Heath walked into the kitchen, opening the fridge and pulling out a bottle of white wine. He poured himself a glass, sparing Emmett a considering glance before putting the bottle away.
“I hope you know just how much I’ve sacrificed to get you back,” Heath said, taking a long sip of wine. “Had to take a damned loan.”
He eyed Heath with confusion. The loan made sense, but why go through all that trouble just to what? Hurt him? Force him back to be in his depth somehow?
“I don’t get it. If you wanted me back so bad, why did you send people to hurt me?”
Heath stilled, eyes narrowing. “They hurt you?”
Emmett clenched his teeth, anger swirling inside him like a storm that had been waiting to brew. “Generally, when you hit someone with a car, it does in fact hurt them.”
Heath’s eyes went wide, his mouth falling open.
“I didn’t send anyone to hit you with a fucking car, Em.”
“Why did you send anyone at all?”
“To save you,” Heath snapped, making Emmett recoil.
Heath sighed and walked over to sit down next to him, reaching for his hand. He let him take it, both hating and appreciating that he felt absolutely nothing at that touch.
“I just want you safe. From those sick bastards.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to point out Heath’s hypocrisy, but as always, the words never came.
“I went to the police, but they wouldn’t help me, even after I told them it was criminals in a gang who had you.”
“Club,” he muttered under his breath, even though he knew Heath wouldn’t appreciate being corrected. He wanted to shout at Heath that he was the criminal who’d kidnapped him. Who was holding him against his will. But he needed to tread carefully. He’d thought he knew what Heath was capable of, but clearly he didn’t.
“They’re gonna come for me.”
Heath snorted. “They can try. They’ll never find us.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Emmett mumbled.
He dropped his gaze to his hands, his whole body tense as he waited for Heath to yell at him. He felt no relief when Heath stood without another word and walked back to the kitchen to down his glass of wine. That would only make everything worse.
Glass shattering made him jump, gaze shooting across the room at Heath, whose face had gone pale. His wine glass was in one piece, clutched in his right hand.
Emmett stood slowly, flinching when a loud, scratchy noise came from the front of the house.
“There’s no way…” Heath put his glass down, walking across the room as he muttered, “How could they have found us?”
Considering they had Ezra and his hacker skills at their disposal, he wasn’t surprised that they had, nor how fast they’d found them.
“I told you.”
Heath whirled around, that darkness rising in his eyes he’d seen one too many times.
“Shut the fuck up,” Heath snapped, rushing toward Emmett. He raised his hand as if to slap him, but at Emmett’s violent flinch, Heath lowered it with a curse, gaze shooting toward the footsteps coming down the hall.
They both knew whoever came through that doorway would be armed, and Wilder had already killed to keep him safe. He didn’t doubt he’d do it again.
“Just let me go,” Emmett said, voice barely above a whisper.
Heath shook his head and pulled out his phone, yelling, “I’m calling the cops.”
The footsteps stopped, and then a gunshot rang out, freezing time and the breath in his lungs.
