Chapter 3
Chapter Three
E mily immediately recoiled from the man standing in front of her. Unlike Matthew, who was about as intimidating as a paper straw, this guy oozed a vibe that screamed fuck around and find out.
And she did not want to find out.
Keeping an eye on the tattooed newcomer, she took a step back towards Eric and Dane before turning to face them, her shoulders slumped.
The whole night had been a disaster. She’d been a complete idiot, had allowed her emotions to override her good sense more than once, and now she was just tired.
“I wanna go home,” she said, conceding defeat.
She never should have been there. Never should have agreed to go on a date with Matthew, the lying creep.
She’d known he wasn’t a particularly good guy—hell, the bloke had so many red flags he could stitch them into a Santa suit—but she’d been feeling abandoned and had greedily welcomed his attentions and the ego boost that had come with them.
But she had also greatly overestimated her own abilities to play it cool in the face of danger.
Not to mention the fact she had potentially undone countless hours worth of work for Eric and Dane. Was that why they’d pulled back from her recently? Because they were working undercover? And she’d ruined everything with her foolishness.
Emily silently vowed then and there to make it up to them.
Somehow.
Eric held out his hand to her, his stern expression softening. “Let’s go home.”
“Not so fast.”
Emily squeaked as she found herself being yanked backwards and pinned against the solid wall of malice behind her, one hand fisted in her hair, the other sliding across her stomach as he held her in place against his lean, muscled frame.
“Where do you think you’re going, cutie?”
A second later, her eyes shot wide as Eric and Dane both whipped their arms up, guns held confidently in their outstretched hands and pointed at her captor’s head. Where the hell had they been hiding those?
“Let her go!” Dane demanded, his expression one of barely contained rage.
Eric, on the other hand, looked to be his usual calm and in control self, and if not for his clenched jaw and the muscle ticking in his cheek, she’d almost be fooled by the facade.
She’d known these two men for a year, had talked, socialised and flirted with them relentlessly in that time and thought she knew them well enough to know their every mood.
She was wrong.
Emily had seen them happy, excited, mildly irritated, cheeky, horny, and protective, but she’d never seen this expression before. She’d never seen them look like they were ready—and willing—to kill another human being.
She’d done that. Her selfishness had put that look on their faces. On the one hand she was grateful to have two such amazing men looking out for her. On the other, she’d be lucky if they even gave her the time of day again after such a colossal fuck up.
And she didn’t blame them one little bit.
“We don’t want to kill you, Shane,” Eric said. “But if you don’t let go of our girl, we will.”
The man behind her tsked at them as if they were naughty children, and she could almost hear the grin in his deep voice as he spoke, “Now, now, there’s no need for that. We wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt.”
“Behind you!” Emily shouted, but it was too late. Two men appeared out of the crowd and pointed their own guns at Eric and Dane. “No!” She struggled against her captor, wincing against the pain in her scalp as her hair pulled taut. “Let me go, you sonofabitch! Leave them alone!”
“Oh, you’re a feisty one. I like that.” Then the scumbag leaned down and spoke softly, intimately in her ear, making her shudder.
“But you’re also a naughty girl, aren’t you?
Going on a date with my little brother when you’re obviously with these two idiots?
” He chuckled and slid his hand lower. Her stomach roiled.
He raised his voice. “It’s a good thing for you I like naughty girls more than I like my brother. ”
“Come on, man,” his brother whined from somewhere behind them.
Keeping her gaze glued to Eric and Dane, she calmed her breathing and tried to focus.
With guns trained on them, they were in no position to help her.
She had to help herself. And when she felt Shane let go of her hair and slide his hand over her shoulder, she took her chance and used another move Karen had taught her in self-defence.
Latching both of her hands around Shane’s wrist, Emily yanked his hand away from her belly and twisted to the side, ducked under his arm and heaved it upwards, forcing him to bend over, then kicked the back of his leg so he fell to his knees.
Then she grabbed his thick fingers and yanked them backwards until he cried out.
“Leave them alone or I’ll break your fingers,” she snarled, the lingering pain in her scalp fuelling her temper. He grunted in pain but said nothing, so she began twisting his digits. “Do it. Now. Or you can try changing gears with a busted hand.”
The arsehole craned his neck to look up at her, pure hatred written across his face, but his gaze still held a hint of lust. “You’re so fucking hot.
” Her lip curled in disgust as he stared at her and licked his lips.
“Do as she says,” he barked at his cronies, and a moment later Eric was by her side, his weapon tucked safely away, and Dane pressed his gun to Shane’s temple.
“You can let go now, kitten,” Eric said, coaxing her into his arms.
“Give me a reason,” Dane growled, but Eric shook his head.
“Leave it. Let’s take her home.”
A moment later, Dane had sheathed his weapon and joined his brother in herding Emily away from the danger.
Heart pounding and hands shaking, she pressed her face into Eric’s chest and breathed him in, the scent of him soothing her now that the adrenaline of the moment was wearing off.
Had that really just happened? Had she actually threatened to break the fingers of a criminal?
“I can’t believe that actually worked,” she murmured, her knees threatening to give out beneath her as they led her away.
Emily had threatened a criminal. That was a thing that had actually happened.
Obviously she was suffering from temporary insanity.
But she didn’t want to think about it. She wanted to go home, take a long hot bath, and have a bloody good cry.
But just when she thought the night couldn’t get any worse, she heard Shane chuckle then raise his voice.
“Oh come on, don’t run away,” he said. They turned in time to see him levering to his feet and dusting himself off. “I thought you wanted to race. Isn’t that why you agreed to go on a date with my shithead little brother?”
“Hey! I’m standing right here,” Matthew said, gingerly probing at the bruise slowly taking shape on his cheek where she’d hit him.
His brother ignored him and grinned at Emily. “What do you say, cutie? Wanna race me?”
Eric’s arm tightened around her, a warning to keep quiet and let him do the talking. “No,” he said, the word landing with finality.
But Shane was undeterred. “I wasn’t asking you.”
A chorus of laughter and wooing erupted around them.
A challenge had been issued.
Emily looked up at Eric, then Dane. They were both glaring at Shane and the small crowd gathering around them, their brief yet violent interaction obviously of more interest than the hotted up Monaros and Mustangs they’d come out to see.
Inwardly, she cringed. She didn’t know exactly what it was the Walker brothers were there to do, but she knew they were there to work, and knew she was screwing everything up for them. They were undercover for fuck’s sake. The last thing they needed was an audience.
Or an idiot girl putting her foot in it at every given opportunity.
But… if there was even a slim chance she could put things right….
She turned her back to the crowd. “Would it help?” she said, keeping her voice quiet so only Eric and Dane would hear her.
“What?”
“If I raced him. Would it help?”
“No,” Eric said at the same time Dane said, “Maybe.”
Eric glared at his younger brother but Dane simply shrugged. “What? We wanted his attention. She got it. And you know she can drive.”
“Her ability to drive was never in question—I know she can drive—but we’re talking about Shane fucking Spencer.” He slashed a hand through the air, cutting off the idea. “No.”
Ignoring the happy fluttery feeling Eric’s compliment caused around her heart, Emily straightened her spine and faced him down. “I can do this. You know I can.”
“No. I won’t allow it.”
“Brother—” Dane began, coming to Emily’s defence, but she cut him off.
“You won’t allow it?” she repeated, her eyes narrowing and her knees feeling much more firm. “Huh. Last I checked, you can’t tell me what to do, Evan . You’re not my father.”
Eric pulled her closer, pressed his lips to her ear, and the hard ridge of his cock against her hip.
“Believe me, kitten, I am very aware of that fact. But that doesn’t change the fact that you want to race a known psychopath who hates to lose, especially to women.
And you’ve already humiliated him once tonight.
” He shook his head. “He will cheat. You will lose. I will not allow it.”
“I’m waiting,” Shane said behind them, managing to sound both irritated and bored at the same time.
Ignoring the twat behind them, Dane said quietly, “At this point, she may not have a choice.”
“Would it help if I told you my brother was the one who taught me how to drive? You know, the one who outmanoeuvred professional car thieves? The one you insist on calling ‘convict’?”
Eric’s jaw tightened. “No, it wouldn’t.” Then he shook his head and blew out a slow breath, his irritation slowly morphing into resignation.
“But Dane’s right. We don’t have a choice.
” He gripped her chin between his strong fingers but held her gently, and it took all of her will to focus on what he said next and not the zing of awareness between her thighs as he forced her gaze to his.
God, she’d missed his touch. “You will drive Dane's car only, understand? If he insists on you driving one of his, we’re getting you out of here. Agreed?”
Emily opened her mouth to argue, but the stern look on Eric’s face made her think better of it. “Agreed,” she mumbled, then turned to face her challenger and his groupies, folded her arms over her chest and lifted her chin. “What’s in it for me?”
Shane smiled as if he knew he’d already won. It was disconcerting that such an evil man could have such a sexy smile. “I like a woman who knows what she wants.”
“I highly doubt that,” she replied, earning another round of childish wooing noises from the onlookers surrounding them. “And you didn’t answer my question. What’s it in for me if I race you?”
“I notice you didn’t ask what you get if you win,” Shane said, his entire demeanour relaxed and smug.
“Oh, I know I’m gunna win.”
Shane snorted, then ran his tongue over his teeth and his smiled slipped into something more sinister.
“All right. You win, you get my ride. But if I win….” His gaze trailed down her body and back up again, then he licked his lips.
Sexy smile or not, her stomach churned and she knew exactly what was coming next. “You spend the night with me.”
“No.” Eric.
“Fuck no.” Dane.
Emily smiled tightly at the unoriginal twat. “Doing what? Stroking your huge ego?”
“Oh, you’ll be stroking something huge, cutie, and not just my ego.”
Staring him down, Emily managed to control her urge to vomit, but only just. “Ew.”