And another.

Each press of his lips sends a delightful shiver down my spine and branches out, following each vein to the tip of every limb.

“Are you all right?” He asks, his lips delicately brushing my skin.

“Yes.” I say, cringing at my lie. “It’s a little hot in there, that’s all.”

Jai gives me a little squeeze. He doesn’t believe me, but at least he doesn’t make me tell him the truth. Being pathetic in my own head is one thing. Saying it out loud is another thing entirely.

“Can we go home?” He whispers, gifting me with another kiss.

Home.

It sounds so nice. I’ve never really had a home—or at least I haven’t had a home that feels like the lake house does.

The lake house is our home for one more night, at least.

A heavy cloud lingers over me, dispersing it's sadness onto me with a torrential downpour. I’m not ready for this to be finished. I’m not ready to lose my only home.

I nod. “Let’s go.”

****

“Joel’s finished?” Ted asks as he crosses the parking lot with Huss in tow.

Rocks crunch and grind together underneath their boots, taking over the sounds of nature.

“No.” Jai states, lifting the car keys chest high.

With a click of the button, the car’s indicators flash and the doors click.

“He can walk back.”

Ted and Huss march behind Jai who stormed inside to retrieve them in case things take a turn for the worst...again. Even though they’re here on Joel’s invite, Jai feels responsible for them. We’ve already established that both Huss and Ted are grown men who are capable of making their own decisions, but Jai doesn’t see it like that. He wants to look after them and make sure they're safe. He can’t bear to shoulder a heavier conscience so he carries all of the responsibility and refuses to share it.

Typical Jai.

“Maybe we should wait a little while longer for Joel...I don’t think he should walk alone.” I say as the men come to a stop in front of me.

“No.” Jai gives me a dark look as he reaches around me and opens the passenger door to the front seat. “Get in.”

I scowl at him, keeping my feet planted where I stand.

“She has a point.” Ted interjects. “Walking back isn’t safe for him.”

“Need I remind you he brought us here on our last night under false pretenses? We had guns pointed in our faces. We had threats made against us—insults hurled at us and you want to wait for him because you’re concerned for his safety?” Jai shakes his head. “I’m tired, I’m angry and I want to go home. Now, you can either come with me or accompany Joel’s ungrateful ass on the walk home.”

I open my mouth and Jai lifts a finger to silence me. His black eyes terrifying through their aggressive slits. “You don’t get a choice. You’re coming with me regardless.”

Sighing, I climb into the car. Leaving Joel to walk on his own isn’t a good idea and I know it’s one Jai will regret for the rest of his life if something happens. He knows it. We all know it. Sadly, he hasn't left it up for discussion. Jai has made his choice and once he makes his choice, there’s nothing anyone can do.

“Well, I sure as shit ain’t walking.” Huss announces, limping toward the back door. “Dragging my ass out here and for what? Screw him.”

Ted steps closer to Jai. Shadows settle in the hollows of his face, his lips turning down as he angles his head to the side. “Jai...give him another ten minutes. Ten. That’s all.”

Jai pushes my door and it slams shut. Thankfully, Huss still has his open so I can hear every word. Not that it matters. As soon as I strain my ears to listen, Huss engages me in conversation.

“These brothers...” Huss groans over the click of his seat belt. “They have a death wish.”

I twist in my seat, glancing over its shoulder. “And yet you’re still here. Why is that?”

He hesitates—not obviously—but I see the slight twitch of his bottom lip and the words that lodge themselves in his throat for the briefest second. “Because I’ve got nothing better to do.”

My brows furrow. Nothing better to do? Risking your life is better than having nothing else to do? At least he has a choice. I, on the other hand, don’t. This is my life at the moment. I can’t opt out, despite how desperately I wish I could sometimes.

Huss clears his throat as I straighten in my seat.

“How fortunate for you.” I mutter, folding my arms tightly across my chest.

He simpers. "Where are you going to be tomorrow night? Locked up in that big old house by yourself?"

"If Jai has it his way, yes."

I turn my attention out the window as Ted drags his hands down his face. “All right. I knew, okay?”

His voice is muffled, but I hear it.

Uh-oh.

I shift forward, leaning closer to the glass, desperate to clarify what I just heard. Ted knew? Ted knew about tonight? How could he not tell us?

Jai inches closer, his hands squeezed into fists at his side. “What’d you say?”

Ted lowers his head, his proud shoulders slumping forward. “I knew about tonight. I knew he was going to come here and recruit Joker’s men for the job tomorrow.”

Jai whips around, his large frame tense and tight, and takes three aggressive steps before turning and storming right back to Ted.

“You knew? You knew and you didn’t tell me?” Jai demands, his voice well above the acceptable level for this kind of conversation this time of night.

“I’m sorry, man. He told me not to tell you. He knew you wouldn’t be down for it.”

“We could have been killed!”

“But we weren’t.”

My forehead presses against the glass.

“That remains to be seen. Do you forget who these people are?”

“I know who they are.”

“Obviously you have no fucking clue.”

“Joel knows what he’s doing. We use the bikers as a distraction and then we go in and get the girl.”

Jai shakes his head. “You should have told me.”

He turns his back.

“Jai. C’mon, man. Don’t do this.” Ted curves his hands around his mouth to help project his voice as Jai rounds the front of the car.

“Jai! It’s a two hour walk.”

Jai snatches his door open, drops himself into the car, and slams the door shut. Huss and I remain silent, not daring to add to the hurricane of anger swirling around him. Without a word, he shoves the key into the ignition and turns the car on. Swallowing my panic, I reach for my seat belt and quickly pull it around me as he reverses. It clicks into place as Jai slams the car into drive and drops his foot against the accelerator. The tires spin the gravel, the sound loud and hoarse even from inside the car. Instinctively, my hands fly to my seat and I clench it as we zoom through the parking lot and out onto the road, leaving Joel and Ted behind.

Eleven

****

Firsts

Jai

The garage door rolls to a close behind us. I twist the key in the ignition, shutting down the car, and drop my head against the steering wheel with a heavy sigh. I feel like shit—I feel worse than shit. I’ve gone to extreme lengths to save Joel. I’ve built my adult life around him…only to abandon him. Was it foolish of me to believe he’d be the same person I grew up with? Surely I had to know things would be different…

Emily and Huss simultaneously unclip their seat belts, but Emily stays put as Huss opens his door and slams it shut behind him, leaving Emily and I alone.

Good.

I want to be with her. Alone.

I lift my head and watch as Huss accesses the house through the white door in the far left corner of the garage and disappears. I watched him on and off on the car ride home. He’ll never admit it, but he’s shaken up. The way he'd grind his teeth and swallow harshly...nervousness is hitting him hard. I'm nervous too. We're doing this thing tomorrow and we still don't know the fucking plan.