“I will,” he croaked out.
With a nod, Kaz turned and walked out, closing the double doors behind him, and Emmett was grateful for it. He knew Kaz’s intentions had been good. He certainly hadn’t intended to shove him back into that murky headspace, but he’d already been teetering on the edge after Emma and Travis’s conversation earlier.
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He didn’t want to think about Heath because thinking about him gave him power over him, and he was done being controlled by that asshole.
He turned his gaze on the wall, repeating Kaz’s words in his head over and over and breathing deeply until he felt his bodybegin to relax. He knew it would take time before he felt normal again, or whatever ended up being his new normal. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he was changed. He wasn’t the man he’d been a year ago, and maybe that was for the best. That man had let someone control him, and he was done being controlled. No matter how long it took, he would learn to stand up for himself.
CHAPTER FIVE
Wilder
HE WAS talking to some of Miles and Mika’s men when he felt a chill run down his spine and looked over his shoulder, catching Kaz’s gaze across the room. The clench of Kaz’s jaw had him straightening and excusing himself before making his way to Kaz with hurried steps.
“What’s wrong?”
“Several black SUVs have been spotted heading this way,” Kaz said, keeping his voice low.
Wilder’s heart skipped a beat.
“Serrano?”
Kaz shook his head.
He cursed under his breath. The gang, then. Fuck. He almost wished it was Serrano. At least they’d know who their opponent was. They didn’t even have the damned name of the gang, despite how much time Ezra had spent on his computer trying to learn everything he could about them. They weren’t any closer to shutting down their trafficking than they’d been weeks ago, and it pissed him the fuck off.
“We’ve got trouble coming to our door.” Kaz nodded toward the men setting up the workout machines. “Get the civilians out.”
Wilder nodded tersely. The last thing they wanted was for anyone to get hurt. Especially the civilians who were helping them.
While the others headed outside to prepare for whatever was about to be thrown their way, he made quick work of rounding the men up and getting them to the back entrance along with Cary and Remy. He gave Remy a nod and watched for a moment as she led the men out. She would ensure they remained out of the way and, most importantly, remained safe.
He and Cary walked back through the gym, splitting up to check for stragglers. He was heading toward the staircase to the second floor when he noticed Cary stopping by the double doors to the boxing area. Cary looked through the windows in the upper half of the doors, then whirled around and waved at Wilder, who took off toward him.
“What about him?” Cary asked, pointing through the glass toward a lone figure sitting on the couch with a tablet in hand. “He’s one of the deaf guys, right?”
“Yeah. Emmett.”
He’d stared at Wilder earlier, and he couldn’t exactly claim he hadn’t enjoyed it. Especially when Emmett blushed furiously after getting caught.
“How do I…?”
Wilder hesitated for a moment. “I don’t know. Just gesture something or write it down?”
Cary shrugged and took off through the doors.
Wilder crossed the room and ran up the stairs to ensure the top floor was empty. They had two rooms up there that they were planning on using for their self-defense classes. Both were thankfully empty.
He took the stairs three at a time on his way back down, stopping to listen when he reached the first floor. He could hear Cary’s voice, which could only mean he hadn’t gotten Emmett out yet. Fuck. He didn’t know how much time they had.
Cursing under his breath, he ran toward the double doors, pushing through them to see Cary gesturing wildly, hismovements not even making sense to him. He wasn’t surprised when Emmett crossed his arms and leaned further into the couch, brows furrowed in confusion.
Wilder sighed and walked up to Cary and sent him on his way. Then he turned to the guy on the couch, his breath catching when cerulean blue eyes met his. He’d noticed those eyes earlier when they’d been on his tattoo, but to have them staring at him with such intensity nearly had him forgetting what he was there for.
Fuck. The only sign language he knew wasno,and he barely remembered that.
“Uh, you,” he pointed at Emmett, then toward the door, “Need to leave.”
“I can’t tell if you’re being condescending, or if you’re just ignorant.”
