“I made freshly squeezed juice and threw together a nutritious omelet for you to share.”

“Ugh.” Emily falls back against the bed and covers her face with a spare pillow. “Pass.”

Joel shrugs and looks at me with a smile. “More for you.”

Sitting up, I reach for a glass of whatever the hell it is and pluck it off the tray. “Didn’t poison it, did you?”

Joel laughs as he runs his hands down the front of his black tee. “I’m not mad at you for last night, baby brother. I kept something from you and you ditched me. Now we’re even.”

That easy, huh? No apology? No fucking explanation? He’s not getting away with it. No way in hell. I sip at the juice and taste a variety of fruits and vegetables on the tip of my tongue. My taste buds revel in it, grateful to taste something fresh and smooth—something that wouldn’t be able power a vehicle on its fumes alone.

I shake my head. “We’re not even. We could have been killed.”

“But we weren’t.”

Sitting the drink down, I glare at him. “That’s beside the point. You lied to us. You risked our lives for your own gain.”

“And came out better because of it.” He rakes his hands over his face. “I did what I had to do to ensure you and Ted and Huss will survive tonight. I have made our chances in succeeding and surviving higher than what they were.”

I have made…

Have…

No. My stomach sinks like a stone into my intestines. Please tell me he didn’t go through with it.

“You didn’t.”

He nods, unapologetically. “The Twisted Sons will help us storm Skull’s compound tonight.”

I go to jump out of bed, then stop, remembering I’m butt naked underneath the sheet. “Are you fucking insane?”

“Apparently.” Joel says as he turns away from me and storms over to the door.

“They’ll betray you the second they get the chance.” I snap, grabbing my pillow and tossing it across the room. “Fuck! How can you not know that?”

Anger sets fire inside me and rages like an inferno. Emily’s soft hand wraps around my bicep and she snuggles closer to me, planting soft kisses on my shoulder blade.

Joel grips the handle on the door and steps out into the hallway.

With a confident look over his shoulder he says: “We’ll be gone before they even realize it. Italy. All of us.”

Oh, how fucking cute! How fucking naïve! He wants to jump on a plane and forget all about it? Can’t he see that if it was that simple I’d have done it already?

“These aren’t the kind of people who stop chasing you because you flew over an ocean, Joel.”

“Don’t you worry, little brother.” He tells me with a laugh. “I got it covered. All you have to do is rest and fuel yourself for tonight. If it all goes well, we’ll be on a plane to Italy by tomorrow morning.” He clicks his fingers and shuts the door, leaving me staring at the white wood.

I cannot stand that guy.

“I know it’s risky, Jai, but look on the bright side.” Emily mutters, drawing small circles on my back. “If it increases the chances of having you returned to me in one piece then I’m all for it.”

I exhale, focusing on the soft press of her lips against my shoulder and the feather light brush of her fingertips along my thigh. Maybe she’s right—maybe Joel is right.

My cock twitches, rising from its slumber, as her fingers dance toward my inner thigh. I lie back against my pillows and Emily shifts forward, pushing herself onto her knees and hooking a leg over my thighs to straddle my hips. Eagerly, the head of my penis presses into her flesh, begging her to let it inside her body.

“Do you want me?” She asks, running her palms over my chest and down my arms.

“I always want you.”

“Then you have to let Joel do whatever he can to get you back to me—even if it means teaming up with bad people to fight a common enemy.” She lowers her head to my chest, pressing her ear against my heart. “I know I shouldn’t depend on you so much...but I’ll disintegrate without you.”

I wrap my arm around her shoulders, the other around her head. I hate doing this to her—making her live in fear of losing the only person she’s let into heart, but I’ve got no choice. I am a man of my word...a man who’d do anything to help his family. As much as I don’t agree with Joel, I have to help him. I owe him. He dedicated those years of his life to raising Jessica and I on his own. I’ve got to give him something back.

“I love you.” I whisper into her hair.

Emily tilts her face up to mine. For a moment, we’re stuck in each other’s gazes, a meaningful silence holding us together.

Then she kisses me.

Hard.

So hard she sucks the air from my lungs and replaces it with the unrelenting urge to fuck. I crush her against me and she shifts her hips, letting my cock slide between us. Emily grinds her hips into me, sliding her perfect pussy along the underside of my shaft, milking me for all the precum I have. Despite all of this—despite the beat of her heart against mine, the warmth of her body, and the slick body fluids between us—I can’t shake the bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I can’t.

Fourteen

****

Bang

Emily

 

I swipe at a rogue tear as it spills over the rim of my eyes and rolls down my cheek. On the other side of the house, out on the back porch, the men talk tactics, changing their plan around to make room for Joker’s gang.

“We can go in through the back while Joker and his men take the front.” I hear Joel announce, followed by Jai’s agreement.

The day went fast—too fast for me to remember what I did. Jai and I spent a good portion of the day in bed, enjoying each other’s company, but we couldn’t be under the sheets forever. No matter how hard I tried to keep us there. Eventually, we had to join the rest of the men downstairs. I couldn’t stand the sight of the kitchen and sitting room when I saw it—I still can’t—which is why I’m sitting on the front porch, sulking into my stupid fruit and vegetable juice Joel keeps making for me. Guns, all different kinds of guns, grenades, and knives litter the house, drilling the fact this is real into my chest. This is my life. I’m caught up in some crazy nightmare, not a dream. Being at the lake house has clouded my view on this situation—being with Jai has watered down my fear.

Gangs.

Crime lords.

Psychopaths.

Murderers.

Am I even going to make it out of this alive? Are any of us? We’re four people against armies. The odds seem so slim.

The thunderous sound of motorcycles echo through the trees that surround our lake house, sending thick tendrils of dread burrowing through my chest.

The Twisted Sons are here.

Behind me, heavy boots thump through the house, getting closer and closer, until Huss, Ted, Joel, and Jai are all standing on the porch behind me. I dump my glass of juice in the wilting bush beside the step and jump to my feet as shiny hunks of metal and plastic spill out of the gap in the trees and filter onto our lawn. At least fifty of them, followed by eight vehicles that range in size, but are all black and bear the same raging bull logo.

I grab the hem of my black, long sleeved shirt and pull it lower around my plain belt buckle. My knees tremble as the men before us line their bikes up neatly and shut off their engines. They look so scary from here...all of their black fabric, leather and exposed ink. I rake them with my eyes and in the second row, third from the left, I see a hand wave at me. Pops, a.k.a. Crow. The fucker who wouldn’t help when Joker had his gun pressed to Joel’s head. I nod at him and quickly divert my eyes to the man on the most expensive looking motorcycle. He relaxes on his handle bars and tilts his head at us. He has a black bandana tied around his face with the bottom half of a skull printed on it and covering his eyes is a pair of reflective sunglasses.