Page 11 of Hell Yes

Sam nodded in understand.

“And one other thing,” Jesse added.

“Yes?” Sam replied as he wiped his brow.

“We need our food.”

“Come again?”

“We placed an order. And we ain’t leaving until we get it. We got a sick cook and hangry brothers at home.”

Sam nodded, still dazed and confused. “Oh, right. Val, can you go to the kitchen and?—”

She nodded, glared at Xander and Jesse, and stomped off.

A few minutes later, she returned, pushing a cart with twenty bags on it.

“Can you take it out to our truck, sweetheart?” Xander asked.

“Take it yourself,” Val bit back, left the cart, then turned and walked to stand beside Sam.

Her face was bright red, but she was looking anywhere but at them.

“Sam, drop by the compound tonight, eight sharp,” Jesse demanded. “You got it?”

Sam nodded.

Nothing more needed to be said.

CHAPTER 4

VAL

An hour after the bikers left—all of them—Val was still shaken up but surprisingly, still holding strong.

She’d only seen guns used in farming or hunting, not aimed at people. Sure, plenty of farmers around town rode around with their guns, but that was different. Not like these bikers.

They’re gone, you’re okay.

She kept repeating that over and over until she believed it.

Not that she would forget, mind. Her stomach heaved a few times thinking about the Krypt crew’s threat.

You’re safe again, it’s all right.

Sam was okay too. Maybe.

While she was grateful for the intervention of the two local bikers, she knew that it had a price. One that Sam was going to have to pay.

Sam called in his spare cook, Callie, since he was too upset to work alone. Val was grateful. Callie was a hard worker, talkative where Val was mostly silent. Which worked out well, Callie chatted, and Val did what she did best, listen.

Sam sat in the first booth and nursed a big glass of whiskey, neat.

Val didn’t drink. She preferred to work off her nerves by cleaning.

Even though Sam looked like he should go home, he told Val he was fine. She didn’t believe him, but she let it go. He knew his own mind.

After all, Sam was the only person she had that was like family. Him and Rochelle. But Rochelle was part of the Hellraisers, and Val learned to keep her distance ever since she got settled here. As much as she respected Rochelle as a woman and would always be thankful that she’d brought her to Longford, Val wasn’t keen on the bikers Rochelle lived with. Val had heard all kinds of local gossip about drugs and parties. She didn’t judge but she didn’t understand either. So, it was better to leave her friendship with Rochelle where it was.