Chapter Thirty-Nine
Wilder
EMMETT WAS asleep across his lap, and he hadn’t stopped running his fingers through his hair since they got in the car two hours ago.
Seeing Emmett jump in front of Kian, jump in front of a gun, had been the worst and longest, most frightening seconds of his life.
Losing Emmett was not an option. Not ever.
He shared Emmett’s worries about Kian, but unlike the guy who was raised by an outlaw and a made man, who was always armed to the teeth, Emmett was the easier target.
Which was why he was never letting him out of his sight again.
At least not until the threat against him and Kian had been neutralized.
The car came to a stop, and he pressed a kiss to the top of Emmett’s head, smiling as he roused, drawing in a deep breath. Blue eyes blinked up at him, and the rest of the world ceased to exist.
“Hi,” Emmett croaked out.
“Hi. We’re home.”
The soft smile that spread on Emmett’s lips made his breath catch, and he loved the chuckle he received when he stole a kiss.
“Let’s go to bed,” he said and reached for the door handle.
He needed a good night’s sleep wrapped around Emmett. Maybe a whole week with the jackhammering going on in his skull.
He stepped out of the car and was immediately met with shouting voices. Emma was on the front porch, throwing her arms up as she yelled at her brother.
“Are you fucking serious?”
“This is not a secret anyone should keep,” Miles said, his voice deceptively calm, but there was an inferno raging in his eyes as he glared down at his sister. “You can’t tell me they didn’t deserve to know.”
Wilder’s attention snapped back to the car as Emmett crawled out, smiling up at him. Wilder held a hand toward him, and warmth spread through his body when Emmett took it. He closed the car door and led Emmett toward the patio, watching the siblings with caution as they continued to argue.
The front door opened, and a man with dark hair and piercing green eyes stepped out, closely followed by a man with wide shoulders, close-cropped hair, and a worried expression.
Emmett gasped, then exclaimed, “Dads.”
The second Emmett’s fingers slipped from his, he felt a chill run through his body.
He watched as the two men and Emmett collided in a tight hug. They all pulled back after a few long seconds and started signing frantically to each other. He wasn’t even going to try and follow along. His head was still fucked, his vision getting blurrier each second. He needed to sit down.
The creak of the front door had him glancing up to see Travis step outside, his expression thunderous and aimed at Emma. Oh, fuck.
Travis walked up to Emma, signing the whole way, his anger evident in his sharp movements. He couldn’t follow what he was saying, but from the devastated look on Emma’s face, it wasn’t good.
He swayed on his feet, and an arm wrapped around his waist to keep him upright. He breathed a sigh of relief as citrus filled his nose. Jane.
He rested his cheek against the top of her head and let her take some of his weight. He knew she’d tell him to let her carry it all because she was a stubborn ass, but he never would.
“We should get you inside,” she said, keeping her voice low. “You need to lie down. Preferably before you fall down because I’m not dragging your heavy ass into the house. My arms nearly popped out when I did it earlier.”
A snort escaped him, and he clenched the fingers he had on her shoulder.
Emmett looked up, smiling softly at Wilder as he beckoned him over. He straightened with a deep breath, pain flashing behind his eyes and stunning him for a second before he managed to move his feet toward Emmett and his fathers.
He heard Jane’s muttered, “Idiot,” and then the crunch of pebbles as she followed him.
Emmett had his arms open wide, and he stepped right into his embrace, a sigh rocking through him.
“You’re gonna have to sign for me,” he said, voice low, but he knew Emmett would hear.
“What’s wrong?”
He hated the fear creeping into Emmett’s voice. He wanted to chase it away.
“Concussion,” Jane answered for him.
Emmett’s gasp made him cringe.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Getting you back was more important.”
“You…” Emmett cursed under his breath, hands coming up to cup Wilder’s face. “You reckless man.”
Emmett’s lips were on his, and time seemed to stop. If he could live in that moment forever, he would.
“I love you,” Emmett whispered against his lips.
Emmett pulled back, but not too far, before Wilder caught the back of his head in his hand, staring into shimmering blue eyes.
“I love you, too, Darlin’.”
Emmett smiled for a moment, then cleared his throat.
“Uh, this is my parents,” Emmett said, red creeping onto his cheeks. He motioned at the smaller man. “Edan.” He turned toward the one who looked at Wilder as if he might pummel him. “And Tommy Crawford.”
“Uh, hi,” he mumbled, trying to get his vision to focus, “Lovely to meet you.”
He blinked at Miles when he stepped up beside him, his hands moving. Signing. He was signing his words to Edan and Travis, who’d placed himself next to his father.
“This is Wilder,” Emmett said, lips pressed together to keep from smiling. “My boyfriend.”
Boyfriend sounded so trivial compared to what he felt.
To what they truly were. He was going to put his name on Emmett.
He was getting Emmett a cut and a property patch.
This man was his. If someone opened him up, all they’d find in his heart was Emmett.
His smile. His laugh. The way those eyes looked at him as if they could see into his soul and loved what they saw.
Emmett frowned. “I don’t know your last name.”
“You’re in love with a man whose last name you don’t even know?” Tommy drawled.
Emmett signed something to his father, who crossed his arms and glared back at him.
Wilder saw Jane puffing out her chest like some offended baby mama out of the corner of his eye and lifted a hand to stop whatever she was considering doing. He didn’t need her to make things worse, even if he appreciated her standing up for him. Now wasn’t the time.
He cleared his throat. “I’m sure there’s a birth certificate somewhere with my name on it, but no. It’s just Wilder.”
The boy who’d had a different name had been long gone by the time Jane called him wild the first time. She’d quickly amended it to Wilder when he’d pulled a stupid stunt just to feed them for a day or two.
“You hurt him, and I’ll kill you. My brother-in-law knows how to get rid of a body,” Tommy said, his serious expression only making Wilder straighten more.
“Dad!”
Tommy’s brown eyes looked from Wilder to Emmett, brows arched in challenge. Yeah, he wasn’t doubting the validity of the man’s threat.
Emmett winced, a slight shake to his voice as he said, “Heath’s dead.”
“What happened?” Miles asked, and it took him a second to realize he was speaking for Edan as he signed, trying to include Wilder in their conversation.
Emmett went back to signing. When Edan gasped and Tommy cursed loudly, he figured Emmett had told them about the assholes wanting information on Kian.
He looked over his shoulder, trying to focus long enough to see if Kian’s bike was in the lot.
No dice, which meant he was likely riding around somewhere alone and unprotected.
Kaz would likely try to beat some sense into him once he returned.
He couldn’t blame Kian for taking off, though.
Aside from being pissed at Dante, learning that he was the reason for Emmett’s kidnapping―at least the second part―had to weigh heavily on him.
He wanted to be mad at Kian for whatever had made those sick assholes interested in him, but it was as if his heart had run out of anger once Emmett was at his side. He knew Kian would never have done anything to put Emmett in danger.
While looking for Kian, he’d clearly missed important parts of the conversation going on between Emmett and his family because the next thing he knew, Emmett was stepping toward Travis, saying, “Please just listen―”
“Let’s go,” Travis signed, the fear in his eyes doing nothing to negate the anger in the clench of his jaw.
When Emmett didn’t move, Travis grabbed him by the hand and tugged, but Emmett pulled free and signed, “Stop!”
Travis froze, disbelief in his eyes as he shook his head.
Emmett took a step back, then another, until his back was against Wilder’s front. He wrapped his arms around Emmett’s middle, meeting the gaze of each of his fathers in turn, hoping they saw the pride and love he felt for their son in his eyes as he raised his chin.
“I love him. Wilder is my home,” Emmett said as he signed. “He’s where I want to be.”
Edan and Tommy exchanged a look, Edan signing something that had Tommy dropping his head back with a groan.
“Fine,” Tommy said, throwing his hands up. He turned his gaze on Wilder, that threat still visible in his eyes. “I guess we should get to know you, Mr.-No-Lastname.”
He nearly smiled at that, especially when Emmett chuckled as Edan grabbed Tommy’s hand and tugged him toward the front door, throwing a narrow-eyed look at Wilder over his shoulder. Miles followed them, an arm around Jane as he waved everyone else inside.
His head was so messed up that he hadn’t noticed the men and women standing around them. He needed a fucking nap.
Emma stepped around Travis, raising her hands to sign, but the sharp shake of his head had her dropping them. She straightened, lifting her chin, but even with his wobbly vision, Wilder could see the tears lining her eyes as Travis walked away.
He heard gravel crunching under Travis’s shoes and then a car door slammed, the engine starting with a loud roar that sent a sharp sting of pain through his skull.
“He’ll come around,” Emmett said, his voice soft.
Emma clenched her jaw and met Emmett’s gaze for a second before she turned on her heels and walked away.
His body was protesting every breath he took, but he ignored it, holding onto the man he loved. He pressed a kiss to Emmett’s cheek.
He hadn’t realized he was leaning on Emmett before he turned around in his arms, and he needed to lock his knees to stay upright.
“We need to get you inside,” Emmett said, his brow furrowed in concern.
“Two more minutes?”
Emmett chuckled and wrapped his arms around the back of Wilder’s neck, eyes shining brightly as he said, “I love you.”
He cupped Emmett’s face with one hand, the other on the small of his back as he rested his forehead against Emmett’s, breathing in that sweet scent he was starting to crave. He couldn’t live without it. Without the man it belonged to.
“I love you.”