“Alright,” I say softly. “I can come back and mow your lawn another day.”
She nods quickly. “Yeah, that would be better. I didn’t sleep well last night and I’m just not up for company today.”
“Sure, if you change your mind, shoot me a quick text.” I force myself to turn around and step off her porch. That’s the moment I realize that I will never leave her alone, particularly when she’s in danger. Every protective instinct I’ve ever had rises to the forefront of my mind like a storm, one I plan to unleash on the asshole scaring her today.
Chapter 5
Emily
He knows. Onyx, the big, bad biker with a heart of gold knows that I’m in danger. I can tell by the way he looked at me when I called him by his given name instead of his club name. He told me he was here to mow the grass when that man has never mowed my grass a day in his life.
When he stepped back, I recognized it as a strategic fallback, not an abandonment. He’ll be back for me. I have to believe that. I don’t know when, but I know Onyx. Growing up he was always protective of girls, and he even beat up my bully in middle school. He once told me that all the Jackson boys fought a lot anyways, so fighting a little extra for me was no trouble. Onyx always had a good sense of humor.
Maybe I’m being way more hopeful than I should be but I’m desperate, especially because he’s still holding Frisky at an odd angle. I want this unhinged lunatic out of my house as soon as possible.
I can hear the intruder muttering something about how if he’d gone north instead of south, he could be in Silverwood instead of this dump. I don’t care if this asshole thinks my home is a dump. It suits me just fine.
My heartbeat quickens when I hear a noise coming from the back of the house. It’s a tiny scrape that ends abruptly. It’s so faint that I almost think I imagined it. Then there is the faint sound of creaking floorboards.
My home invader hears it as well, and his entire body tenses. He turns and listens for further evidence that someone or something has slipped into the house. Frisky lets out a small, pained hiss as his hands tighten around him. When we don’t hear anything else, he starts pacing again with my cat in his arms.
Meanwhile, I realize with mounting hope that the pressure in the house changed, like someone opened a door or window. Memories of Onyx sneaking through the back window to play with me as a child rise in my memory and then suddenly there he is. His bulky shape is filling the doorway between the kitchen and back hall.
Everything explodes into action at once.
Onyx runs full throttle into the living room just as my unwanted visitor turns to see whose footsteps are coming towards him. His eyes go wide, and he opens his mouth to shout something, but Onyx rams him hard with one beefy shoulder, taking him down to the ground. Thankfully, he misses my cat and Frisky bolts away.
When the intruder staggers to his feet, Onyx grabs him. Although the man tries some martial arts moves, it’s clear that Onyx fights for keeps. He shoves him into the wall, which rattles a shelf full of glassware hanging on the wall and sends a framed photo clattering to the floor. I scamper back away from the fray. The last thing I need is to be caught up in the brutal fight between these two men.
The intruder struggles to his feet, and lunges for Onyx, jabbing one closed fist after another at his face and head. Onyx is a good fighter though. He brings his fists up, like a boxer, blocking most of the punches that come his way. I hear the thudand realize Onyx has caught him with a right hook to the side of the head, sending him staggering.
When he realizes that he’s not going to be able to fight his way out of the situation, he reaches into his coat pocket. I yell out a warning, “He’s going for a weapon!”
My words cause Onyx to begin fighting in earnest. In an instant, he’s all fists and fury. He slams his fist into his opponent’s jaw so hard I can hear the sickening crunch when the bones shatter. The man screams and tries to retreat, but Onyx grabs him by the back of his shirt and slams him against the wall again.
This is the most violent thing that I’ve ever seen in my life. I can’t watch anymore but I can’t stop looking either. My feet keep taking me backwards until my back bumps into the door and that’s when my knees unhinge and I slide down the wall. I curl into myself instinctively even though I’m not in immediate danger. My arms clamp around my middle, and my head shakes back and forth. This isn’t what I wanted. I wanted the intruder out, not beaten to death by my overprotective neighbor.
It’s not a real fight anymore because although the intruder is still fighting back, none of his punches are really landing. Meanwhile, Onyx is tearing him up. His fists are relentless. The man tries to crawl away, but Onyx grabs him by the collar and hauls him back for another punch.
“Onyx!” I choke out, though I don’t know if I’m begging him to stop or to finish it. Onyx is in a blind rage, and I don’t think my voice got through to him.
Just in the nick of time, his brother Mica barrels through the door and hauls him off the intruder. “Onyx! That’s enough! Morgan wants him alive.”
He grabs Onyx around the waist and hauls him back with both arms. It takes everything he has. And Onyx fights to get back to the intruder. He yells, “Who in the fuck do you think you are rolling up on a woman’s home and taking her hostage, you ignorant fucker?”
The intruder chokes out, “Do you know who I am?”
“Charles fuckin’ Brennan. A rich asshole currently on the run from the law. I saw your arrest warrant with my own fuckin’ eyes. And I’m not done with you, not by a longshot.”
Onyx turns his attention to Mica. “Let me go,” Onyx growls, twisting to break free.
“Cut it out, brother. If you kill him we can’t hand him over to the cops,” Mica snaps, shoving him another step back. “You want to explain that to Jasper? You want to tell him you went rogue and ruined the agreement between our club and Detective Morgan?”
Onyx lets loose with a string of curses that would surely make his father proud, but he reluctantly steps back away from the intruder. The dude is wallowing around on the ground, trying to get his legs under him. If I’m being honest, he’s looking more like a downer cow than a man who just got his ass beat by a bigger, better opponent.
Onyx’s knuckles are raw, and there is a wildness in his eyes that I’ve never seen before. He glares at the intruder on my floor, the man who invaded my home, hurt my cat, and tried to trap me. I almost want Onyx to hit him again and that thought scares me.
Now that Onyx has gotten a hold of himself, Mica drops to his knees beside the bloody mess that was once a guy who thoughthe held all the control. He pulls zip ties from his pocket and yanks the man’s wrists behind his back. The plastic cinches tight with a harsh snick.
