“Don’t need it,” Miles said with a wink before disappearing out the door.
Emmett shook his head, smiling to himself. He was so damned happy for Miles. He deserved all the love in the world.
He walked to the bed on the left side, sitting down with a loud sigh. Nothing about today had gone the way he expected. Getting rushed out of the gym and riding behind Wilder were experiences he hadn’t foreseen acquiring.
He wasn’t quite sure what to think about Wilder and his flirting. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had flirted with him. In retrospect, perhaps he shouldn’t have liked it as much as he had. Perhaps he should’ve told Wilder to knock it off, but… he’d liked it. Despite himself, he’d liked Wilder’s attention. There was no way he could afford to let it go beyond harmless flirting, though. Even if he’d felt more alive in the past hour than he had in almost a year.
CHAPTER NINE
Wilder
THE SECOND he heard the sound of motorcycles coming up the driveway, he was out the door, shoulders tense as he watched everyone pull up. He ran his gaze over every single person, noting who was there and whether anyone seemed hurt.
His insides were wreaking havoc on him. He was used to always being in the middle of things, not tucked away in safety while everyone else faced whatever danger they were in.
He watched as motorcycles parked in a neat row across from the house, bikers pulling their helmets off and dismounting. He crossed his arms as most headed past him into the clubhouse, his eyes on Kaz, who shared a few words with Killian before Killian took off toward the garage, most likely to grab Ezra for Church. It was a bit of a dilemma to have him present at their meetings because while he was the club’s treasurer, he wasn’t a full-patch member. In fact, he was pretty sure the only reason Ezra wore his prospect cut was that he thought he looked good in leather.
One more bike pulled up, the last engine cutting off. The all-gray motorcycle was a beauty that most envied Emma for.
A frown formed between his brows as he did another count of the bikes, noting exactly who was and wasn’t present. Of the three people missing, he was only worried about one. The enforcers were always last to show before Church.
Wilder walked toward Emma and Kaz, noting the bag slung over Emma’s shoulder.
“Hey. Where’s Kian?”
The man was a trouble magnet. He wouldn’t be surprised if he was the only one who’d managed to get hurt.
“Tackling Emmett in the backyard,” Emma said, her amused smile the only reason he managed to keep his reaction under wraps.
“Why is he tackling Emmett?”
He knew he hadn’t succeeded in keeping the bite out of his voice when Emma frowned at him. She looked ready to question him, but Kaz cut her off before she could.
“They’re quite close, I think,” Kaz said, lips pursing in thought. “Miles told me Em is the same age as Kian’s younger brother.”
“He’s got a brother?”
He’d never heard Kian mention a younger brother, and Kian usually did a whole lot of talking.
“Had,” Kaz corrected him.
“Oh.”
Shit. No wonder Kian didn’t talk about him.
He could feel the heat of Emma’s glare even though it was aimed at Kaz. Not information he was supposed to share then. He glanced at Emma, catching her gaze before he mimicked zipping his lips. She rolled her eyes, but the tension seemed to seep right out of her.
They all walked into the clubhouse, heading toward the meeting room. He stepped through the door and walked to the giant table in the middle of the room, pulling out his usual chair and sitting down.
Solo and Nicky stepped through the door less than a minute later with matching unreadable expressions. Solo’s gaze landed on Wilder, and he turned away, his teeth clenching and his shoulders rising. He was much too aware of Solo pulling out the chair across from him and sitting down with a soft sigh.
Kian was the last to enter, right behind Kaz and Killian, closing the door to start Church. He eyed Kian with renewed interest. For some reason, he wasn’t a fan of Kian tackling Emmett. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling, just that it made him want to throttle the other man.
He shook his head, hands clenching and unclenching as he tried to push those feelings down where they belonged.
“So, what happened?” he asked Kaz as he sat down next to him with a low groan.
Gray eyes met his gaze. “They just drove by. Slowly.”
