Page 13 of Hostile Saint

My eyes were locked on the bags of food. There were only three of us, yet Prez was holding four overstuffed bags and a tray of drinks. I had never seen so much food, ever.

Noticing my stare, Prez gazed down to his armful. “Uh, Elle says this shit will kill me, but since you are unkillable, I figured, why not.”

I didn’t know who Elle was, but his words made me smirk because I liked to hear I was a badass.

“Ah, shit,” chuckled VP, “this kid has an ego already.” He accusingly eyed Prez. “Reminds me of a little fucker I used to know.”

Now I really smiled. I didn’t know why at the time, but being compared to Prez made my heart soar.

Pushing away the dangerous feelings, I asked, “Who’s Elle?”

He set the bags next to me. “A goddess who rocks my ever-loving world.”

I teased, “You got you a Pretty Girl, Prez?”

Digging in a bag, he replied, “Kid, you have no idea.” Next to me on my operating table, he laid out every kind of burger McDonald’s offered. “The most beautiful woman you’ll ever see.”

Desperate to grab some food, I shook my head. “Nah. That title belongs to Lacey.”

He gestured to the buffet of grease. “Eat so you have the energy to handle my delivered ass beating. Elle is queen. The end.”

“Dude.” Talking to Prez, VP hand-waved to my abundance of injuries. “Ass beating talk? Too soon, moron.”

I couldn’t help it. I started laughing. Which hurt.

Holding my stitched stomach, I laughed. “Why am I finding this so funny?”

Smiling, VP shrugged. “Because you’re on meds?”

Prez asked me, “They too strong? Do I need to hand-feed you? Because no one wants that. I’m not gentle.”

That’s how it was with these men. They didn’t get all emotional. They poked fun at a very sad and depressing situation, then carried on. I appreciated that. Dissecting my life wasn’t on the top of any to-do list. That spot belonged to Lacey. So, I grabbed a burger and took a huge bite. Instantly, my eyes slid shut as I chewed. “It’s so warm.”

Instead of making my comment stranger than it was, Prez said, “If you like warm—” his brows bunched at VP who had an alleging stare. “What? I wasn’t going to talk about pussy, you dirty bastard. I was going to tell the kid about needing to eat the fries first.”

Not letting go of the best burger I had ever had, I dug in a bag for some fries. Slightly appalled, VP and Prez watched as I shoved a handful into my mouth.

I moaned. Then tried to talk around all the food, “Oh. Yu rit. So goo’.”

VP couldn’t take his eyes off me. “Holy shit, feeding him is going to break the bank.”

Prez, smiling, shook his head as he put a straw in a Coke and handed it to me. “Wash that impressive mouthful down before you choke.”

After sucking on the straw and swallowing the mouthful, I asked, “If I give you my first paycheck, can I have more of this food?”

He opened another bag. “We’ll worry about that shit later. For now, eat all you want. You need energy to heal. And Doc wants you on your feet after this.”

“Sure. I can do that. I heal real quick.” I shoved the rest of my burger in my mouth and started to chew until I saw their shocked expressions. “What?”

VP seemed to struggle for words but recovered, saying, “What sauce do you like with your chicken nuggets?”

Totally intrigued, I swallowed my mouthful of burger. “I have no idea. What are my choices?”

Prez snarled, “Kid, what did you normally eat?”

Proudly, I smiled. “Ramen Noodles. I can get a whole case for like three bucks.”

He gestured to a counter across the room. “Dagger, lay out every sauce I got. Let’s use his hunger to our advantage.”