Vicious Rebel (82 Street Vandals #2) - Heather Long Page 0,14

the long way back to the clubhouse. We didn’t have a tail, but that didn’t really matter. It wasn’t like the 19Ds wouldn’t know who hit them and where to hit back. We’d have to be vigilant over the next few days.

Rome and Freddie both needed to stick close to home. Neither were good at it. They moved to their own beats. Fuck. Emersyn was still there.

Maybe this would be the impetus for Jasper letting her get back to some semblance of a real life. Or something.

I knew the answer to that without even bringing it up.

It wasn’t until we turned toward the clubhouse itself that Vaughn asked, “Are you going to tell him?”

“Fuck no,” I rumbled and let out a humorless laugh. “He’s already in a dickish mood. Just don’t fuck her again.”

“No.”

I cut a look at him. “Vaughn…”

“You heard me, I said no. If she wants me, I’m not turning her down.” Instead of combative, it sounded like a promise. “She deserves good things.”

“And you think that’s us?” I couldn’t help but scoff.

“I think we’re a hell of a lot better than what she had. At least we give a damn if she’s hurt and there are no new bruises on her. She can take a deep breath, and she can move… Goddamn, can she move.”

My dick twitched at the last. Particularly with the emphasis he put on move. Not a good plan. Just, none of this was a good plan. Sooner or later, Raptor would find out. Or worse, Jasper would find out about Vaughn and then Raptor would.

We didn’t need this grief in our life, especially if we had a turf war in the offing. Neither of us said a word as the double wide doors rolled back and I pulled into the clubhouse. Rats kept watch, and the doors closed behind us.

A familiar dark blue bike sat parked off to the side. Liam was still here. At least he’d had Rome’s back. Vaughn headed inside with the bag, and I followed him. Freddie’s singing carried as we entered, and the door behind me made a thud as I closed it. I was so not in the mood for Freddie’s shit, but the soft sound of Emersyn’s laughter was like a balm to my soul.

“Careful, Dove,” Vaughn said ahead of me, and it took me a couple of steps to close the gap and see what he meant. Freddie was hunched over a bucket and seated on the sofa next to her. The sound of Freddie’s retching wasn’t much better than his singing, but instead of being turned off by it, Emersyn kept rubbing his back.

Something inside of me unclenched at her swift glance from Vaughn to me, then back again. The curve of her lips, the gleam in her eyes… Fuck me, I’d missed her today.

Nothing good was going to come from this.

Freddie threw up again, and I stripped off my jacket.

Nothing good.

Chapter 5

Emersyn

It was early evening when Jasper rolled in with a staggering Freddie in tow. The smell of cloves, smoky fruits, and bitter chocolate clung to the air, underscored by the tobacco as Jasper exhaled a stream of smoke. Freddie had all but collapsed next to me on the sofa, puncturing the tension in the showdown between Liam and Doc. Rome and I hadn’t said a word to each other, but he’d taken one look at me and then just nodded.

Maybe I was reading too much into it, but it felt like forgiveness, so I’d go with it. Thankfully, he didn’t hesitate to bring a bucket over to where Freddie had begun to heave. I’d really rather he didn’t throw up on me.

“How bad?” Doc asked, switching gears from the combative pose he’d adopted when Liam challenged our arrival. Oddly, Liam hadn’t challenged me, just Doc. If anything, Liam had taken my return even better than Rome.

“Hey, Doc,” Freddie managed before another gag took him. I concentrated only on breathing through my mouth and not just because of the smell of the vomit, but the sour odor of sweat combined with the acridness of the urine weren’t doing him any favors. My stomach twisted at the next choking cough that came from Freddie before he threw up again.

“Come on, Little Bit,” Doc said, moving to tug me up from the seat so he could take my place. “How much did you do?”

Jasper caught my arm and tugged me a little farther away. Freddie seemed to fight to track where I was going, but