Page 10 of Emmy's Ride

Austin read the shift in my expression instantly. His jaw ticked. “That’s what I thought.”

I slid off the stool, my body tight with frustration. “I can handle myself.”

His hand shot out, catching my wrist. He didn’t grip hard, but the weight of his touch sent a shiver up my arm.

“Not against people who want you dead, Em.”

I tried to yank free, but he didn’t let go. Not until I stopped fighting. Not until I looked up at him and saw the fear almost hidden beneath the anger in his eyes.

For an endless moment, neither of us moved. I felt the heat of his touch linger after he let me go. His body was close, the warmth of him attacking my senses, stirring up memories I had no business thinking about right now.

Austin's gaze searched my face, asking, and demanding something I wasn’t sure I could give. His chest rose and fell with controlled breaths, but the tightness in his shoulders betrayed him. He was holding back.

I could feel it.

Then, with a rough exhale, he took a step back, severing the invisible thread pulling us together.

“We’re leaving.” It wasn’t a question.

I stiffened. “I didn’t agree to that.”

“Too bad.” His jaw ticked as he stared me down. “You’ve got my protection whether you want it or not.”

I hated how easily he could do this—walk in like he still had some kind of claim on me. He gave that up years ago.

But what I hated more was the way my body responded. No matter how much I wanted to fight him, a part of me—the part I’d buried deep—felt steadier with him here.

I grit my teeth, shoving down the unwanted warmth creeping up my spine. “You don’t get to decide what I do, Austin.”

“I’m not deciding for you,” he said. “I’m making sure you don’t get yourself killed before you find Luke. He’d be really pissed at me if I let that happen.”

A lump formed in my throat at the mention of my brother, the reminder of why I was here in the first place.

I wanted to argue, to push back just to prove that he didn’t have control over me. But the truth settled heavy in my chest—someone had lured me here tonight, and if Austin hadn’t shown up…

I didn’t finish the thought. Instead, I let out a ragged breath, pushed past him, and made for the door.

He followed, a silent shadow at my back.

The cool night air hit me as soon as I stepped outside. It should have been a relief, a break from the suffocating atmosphere of the bar, but it wasn’t. Not with Austin right behind me. Not with the way the night suddenly felt darker, more dangerous.

My boots scuffed against the pavement as I came to a stop beside my car. I could feel him watching me, waiting.

I turned my head slightly, catching the outline of his profile in the dim glow of the streetlights. Strong jaw. Broad shoulders. Those damn blue eyes that had always been my weakness.

The same man I had walked away from all those years ago. The same man who had let me walk away.

Austin shifted, sliding his hands into his pockets like he had all the time in the world. “You coming, or do I have to throw you over my bike?”

“Try it, and I’ll break your nose.”

The bastard smirked. “Now that’s the Emmy I remember.”

A flicker of something—nostalgia, regret, maybe both—passed between us, but I ignored it. Right now, none of that mattered.

Right now, all that mattered was figuring out who the hell had set me up.

Austin

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