I turn off the bacon and cover it as Emery circles the island, making sure the grease doesn’t pop and get her. She stops behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist and resting her forehead on my back.
“Did everything go okay?” she asks, and I realize she’s comforting me.
No one ever comforts me.
I spin until she’s in my arms, looking up at me with her bright-blue eyes.
I didn’t tell her where I was going last night, but she senses the change this morning. The vibration of my energy still hangs in the air. I never understood brothers letting their old ladies in on so many of our club secrets. But with Emery in my arms, staring up at me like she sees straight through me, I don’t want there to be secrets between us.
“We had a run-in with some of Eli’s men,” I admit, and color drains from her face.
“Was he there? My uncle—”
I shake my head. “It was just a few guys who worked for Eli. They were moving around imports.”
“Imports?”
I nod once, and her eyes widen. She knows they were moving women without me having to say it. Emery doesn’t talk about it often, but it’s clear she’s still haunted by the things she witnessed living with her uncle.
Her gaze falls from mine. “I kept wanting to believe he would stop. That he would realize what he’s doing is wrong. But he won’t ever stop, will he?”
“No, he won’t.” I tip her chin up, brushing my thumb over her lower lip.
A glassy sheen coats her eyes. If I had the power to erase her pain, I’d give up everything else.
Emery’s mouth opens—something is on the tip of her tongue. But then she snaps it shut. Her fingers clutch my T-shirt, but she’s shifting on her feet.
When she tries to look away, I tilt her chin up. “What’s wrong?”
Whatever is on her mind has nothing to do with last night. This is something else.
“You can talk to me,” I assure her.
“I can’t.” Her voice trembles.
My hands move to her cheeks, my fingers threading through her silky hair. “Look at me, Emery. You can trust me. But I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me. What’s wrong?”
“It’s just—” She takes a slow breath, steadying her voice. “He’ll kill me if I tell you. Or worse.”
“Your uncle?”
She nods.
“Nothing is going to happen to you or Charlie. I promise.”
“You can’t promise that.” She shakes her head, trying to shake my grip as well, but I don’t let her. “My uncle is too rich. Too powerful. I’m only here right now because he’s allowing it.”
“Is that what he said to you?” My teeth clench.
She never told me what her uncle said to her when she and Charlie were taken, and I didn’t push out of respect. But maybe I should have. Something is making her doubt us, and she’s been sitting with it.
“He said that and other things.” She swallows hard. “And he’s right. You saw how easy it was for him to takeus. All he has to do is make another call, and they’ll be back.”
Hearing Emery doesn’t trust me to keep her safe hits harder than I expect. But she’s right. I promised her that her uncle couldn’t get to her here, and I was wrong. All Zane has to do is call on his friends at the Feds, and they’ll come back.
The club gets away with a lot of shit because Vegas cops don’t have the resources to make much stick, but the Feds are a different story. So long as Zane wants their attention on us, no one is safe here.
Heartbreak swells in Emery’s eyes, and it splinters through me. I should be able to protect my family, and I can’t. My hands thread into her hair as if that can be enough to keep her safe.
