Page 79 of Avenging Devil: Part 2

I don’t. Without Niran, I’m nervous, but I don’t want to continue talking about things lost to me now, so I give a half-hearted nod.

First, she leads me into that fabulous kitchen and makes us both a coffee. For once, I’m not the one drinking decaf. She takes care cleaning up after herself. Then we return to the clubroom. Apollo, Swift’s dog, is lying on the couch. He raises his head as we walk in.

Cat scoots him away and then invites me to sit. Noting how new looking the couch is, I remark how it all looks fresh. Chuckling, she explains that it was all part of the renovations, when her man blew the old clubhouse up. She’s got a twinkle in her eye when she says it, but that’s followed by remembered pain. Then, she tells me the whole story.

“You saw him fall?” My eyes go wide imagining it.

“God, yes.” She winces. “I never want to go through that again—Stormy slip-sliding down the building which was on fire and collapsing around him.”

She seems so put together, that when she tells me the whole of her story, I wonder how the hell she can appear so serene. My eyes widen with horror as she explains she’d been kidnapped and raped, yet had come through, all down, apparently, to her beloved Stormy. My jealousy of her healthy pregnancy fades. After what she’s been through, she deserves everything. I open up a little to tell her in PG terms about where my fear of motorcycle clubs stems from. This is someone who can understand, though she didn’t suffer for five long years.

We also discuss Niran’s condition, and I’m pleased to find she knows what she’s doing and has some helpful tips on how to make him more comfortable. Which includes making sure he takes his pain meds, however much of a man he tries to be about it.

Cat’s good company, and fast becomes someone I could call a friend, and if I do keep stealing wistful glances toward her swollen belly, who’s going to criticise me for it.

I’m smiling and laughing when a door slams back against a wall, and men’s voices sound. I spin around. Cat shoots out her hand and rests it on my arm.

“Believe me,” she says firmly. “These men would rather cut off their hands then harm a woman.”

But an ingrained fear is hard to overcome, and my heart beats wildly until I see Niran following the rest. He sees me, and directly wheels himself over. In his path, Apollo gets to his feet with a sigh and moves. When he spies his mistress, he bounds across.

“You want a drink, Niran?” someone yells out.

As he opens his mouth, Cat leans forward, saying primly, “Not on those painkillers.”

Niran chuckles, not taking umbrage. “You’re right, of course.”

Satisfied, Cat gets to her feet and goes to greet her old man. Niran takes my hand. “You doing okay?” His eyes examine me carefully.

“I think so.” Then I try to say more brightly, “How was your meeting?”

“Strange,” he says, enigmatically. “It’s a different bunch of brothers here, and I’ve yet to get to know them.”

Suddenly everyone starts to stand and move off in the direction of the kitchen.

“Hurry,” Rascal says, moving past us. “You don’t want to miss out.”

Niran raises an eyebrow at me, and we start following the others.

Well, colour me shocked. Behind the kitchen is an area I haven’t seen, another new construction if I’m not mistaken. It’s laid out like a restaurant. A buffet is on the left as we walk in.

In something of a state of shock, I take two plates and put a small portion on mine, and a much larger one on Niran’s. Hot damn, this smells good. We find a table set out for four, and having placed our food down, I move away one of the chairs. Niran smiles his thanks at me.

I’m too keyed up to be hungry, but as I put my fork to my lips, I know I’ve rarely eaten this well before. It surpasses the meals my father’s live-in cook served while I was growing up.

Swift and her man, Road, take seats at our table, and Road looks across as a soft moan of appreciation escapes my mouth. He chuckles.

“Yeah, I was surprised when I first arrived. Cowboy,” he jerks his head toward the man in the kitchen area, “was a top Navy chef. He’s used to cooking gourmet meals for Admirals, and now he’s cooking for us.”

“No starter today though, and this is pretty standard fare,” Swift remarks. The two share a satisfied glance which I don’t understand.

Standard? I wonder what happens when Cowboy pulls out the stops. Bewildered, I just carry on eating. I so did not expect to be served top-notch food in a motorcycle club.

After our meal, we relocate to the clubroom, and Swift brings us some drinks from the bar, non-alcoholic for us both, Niran, because of his painkillers, me by choice. When Cat, Stormy and Road join us, I realise what’s different. I can hear myself think, and conversation is easy.

I become suspicious about how quiet it is. The music plays softly. Men are drinking, for sure, playing pool and darts, and there’s a card game going on. But it’s tame, and apart from me, Cat and Swift, there are no women around.

I lean toward Cat. “Are they doing this for me?”

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