Page 17 of Wilder's Promise
Emma takes a deep breath as we step outside. "So, this is the fortress I'm trapped in for the foreseeable future."
"It's not so bad," I say, sitting on one of the benches. "At least the company's decent."
"Is it?" She remains standing, arms crossed. "A bunch of criminals planning a hit on other criminals doesn't exactly qualify as 'decent company' in my book."
"I meant me," I clarify with a half-smile. "But point taken."
That draws a reluctant laugh from her. "You're very sure of yourself, aren't you?"
"Not always." I lean back, looking up at the darkening sky. "Right now, for instance, I'm second-guessing every decision that led me to this moment."
Chapter 6 - Emma
"Right now, for instance, I'm second-guessing every decision that led me to this moment."
"Which moment is that, exactly?" I ask, finally sitting beside him on the bench.
"This one." He gestures at us. "Being stuck on babysitting duty while my brothers go to war. Sitting here with you, not knowing what to say."
"You don't strike me as someone who's often at a loss for words."
"I'm usually not." He looks at me then, his gaze direct in a way that makes my heart beat a little faster. "You have that effect on me."
I should shut this down. Whatever this is—this strange tension, this pull between us—it can only lead to complications I don't need. I came here under duress, forced back into my father's world against my will. The last thing I should be doing is developing feelings for one of his soldiers.
And yet.
"I barely know you," I say, which isn't a rejection.
"That can change." He shifts slightly on the bench, closing some of the distance between us. "Ask me anything."
I consider this offer, weighing my curiosity against my better judgment. Curiosity wins. "Why does someone like you end up in a motorcycle club? The truth, not the sanitized version."
He doesn't answer immediately, seeming to weigh his words.
"After my parents left, I was angry. The kind of anger that eats at you from the inside. I had to be the responsible one for Maya'ssake, but there was this rage I couldn't control. Jack, my best friend, tried to help me, but I needed more."
"So you channeled it into stunts."
"And fights." He nods. "Lots of fights. It was the only time I felt... anything. The adrenaline was the only thing that cut through the numbness."
I understand that more than I care to admit. The rush of doing something reckless, something that makes you feel alive when everything else feels muted.
"What changed?" I ask.
"Maya got accepted to college. Full scholarship." A genuine smile lights his face when he speaks about his sister. "Once I knew she was set, that she had a future, I stopped caring about my own. Took more risks. Bigger ones."
"Until my father found you."
"Until your father saw something in me worth saving." He looks down at his hands. "The club gave me purpose. Brothers who had my back. Rules to live by when I was spiraling without any."
It's the most honest thing anyone in my father's world has ever said to me. No glorification of the outlaw life, no romanticizing the violence. Just the raw truth of a man who needed something to hold onto.
"My father isn't usually in the saving business," I say, thinking of the cold, distant man who let my mother take me away.
"You'd be surprised." Wilder's voice is quiet. "The man I know lives by a code. Protects the innocent. Stands up for those who can't stand up for themselves."
"Sounds like a fairy tale."
