Arson’s eyes are on me as he waves his hand at Silver. Silver instantly starts moving and messing up the previously clean and organized space. Things crash and fall as he opens and moves things. I manage not to show any reaction, but the fury that’s filling me is nearly ready to burst. Fuck them.
“You know what I think,” Arson says in a low, dangerous voice. “I think you’re a rat for Vlad and you’re in here trying to give information to him so you can fuck us over.” His eyes are cold and foreboding as he stares at me. Then his hand grabs my arms and yanks me hard so that I’m against him. I barely manage to keep from struggling or kneeing the fucker in the balls, but if he doesn’t let me go, then all bets are off. “And I’m going to get the truth out of you one way or another.”
“I’ll make her talk,” Silver offers, leering at me. “She’ll be singing like a pretty canary when I’m done.”
“You better start talking, bitch, or I’m going to let him have a go at you.”
“You have two seconds to let me go,” I warn him, staring him straight in the eye. “You have a problem with me, you can talk to Bullet. Otherwise, get the fuck out of this room.” Respect and protocol be damned. I’m not about to let this fucker, or any of them, talk or treat me this way.
The reaction is instant. Arson’s grip on me is so tight that I know he’s going to leave bruises. The fury in his eyes is overpowering, but I manage to keep from buckling under it by wrapping my own anger around me. I’ve faced down worse men than this prick. “You fucking cunt,” he hisses, and I see the hand rise out of the corner of my eye, as well as Silver crowding closer and his own hands gripping my hair, as if to hold my head in place for the hit that’s about to come.
Even now, I know it’s a practiced move, and one I won’t be able to dodge.
The slap to my face is loud in my ears, and the pain that follows has my vision going dark. It stuns me enough to keep from reacting or lashing out myself. My head whips to the side, but it’s quickly yanked painfully back, and another blow lands, before Arson snarls, “I’m going to fucking enjoy making you pay for your disrespect, cunt. You know how I keep the women in my club in line? You’re about to find out.”
Yeah, not happening. None of this bullshit is going to happen. They got two in, and they won’t get another fucking one.
A roar fills the space so loud that everyone freezes, including me. It’s raw, furious, and almost feral sounding. Or maybe my brain is a little scrambled from those hits.
Arson and Silver release me, but only just in time to be tossed away from me with such force that I hear things crashing, before groans of pain. I blink, staring at the large man in front of me, his body seeming to grow with every enraged step toward theirprone bodies on the floor. I hear steps running and suddenly the room is full of people, but none of them are in time to stop Hulk’s fists as they slam into both men.
Vaguely, I’m impressed that he’s managing to go after both men, but the more logical side of me worries he’s going to pull his stitches. Shit.
“Hulk, stop!” I scream, but over the roars of anger, people yelling, and others trying to pull him off them, it’s lost. I want to step forward, but something tells me that’d be a very stupid idea.
Finally, Viper, Frost, and Crypt get Hulk off them, with Bullet and Sniper standing between him and the two men who look like they’ve gone a few rounds with the champs, blood covering their faces, the wall behind them, and dripping to the floor. A few of the Misfits push their way in, with one of them at the front of the pack. He takes in the scene, but says nothing until they get Arson and Silver off the floor.
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 makesa 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 toa 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?”
