Doc (The Kings of Mayhem MC Tennessee 2)

What the hell is wrong with me?

Have I lost my goddamn mind?

My palms find the rock-hard muscles of his chest, and I push him away.

“I assure you I’m not interested in enticing you to do anything,” I snap. “I just want to get out of this alive. And if you want the same thing, then when they leave, you’ll listen to what I have to say, and you’ll listen good.”

Not waiting for an answer, I turn and leave the room.

Jerk.

DOC

Just before the sun dips below the horizon, Max gets ready to leave the hotel with Sunshine, Bluebell, and a glaring Otto in tow.

“Do I need to remind you about the perils of trying to escape?” he asks before he leaves.

I give him a blank look. “Now, why would I escape when you’re letting me walk out that front door as soon as Odin is out of the woods?”

He hasn’t said one word to me about defecting from the Kings and joining the Inferno as their medic. But knowing Max’s love for fucking with people, I figure it’s all a part of the game.

He looks amused. “I’m pleased to see we’re on the same page.”

Inwardly, I scoff.

We’re not on the same page.

We’re not even in the same damn book.

But in the meantime, I need him to think we are.

Tonight, when they’re gone, I’m going to figure a way out of this cage I’m trapped in, and I’m going to break free.

As if he can read my mind, Max pauses in the doorway.

“Just a word of warning, my men are skilled marksmen. Everyone in the Inferno is. You step one foot outside this building, and they’ll shoot your goddamn legs off.”

His grin is a sickening blend of evil and smugness, and I consider planting my fist right in the middle of his face.

But I don’t.

In fact, I remain perfectly still.

“I don’t doubt they will,” I say, unnerved.

Our eyes linger. He’s trying to rattle me, but I won’t react to his attempt at dominance.

When he doesn’t move, I lift an eyebrow. “Are you waiting for a kiss goodbye?”

I’m pushing my luck with my insolence, but in a weird way, I think Max respects it. He just grins and with an amused chuckle, pats me on the cheek before he walks out the door.

“We’ll be back at first light,” Otto says gruffly as he brushes past me.

Going by the scowl on his face, he doesn’t want to leave Lily behind with me. I have a feeling if he had his way, she’d already be barefoot and pregnant with his babies and chained to the kitchen sink.

I look over at her, and she gives me a stony look.

After our earlier encounter, things are tense between us.

Which is fine by me.

She doesn’t need to waste her time pretending to help me. Even if she is afraid of Max, which I suspect she is, I have no intention of letting my guard down and including her in my plans. Chances are she’ll run to Daddy and tell him.

No. It’s better to go this alone.

As I watch Max and his band of merry men and women drive away from this hellhole, I check out the view. It’s the first time I’ve seen outside these walls. I step onto the front steps to quickly take in what I see—a long-graveled driveway, a fence in the distance, and a road beyond that. All around us, tall trees sway in the cold winter breeze.

Out of nowhere, one of Max’s guards suddenly appears in front of me.

“Inside, asshole,” he says, shoving me in the chest and slamming the door shut behind me.

I turn to see Lily watching me from the front desk.

“Now, what do we do?” she asks.

“We don’t do anything,” I say as I walk past her and head down the hall, pushing open the doors as I go.

She follows me. “Seems to me that we’re both in the same predicament. Wouldn’t it make sense for us to work together?”

I open another door and peer inside. “See, that’s the problem, sweetheart. I’m a go-it-alone kind of guy.”

“What does that even mean?”

I stop walking and look at her. “It means I don’t play well with others.”

She folds her arms. “Yet, you belong to a motorcycle club.”

“I know, crazy, right?”

She rolls her eyes, and when I start walking again, she follows. “Listen, don’t you think it’s better if we work our way out of here together? You know, the whole two-heads-are-better-than-one scenario and all that jazz?”

“And risk you running to Daddy and telling him our plans? No thanks.”

She stops walking and curls her fists at her sides. “Oh my God, you are the most frustrating man I have ever met.”

I can’t help but smile because I half expect her to stomp her foot like a spoiled brat throwing a tantrum. But she doesn’t. Instead, she narrows her eyes and uses them to shoot poison arrows at me. “Are you seriously smiling right now?”