Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Elaina
When I finally felt collected enough to leave the room I shared with Alejandro, the clubhouse was eerily quiet.
Frowning because in my experience, clubhouses weren’t quiet, I wrapped my arms around my midsection and made my way down the hall.
The bar room was empty. No one was behind the bar, and there wasn’t even a single soul sitting in the living area to watch TV. Even Alejandro and Miguel were missing.
A feeling of dread settled in my gut, making me uncomfortable. My chest tightened. Had Alejandro left me here with people I didn’t know? With people I, quite frankly, didn’t fucking trust? I barely trusted Alejandro, but I trusted him a hell of a lot more than I trusted a bunch of bikers.
I’d rather be on the run again than be surrounded by men in another motorcycle club. I knew the Sons of Hell weren’t on the right side of the law, and the fact that I didn’t know what illegal trades they dabbled in left me feeling sick to my stomach.
Alejandro wouldn’t have paid three million fucking dollars to free me and then abandon me, would he? He didn’t seem like the type, but hell, what the fuck did I know?
Joey emerged from the hall that the chapel was down, and he paused, seeming surprised to see me.
I shuffled awkwardly on my feet, unsure what to do.
And honestly, he didn’t seem to know what to do either.
The two of us just stood there, staring at each other.
But when my stomach rudely—and embarrassingly—rumbled with hunger, he seemed to come unfrozen and a small smile tilted his lips.
Fuck, he was gorgeous when he smiled. Joey was already a handsome as hell man, but it was more of a beauty that was rough around the edges and chiseled from stone, so it wasn’t exactly smooth.
But when he smiled, he appeared about five years younger, and his dark eyes brightened, filling with warmth.
“Hungry?” he asked, moving toward the kitchen, waving his hand for me to follow.
Slowly, I did, dragging my feet as we walked behind the bar and into the kitchen.
“You didn’t eat much for breakfast.” Opening a pantry, he hummed, then glanced at me.
“I’m a shit cook, but I can make a mean bowl of ramen noodles. ”
Much to my dismay, my lips quirked with amusement. “Ramen noodles is fine,” I told him quietly. I’d never had ramen noodles, even though I knew it was a cheap meal. I cleared my throat. “Do you have water or something?”
He nodded, closing the pantry door now that he had a pack of beef-flavored ramen noodles in his hand.
“Check behind the bar. There should be water there. There’re also sodas in the fridge.
Or there’s beer. Liquor, too,” he said, grabbing a bowl out of one of the cabinets.
“Pick your poison.” I turned to go get a water when he said, “Hey, do you want them crushed?”
I frowned, looking back at him. “Huh?”
He held up the packet of noodles. “Do you want them crushed? Leave it whole? Break it in half or quarters? How do you take your noodles?”
My cheeks heated with embarrassment. “Uhm… surprise me,” I told him. “I’ve never…” My voice trailed off.
He shrugged and turned back to what he was doing as if someone my age never having eaten ramen noodles was normal.
My heart clenched in my chest. He didn’t seem to make a big deal out of anything.
Hadn’t flinched when I was brought into his life bruised and nearly naked.
Hadn’t grown angry at my rudeness earlier during breakfast. Did anything faze this man?
“Crushed it is. It’s how I prefer it. Makes it easier to eat.”
The sound of him crushing the noodles beneath the heel of his hand echoed behind me as I left the kitchen.
Right behind the bar on the floor was an opened case of water.
Kneeling, I tugged one free, then uncapped it and greedily gulped it down.
I hadn’t realized how thirsty I actually was.
I knew drinking it so fast might give me a stomachache, but God, I was so dehydrated.
After tossing the empty bottle into the trash, I grabbed another one, then slipped back into the kitchen.
The room smelled like the ramen noodles, which were slowly cooking in the microwave.
Joey was leaning against the counter with a packet of lemon-flavored cookies sitting next to him.
He pushed the pack toward me a little. “Want some? I’m addicted to them.
My sister has to hide the extra packs so I won’t eat all of them in one day. ”
I snorted and moved closer, reaching in to grab a cookie. As soon as I bit into it, my eyes widened at the sweetness, and my mouth watered almost painfully. Joey grinned at me as I chewed, and I swore, my heart fucking stopped for a second. That grin was disarming. It could end entire damn wars.
“Good, right?” he asked.
I nodded and swallowed the cookie before drinking a little more water. “Super sweet.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, they are. Want another one?” I shook my head.
He shrugged one broad shoulder and tugged the pack of cookies closer to him once again.
“Suit yourself, girly.” He jerked his chin in the direction of the kitchen door.
“Why don’t you go ahead and hop onto a barstool out there? Food will be done in a few seconds.”
Nodding, I left the kitchen, then took a seat at the bar. Just as he said, a few seconds later, he emerged with the bowl and a spoon. He set both in front of me. “Eat up. It’s hot though, so make sure you blow on it.”
I scowled at him. “I’m not a toddler.”
He laughed softly. “Didn’t say you were, Elaina. Just wanted to be courteous and warn you. I’ve been eating those things all my fucking life, and I still get stupid and burn the roof of my mouth and tongue at least once a week.”
I snorted a small laugh and picked up the spoon. He began walking away, heading for the chapel again. “Thank you for the food,” I called after him.
He waved me off, not bothering to turn around. “No problem, Elaina. If you want more, just come get me. We have more flavors than just beef. Beef is just my favorite. Wanted you to try it first.”
My stomach did that weird flip thing again, but before I could respond, he was already in the chapel, and I could hear the door clicking shut behind him.
I didn’t know what’d changed between us since that morning, but I couldn’t deny that I liked the shift. I might not trust the other people in Joey’s club, but I could see myself trusting Joey. And I was surprised to find I wanted to trust him.
Christ. How the fuck was I already beginning to crush on two men? I needed to focus on healing and standing on my own two feet. Getting involved in any kind of way with Alejandro or Joey wasn’t something I needed to be worried about right then.
But still… a small part of me couldn’t help but wonder what it might be like to be taken care of by two men who would do anything in the world to protect me.
I quickly shook that thought away. No. Even if that was something any of us wanted, they didn’t deserve to be saddled with me. Not right then. I was broken and fragile, no matter how strong of a front I put up.
I needed to focus on me. And I couldn’t rely on anyone else to fix me.