Page 134 of Hidden

Monster, to his credit, didn’t immediately back down. The poor stupid bastard had been the one to clean up the aftermath of Rachel’s murderous streak, and still he didn’t catch on.

“You’re butchering them,” he insisted, leaning in like he had a death wish. “There’s a technique to it.”

“There is,” Rachel agreed pleasantly, finally glancing up at him. “It’s all in the pressure. Too much, and you take chunks. Too little, and you’re there all day. You’ve got to find that sweet spot where it just… slides.”

She demonstrated as she spoke, the blade moving smoothly, another strip falling away in one clean motion.

“It’s actually quite satisfying,” she added, almost thoughtfully. “How easy it is, once you get the hang of it.”

Monster frowned at her. “You’re still talking about potatoes, right?”

Rachel’s smile widened. “Mostly.”

That got a snort out of me, because I already knew exactly where she was going with this, and judging by the way Dante pinched the bridge of his nose without even turning around, so did he.

“They’re softer than you’d think,” she went on, turning the potato in her hand and starting again. “Bikers, I mean. Everyone assumes they’re tougher because of all the ink and muscle and attitude, but once you get past that first layer…” She hummed lightly. “Not that different, really.”

Monster blinked at her.

“Right,” he said slowly. “So we’ve just gone straight back to skinning people, have we?”

“You brought it up,” she pointed out.

“I did not.”

“You did,” I cut in, lifting Rachel’s brew to my lips since she’d cruelly taken away mine. “You started talking about technique. She’s just elaborating.”

Monster looked between the two of us like we were the problem. “You’re both fucking insane.”

Rachel shrugged, completely unbothered. “I’ve been called worse.”

“Yeah, but not by me. I’ve always supported you. By him,” Monster said, jerking his thumb toward me.

“By everyone,” Dante corrected flatly, finally turning back toward us. “And yet somehow she keeps proving them right.”

Bee tapped something on her tablet and turned it slightly so Rachel could see, her mouth twitching in the faintest hint of a smile.

Rachel leaned over just enough to read it, then let out a soft laugh. “Exactly,” she said, reaching over to squeeze Bee’s shoulder briefly before going back to her potatoes. “At least someone here appreciates my talents.”

“What did you put?” I asked, craning my head to see the tablet. Bee pulled it close to her chest, scowling at me. I gave her a wink over the top of my cup and smirked into the drink.

“Women and their secrets, eh, Monster?”

“You think we keep secrets, do you?” Steph asked from her spot on the floor with Trex.

“Oh, cheers, mate,” he muttered dramatically, rolling his eyes and flopping back heavily in his seat. “That’s me in the doghouse.”

Axel let out a loud, triumphant “vroom!” from the floor as he launched one of his toy bikes straight into the leg of the table, completely oblivious to the conversation happening above him.

“Future Devil right there. When is he joining the Descendants?” I asked, watching him for a second.

“Give it a few years yet,” Dante grinned. “But he’ll be in that cut in no time, won’t you, buddy?” he said, bending down low to scoop up his son.

The room settled again after that, the noise folding back in on itself, conversations overlapping, the usual rhythm of the place reasserting itself like it always did.

I let it wash over me, content to be on the sidelines for once instead of acting the fool.

I had to take comfort in this. In what I was given. Because this was my life—and it was a pretty damned good fucking life. I had a family here. And despite wishing certain things were different, I knew that I had it so much better than most.