Chapter 5
Chapter Five
E mily said the word so softly, Dane almost didn’t hear her over the sound of the traffic.
Lonely .
His brain almost imploded as his warring emotions collided. On the one hand, he was mad as fuck that he and Eric had made Emily sad, and on the other he wanted to whoop with joy knowing she’d missed them as much as they’d missed her.
The sooner they got this job done and went back to their normal lives the better.
Eric reached back and grabbed her hand. “We never meant for this to happen, kitten. We got pulled into this investigation at the last minute and we’ve been playing catch up ever since.
The last two months have been insane.” His brother scrubbed his free hand through his hair, his frustration bleeding out of him, making him look older than his thirty years of age.
“Our lives are not our own right now, and I know that doesn’t excuse what we did.
We should have told you what was going on, but this is all new to us and?—”
Emily leaned forwards between the seats.
“No, it’s okay. I mean, you did say you weren’t going to be around much for a while, but I thought it was just an excuse.
I thought….” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter what I thought.
I get it now. You’re undercover. You couldn’t tell me.
” She sighed. “I imagine you couldn’t tell anyone. ”
“Only our dad,” Dane said.
As a retired cop himself, their father knew the challenges they faced on the job, especially when it came to balancing a life on the force with romantic relationships.
Their own mother had walked out on them when they were just kids, saying she couldn’t take it anymore, the not knowing if her husband was coming home each day.
Wondering if she was going to be left alone with four kids to raise and no income besides a widow’s pension.
At least that was the official version of events, the tale they were told as kids when their father was still blinded by his love for his wife. The truth was far more sordid.
Dane gritted his teeth and steeled his raging emotions. Now was not the time to be thinking about things like that. He had to focus. Had to make sure they weren’t being followed, that he was doing his duty and keeping everyone safe.
Keeping Emily safe.
He checked his mirrors again, then changed lanes and exited the motorway, headed towards Eight Mile Plains.
From there he could work his way north through the suburbs and into the heart of Brisbane, then backtrack to the safety of the Berringer estate.
If they had a tail, there was no way they could hide themselves for that length of time.
They fell into a somewhat comfortable silence for the remainder of the trip, and a small smile tugged at his lips when they reached her parent’s house in Sheldon, a rural residential area south of the city, and he saw Eric was still holding Emily’s hand. Still seeking comfort in her touch.
“We’re here.”
Like many of the properties in the area, the Berringer estate was three acres of well concealed wealth.
A dense border of trees and subtropical gardens hid a large two-storey house, a smaller guest house, a pool, and a full sized tennis court.
But as they drove down the gently winding driveway, the true gem of the property—as far as Dane was concerned—came into view to the left of the main house.
A twenty car garage housing everything from a 1949 Healey Silverstone sports car to the 1968 Datsun Fairlady roadster his future brother-in-law had used to woo their sister. It was hoon heaven, and their two families had bonded quickly over their shared love of vintage metal and modern motorsports.
A separate, smaller garage housed their everyday vehicles closer to the house, and it was there that Dane parked his own car. He opened his mouth to speak but Eric held up a finger in a shhh motion, then nodded to the back seat. A quick look over his shoulder told him Emily had fallen asleep.
The way her long dark hair fell over her forehead and framed her pretty face entranced him.
As did the gentle rise and fall of her chest as her soft snores escaped her.
Emily was cute as fuck at the best of times, but watching her sleep eased something in Dane’s chest he hadn’t realised was tight. He could breathe easy again.
A smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. “Let’s get her inside and put her to bed,” he murmured, unbuckling his seatbelt as quietly as possible. Eric nodded and gently popped open his door.
Within moments, Dane had Emily scooped up in his arms, her face nestled in the crook of his neck, her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders. Her warm, even breaths caressed his throat, and her long hair tickled his skin.
He’d missed this.
Missed the feel of her in his arms, the sound of her cute little moans when they kissed, or when he cupped her full breasts and murmured sweet dirty nothings in her ear.
Had it only been two months since they’d last touched her so intimately?
It felt like a fucking eternity. And Emily was right, they might have spent months flirting hard, but they weren’t dating.
They had no right to be pissed off that she’d gone out with someone else, even if that someone was Matthew fucking Spencer.
Besides the flirting, some stolen kisses and a little light groping whenever they could manage to sneak away at barbeques, or bumped into each other somewhere around town, they hadn’t even taken her on a proper date yet.
They’d wanted to go slow and not scare her away with their unconventional brand of love.
They’d wanted to build something more permanent with her.
Something real. And then they’d had their lives turned upside down and everything had gone to shit.
But Emily was theirs.
Dane had felt it down to his bones from the moment they'd met her a year ago. She had invaded his every waking thought ever since. Most of his dreaming thoughts too.
And he knew Eric felt the same.
He also knew their situation wasn't considered normal. Two brothers loving the one woman? Without jealousy or coming to blows? It was unheard of, right?
Wrong.
Dane and his older brother had always been this way. As soon as they’d figured out what love was they’d known their kind of love was different. Eric wasn’t just his big brother, he was his best friend, and Dane knew they could make Emily happy.
Together.
When they reached the front door, Eric gingerly searched Emily's pockets for her keys, trying carefully not to wake her.
“If you wanted to feel me up, you only had to ask.” Her amused voice was muffled against his neck.
Dane chuckled even as Eric scowled. “Have you been awake this whole time?” his brother scolded.
Emily lifted her head and smiled sheepishly. “Only since you pulled me out of the car,” she said.
“You want me to put you down?” Dane asked, returning her smile.
“Don't you dare,” she said, and snuggled even tighter against him.
Eric huffed a laugh and shook his head. His brother couldn't stay mad at her anymore than he could. “Kitten, where’s your door key?”
“Front left pocket.”
Dane juggled Emily in his arms to give Eric access to her jeans pocket and a moment later his brother had the door open and ushered them both inside the house.
“I’ll do a perimeter check,” he said quietly. “You do a sweep of the house.”
Putting her back on her feet, Dane pressed a quick kiss to Emily’s lips, then whispered, “Stay here.” He waited until she nodded, then palmed his weapon and did as Eric had asked, clearing the house, room by room.
When he returned, he found Emily in the kitchen, making a sandwich. He scowled at her as he put his gun away. “I thought I told you to stay put out there,” he said, pointing to the foyer.
She half shrugged then took a bite of her sandwich. “I got hungry,” she said around the mouthful of food.
Just as Dane opened his mouth to chastise her, Eric strode into the kitchen. They nodded to each other. There were no signs of the Spencer brothers or their goons. They were safe.
Eric started making a sandwich of his own. “When are your parents due home?”
“A couple of weeks,” Emily said. “They left London yesterday, so they’ll be in Paris now. They’re staying there for a week for their anniversary, then driving down to Madrid for a few days, then flying over to Florence, driving to Rome, doing all of the touristy things there, then flying home.”
“And Easton?”
Emily rolled her eyes at the mention of her younger brother then smiled tightly. “Enjoying his gap year and visiting our grandparents in Western Australia.” Her smile disappeared. “He won’t be home until the end of the month.”
“So you’re home alone then?”
Her brows pulled together as she finished her sandwich, then she dusted her hands off and folded her arms over her delectable chest. “What’s with the interrogation?
Are all of these questions leading somewhere…
,”--her expression softened, turned cheeky,--“the bedroom perhaps?” She stepped into Dane’s personal space, slid her hands over his chest and grinned up at him.
“Now that you know we’re all alone and not likely to be interrupted. ”
He wanted to return her grin but couldn’t. Not yet. He grabbed her wrists, removed the distraction that was her seductive touch and held her firm. “Does Matthew know where you live?”
Dane hated to ask the question but he had to be sure. Just because the Spencer brothers weren’t waiting for them when they got home, didn’t mean they wouldn’t show up at some point in the near future. And there would be no sexy fun times until he was certain she was safe.
Her grin faltered. “What? No.”
“Are you sure?” Eric asked.
“Pretty sure.” She didn’t sound sure.
“He picked you up tonight, correct?” She nodded. “Where from?”
“I met him outside of work. I left my car there, at the dealership. Why?” She looked from him to Eric. “You don’t think he’d actually come looking for me, do you?”
A muscle ticked in Eric’s jaw. “I don’t know. I'm more concerned about what his brother will do. He's the one who worries me.”
“You were right,” Dane said. “We have to report this. Especially if there was a shadow. We have to get in front of this.”
“What’s a shadow? What are you talking about?”
Eric sighed and scrubbed a hand through his messy hair. “A shadow is another undercover cop attached to the investigation. They’re usually a senior officer, someone more experienced in undercover work who shadows newbies and can step in if shit goes sideways.”
“Like an idiot girl trying to race a psychopath?” Emily said, her shoulders slumping as she stared at the floor, her remorse as plain as day. “That kind of shit?”
Dane cupped her chin in his hand, lifted her gaze to meet his. “You weren’t to know what you were stepping into.”
“But I knew Matthew wasn’t a good guy, and I went with him anyway.” She tilted her head back and groaned. “I’m so stupid! And now you have to clean up my mess. That’s the thing you need to get in front of, right? The trouble I caused you both tonight.”
There was no point hiding the truth from her. Dane nodded. “Yes.”