glance down at Hulk, whose face has now gone slack as he sleeps, his mouth slightly open as his head lays on my right breast. I should probably be annoyed or freaked out about this, but instead, I absently run my fingers gently through his hair, being careful not to touch the spots that bothered him earlier. It’s kind of sweet.
“Look, I’m going to be honest with you. With everything going on, we need you and the kids to stay here until we know that Vlad and Nikolai are taken care of. That means no work for you, and no school for the kids. I know it’s not ideal for you but?—”
“No, it’s not,” I interject. “But I also know that it’s necessary. I won’t do anything to put the kids at risk, but I need to know. Are we safe here with you?” I pin him with a hard look. The unspoken warning hang between us. If we’re not, fuck him andhis club. I’ll take them and run. I’m done with them being in danger.
Bullet’s quiet for a moment before he finally answers, “I’m not going to lie to you, Avery. Shit is going down, and there is only so much I can assure you, but know that I will ensure the safety of those two kids, and I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. We’re going up against the Russians, and we’ve just breached their security to take out one of our men with your help. They are not going to be happy.”
Do I dare trust him? It feels like this is a major decision, one that might come back to bite me in the ass. Still, the practical side screams at me that we don’t have many other options. We have no family, no friends to rely on. On the other hand, staying here is a danger in itself, and with not everyone being on board that we’re here, it’s another layer of worry.
So what do we do?
I look down at Hulk, who’s still holding me tight. I also want to make sure I’m here to help him recover. I feel this pull toward him. This need to be close and heal him. It freaks me out. I’ve never felt this kind of reaction to a man before. Which is exactly why I can’t let him influence me to stay here.
When I look back at Bullet, he’s watching me. No pressure, just a quiet sincerity coming from his blue eyes. I think quickly of the past twenty-four hours, how they’ve stepped up to help me, to help my siblings. Maybe some of them aren’t happy we’re here, but practically, this is the only reasonably safe place we can be.
God, I hope I’m not making a mistake.
Finally, I nod, appreciating that he’s being honest with me. “I accept that. As long as you keep my brother and sister safe, I can work with anything else.”
“On that, I will give you a solemn promise. I’m going to have to ask you for one more favor.”
I already know where this is going. “You want me to help with Hulk and work with Medic while I’m here?”
He nods. “Your skill set is valuable, and with everything going on, Medic is going to need help. Since you won’t be working, after this is all over, we can look at paying?—”
“No,” I interrupt. “No, if I’m here and you’re helping us, then it’s the least I can do to help out. We can sort anything else out later. For now, I’ll help out where I’m needed.” And maybe I can finally start figuring out why I’m so pulled to the man currently holding me like he’s terrified to lose me.
He nods. “Alright, thank you.” He glances at Hulk and something in his eyes hardens. “We have some plans to make. Until we know how things are going to go down with the Russians, I’m going to assign a guard to you and the kids. We want to make sure that they can’t get on the grounds and surprise us.”
“Will this guard get in my way while I’m working?”
He shakes his head. “On the whole, no, but if something happens and he has to intervene to keep you safe, then I expect that you won’t fight him.”
“I’m not one to fight when it comes to my life,” I assure him.
“Good. For now, I’m going to have Shadow in here with you.” He glances at my hair, and a smirk pulls at his lips. “And if we can, I’ll try to see if we can get someone in here to help you with that mess you got going on there.”
I give him a dry look. “Kind of you.” He chuckles. “Once I get out of here, I’ll have my sister help me with it. Until then, this is what you get.”
He chuckles. “As long as you don’t scare the shit out of Hulk, I don’t think it matters. I’ll see you later, and if you run into any trouble with him, all you have to do is yell.”
I nod and watch as he leaves. I turn my head and glance at the sleeping Hulk. I really should be trying to get away fromhim right now, but I’m not. Why? And why do I find it strangely comforting to be sitting here and being the comfort that he needs? That’s a worry for another day. Right now, I need to figure out how the hell I’m going to pull away from him without waking him and sending him into another frenzy.
CHAPTER TWENTY
BULLET
Time to give them a choice.
I walkinto Church to raised voices, fists pounding on the table, and a few people having to be kept apart. The majority of the men getting in each other’s faces were the Misfits getting heated with a couple of our brothers. My gaze whips around, and I see Arson sitting at the end of the table, with a pleased smirk on his face. On either side of him is Silver and Crow, while Angel, Dozer, and Magnum are up trying to pull away their men from ours.
I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but it’s over. Now.
