Page 19 of Exile
When Theo and Avery finally separate, I swoop in and capture her mouth in a quick kiss, biting her bottom lip.
"Come on, little killer. Time to go fuck shit up."
Chapter 8
Theo
To none of our surprise, we're the last to arrive at the hall for lunch.
Grey mutters something about joining us shortly, and I give a quickwhatevernod before leading Avery over to our usual table, fingers still firmly entwined.
She watches Grey closely as he approaches another table in the middle of the room, full of people from their little club. I supposeour clubnow. I wasn't given much choice in the membership, but I'll follow Avery wherever she goes.
Circus society—whatever they call it. It's all the same to me.
There's an unsightly amount of knockoff SWAT guards lined up against the wall, covering every entrance and exit to the hall. Their beady eyes scan the hall like metronomes, hands hovering over their weapons.
I'm not sure what bullshit story Whittingham has fed them, but I wouldn't be surprised if they got trigger happy and started shooting up the place at the first misplaced sign of commotion.
Tension is thick. People aren't stupid though. Even the most ignorant patients here would be able to sense trouble—if the blood splatter in the corridor didn't give it away.
People keep their heads down, chattering among themselves as they pick at the poor excuse for food that's barely fit for human consumption. Avery can sense it too—not bothering to join the tiny queue to grab some lunch.
She keeps flickering her gaze to Grey, spare hand clenched tightly in a ball as she waits for him to re-join us. I can tell she's worried that the guards may accidentally—or deliberately—shoot him, but if Damon can survive a gunshot wound, I'm sure Grey would be fine too.
"Are you going to eat?" I ask her.
"No," she answers with a small shake of her head. "You should though."
When I don't respond, just raising an eyebrow at her clear self-abandonment, she turns her attention to me. A smile suddenly breaks out on her face, as if she's forgotten about the babysitters watching us.
I admire that after everything she's been through, she's still able to beam as happily as she does. It uses less muscles to frown, and frankly, giving minimal effort to people is more rewarding.
But not to Avery.
I suppose after her brief trip away from this madhouse, she's probably feeling somewhat refreshed. Even five minutes away from the soul sucking void would be a breath offresh air. I'm glad she was able to be away for one night—just a fucking shame there was a price we all had to pay to achieve that.
Damon is fine though. I've been briefed on his situation and from what I understand, Avery and Grey are stepping into his place as locum. They are organizing a meeting straight away since there's no telling what the Lilydale cunts will do next.
I thought my family was messed up. Apparently, Damon's is on a whole other level. My parents abandoned me—a surprisingly better alternative than firing a bullet into my abdomen.
"You should eat," I tell her firmly. Despite my tone, she just smiles brighter, immune to my deadly demeanor.
"I ate my weight in hospital food," she says proudly. "It was better than the shit they are serving here on a daily basis."
"As long as it wasn't—"
"Don't say pineapple on pizza," she interjects. "You're wrong. Just admit it."
I snort, giving her a rare smile. "Make me, Avery."
Rolling her eyes and dismissing the challenge, her cheeks still turn pink. "Why don't you make me?"
I'm ready to pick up what she's throwing down, or rather, throw her down onto the table, but Grey climbing onto the real metal version grabs everyone's attention.
"Listen up," he says loudly to the room. It falls quiet immediately, and when the guards tense up and focus on him, Avery sucks in a nervous breath. I squeeze her hand for support, silently reassuring her that they are nothing more than gutless spectators, probably terrified of their own dicks. "A situation has gone down. Stay vigilant and keep together. Do not allow staff totrick youinto false promises. If you see anything worth reporting, see me immediately."
It's short and sweet, the sound of his heavy landing echoing around the quiet room as he jumps off the table and makes a beeline for us.
