Page 35 of Shared By Her Brother's Best Friends

“Which apparently he did,” Jax buts in bitterly.

“When I heard… what happened, we sent the signal to Bess to get out,” I continue.

“Luckily I was able to get out without the guys needing to come in and start a war between the Hell Riders and Iron Serpents,” Bess says.

“Not that it matters now. Mason beating the shit out of the leader sure as shit has started a war,” Jax says with a snort.

“What else would you have me do, let Emma get raped?” Mason snaps which shuts Jax up.

“How did you get out?” Emma asks Bess.

Bess winces. “Venom had to help me, and by help, I mean he had to put on a show of slapping me around to get me outside, hence the bruise. I’m sorry about what happened with Breaker, Emma, I didn’t think he would go that far, especially not so fast. I thought I’d have time,” Bess says mournfully.

“It’s okay, Mason got there in time,” Emma replies putting on a brave face, though it’s clear the encounter has shaken her. “Please tell me this disastrous mission was worth it at least?” she pleads.

Bess nods. “Yes, I think so. Venom was working undercover with Victor Kane before this. The usual protocol would mean he’d have stayed undercover with Kane until the case was closed, but his cover was almost blown and the team decided it best to fake his death. I’m not sure if you noticed, but Venom is missing a finger, that was sent to Kane as proof of his death,” Bess explains.

Emma’s face pales. “So, did Venom tell you anything?”

Bess nods, her eyes full of pity. “Yes, but I’m not sure it’s good news. Venom said that the Hell Riders have no knowledge of you and that it isn’t their work. However, he remembers your husband. It seems he dealt with Kane.”

“So it’s likely that Kane is the one behind the attacks on Emma and attempted kidnapping of Max,” I interject.

“I think it’s safe to assume so, yes,” Bess concedes, taking a slug of beer.

Emma’s face falls and I feel the overwhelming urge to jump up and embrace her, to tell her everything will be okay. But I can’t promise her that.

Things are about to get a hell of a lot worse.

Chapter 18

Jax

I’ve never been the jealous type before. Especially when it comes to Mason and Ty. But envy reared its ugly head when I saw Emma and Mason. They’d clearly hooked up while we were worrying about them and the thought that Emma may be choosing Mason hurt me more than I care to admit. I suppose it’s foolish of me to believe that Emma would want to be with all three of us, that we could have some sort of relationship. But if I’m being honest, that’s exactly what part of me has been hoping would happen. I can’t deny my feelings for Emma, I’d rather share her with my best friends than not be with her at all. Because I’ve realized I want to be with her. It feels crazy that I want to when we barely know each other, but I do. So the notion that my best friend doesn’t feel the same, or that Emma prefers him, stings.

I’ve been trying to focus on the conversation. We’re all trying to devise a plan, slowly realizing the hopelessness of the situation while getting steadily drunker. But my eyes keep wandering back to Mason and Emma trying to read their body language. Mason knows me well enough to know something’s up, so he’s resolutely ignoring me, further frustrating me.

“I say we kill him,” Ty suggests for the fifth time that evening.

“Ty, we can’t murder someone, no matter how horrible he is. I really think I should just go to the police,” Emma suggests, not for the first time either.

“The police will be useless, and then if we need to take him out their first line of inquiry is going to be to look into us,” Mason reasons.

“I still think moving you and changing your identity is the best solution, he’ll have to find you all over again, that at least buys us time,” Bess suggests.

Emma shakes her head. “No. I’m not uprooting Max’s life again. This is our home,” she says firmly.

The relief I feel is palpable. Although she’d be safe, the thought of never seeing her again, of not even knowing where she is or who she becomes, is torture.

“Why don’t I just speak to Kane? Try to reason with him. Perhaps I could even pay him the money, just to be rid of him. I might have to borrow it from Jacob, but I think he’d help me out,” Emma says with a small sigh of defeat.

“It’s too risky,” I argue. “He could hurt you, or worse. Besides, you can’t just go and speak to a man like Victor Kane.”

“But we could try,” Bess says, mulling the idea over. “I’ll make some calls in the morning.”

“Thank you, for everything,” Emma says with a wan smile.

Bess smiles back, stifling a yawn. “Right guys, I’m gonna hit the hay. You should all stay the night, we’ve all had far too much to drink to be driving anywhere. Emma, you can take the spare room, if you come upstairs with me now, I’ll show you where it is,” Emma nods and gets up, ready to follow Bess. “Guys, you can fight over the couches,” Bess adds with a wink at us before they head upstairs.

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