They dismounted and took off their helmets, Emmett noting that they were being watched closely. He looked up at Wilder with confusion.
“Did you bring me to a homeless camp?”
“Yes.”
“I thought this town would be too small for that,” he mused, gaze running across the tents.
“It probably would be, if a human trafficking gang hadn’t set up shop here,” Wilder said.
“A what?” he exclaimed, hand clamping over his mouth at how loud he was being.
Wilder’s lips quirked for a second, and then his attention turned elsewhere, his brows furrowing.
“And here I thought I might have to go in there to look for you,” Wilder said.
Emmett snapped his gaze back toward the camp, heart stuttering in his chest when he saw two boys, one more lanky than the other, appearing from the shadows. His chest tightened at the sight of them. They shouldn’t be living on the streets.
“We heard you from miles away,” one snarked, his crooked grin flashing in the dark.
“This is Dash and Alvis,” Wilder said, tugging Emmett closer against him. “They’ve been keeping watch over the gym lately.”
Emmett looked up at Wilder with narrowed eyes. “Because of me?”
Wilder’s wide smile had him rolling his eyes.
“No, but I want them to keep an eye on you, too. I can’t always be there when you decide to step out into traffic.”
He cursed under his breath and tried to pull away from Wilder. The arm around him tightened, and he ended up closer against Wilder’s side instead, Wilder’s fingers hooking into his belt loops to trap him there.
“What do you boys say?”
Emmett followed Wilder’s gaze to Alvis, the boy watching them intently for a heartbeat or two.
Alvis nodded. “We’ll watch him for you.”
“Good man.”
Wilder pulled a few bills out of his wallet and held them up, arching a brow at Dash.
“Yeah, yeah. Food first,” Dash muttered, a gleam entering his eyes just before he snatched the money out of Wilder’s hand and took off running.
Wilder’s low huff of laughter made the tension in Emmett’s shoulders melt away.
Alvis shook his head, gaze following Dash as he skipped between tents. He turned back toward Wilder and Emmett and gave them each a nod before disappearing into the maze of tents.
Wilder used the arm he had around Emmett to turn him around and led him the few steps back to the bike.
“The last thing I want is more people watching me,” he muttered, glaring up at Wilder.
“Better get used to it.”
“What does that even mean?”
The smug curve of Wilder’s lips didn’t help quell the storm brewing in his chest.
“Come on,” Wilder said, his smile lighting up those enchanting eyes and making Emmett’s heart stutter. “There’s something else I want to show you.”
Wilder grabbed one of the helmets and handed it to Emmett, who put it on while grumbling under his breath. A cold breeze touched them, making him shiver and tuck his hands into his armpits while he waited for Wilder to mount. He crawled onto the bike behind Wilder, wrapping his arms around the man and pressing close, expecting Wilder to pull out onto the road, but instead he grabbed one of Emmett’s hands, tugging a glove onto it. Wilder put that hand back against his abdomen, taking Emmett’s other hand.
