Wilder raised his hands. “Alright. Alright. I’m going.”
Was he smiling widely to himself as he walked back out of those doors? Absolutely.
Survive? Without Emmett? He wasn’t so sure anymore.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Emmett
HE LEANED back on his hands, ass firmly planted on the countertop as he watched Kian prep dinner across from him. Emma was snatching pieces of whatever food Kian chopped, earning herself a few choice words. He bit back a laugh when Emma did it again, and Kian threatened her with his knife.
Emma scoffed, resting a hip against the counter and arching a brow at Kian. “Like I’m afraid of a knife. I wield them better than you.”
“Oh, you wanna measure knives?” Kian teased as he twirled his knife around, making Emmett hold his breath because it was big and sharp enough to cut off a toe or two if he dropped it.
He rolled his eyes when Emma straightened and unsheathed two of her own, the ones she wore on her thighs. Her biggest. They were long and sharp. They looked wicked compared to Kian’s chunky one.
“You wanna measure size or skill?”
“Both, please,” Jane said from the doorway, her lips pulled into a wry smile, green eyes twinkling. “I for one would pay good money to see that.”
A hand appeared on her shoulder, and she moved to the side to let Miles step into the kitchen. He levelled Kian and Emma with a disapproving look, and when Kian hid his knife behind his back, and Emma batted her lashes innocently at her brother, Emmett couldn’t hold back his laugh any longer.
Miles dropped his head back and muttered, “Surrounded by idiots with weapons.”
“It’s a bit like giving kindergarteners pointy things, isn’t it?” Emmett teased, laughter spilling out at the affronted look the three bikers gave him.
“I’m pretty sure if she has kids, they’ll pop out with knives in their hands,” Kian said with a nod toward Emma. She arched a brow at him, a devilish smile spreading on her lips. Oh, they certainly would.
“I’ll teach them to go for the Achilles and then send them your way,” Emma said in a sweet voice to Kian.
“I’d expect nothing less,” Kian said, putting his knife down to shoo everyone out. “Alright, all of you out, or we won’t have anything left to eat for dinner.”
Emma sheathed her knives, then reached around Kian to snatch another piece of cucumber off his cutting board before running out of the kitchen with a laugh worthy of a cartoon villain.
Miles shook his head and turned around, linking his arm with Jane’s, and tugging her back into the living room, their voices low as they talked with their heads close together. He was starting to see why Miles and Emma loved it here. Always surrounded by loved ones.
He turned his gaze back on Kian, glad to find him smiling. He put on a brave face, but it was clear that something was still bugging him after his kidnapping. Just knowing that they could have lost him made something burn fiercely inside of him.
He slipped off the counter and wrapped his arms around Kian, the man’s surprised grunt making his lips quirk. Big arms surrounded him, and he felt Kian’s deep exhale right into his soul. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if he ever lost him. If he ever lost any of them.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Kian whispered, his voice hoarse.
“Me, too.”
He’d drifted away from everyone in the past year, too focused on Heath and making him happy that he didn’t even notice until it was already happening. Fortunately, everyone else noticed and got him out in time. He was starting to realize that it wasn’t just being away from his regular life that was healing; it was everyone here. It was every second he spent with Wilder, relearning to have fun and appreciate the small things. Every second, he got to rebuild and rediscover who he was among people he trusted and loved. People who would never hurt him or think less of him.
He pulled back, smiling up at Kian.
“You let me know if you get tired of having Wilder follow you around, and I’ll happily take his place,” Kian said with a raised brow.
“I barely get anything done as it is, and with you around, I’ll never finish.”
“Hey, now!”
“You know it’s true.”
He backed away, hands raised, though he knew he wasn’t keeping a grin off his face when Kian put a hand on his hip and cocked a brow at him.
