Page 21 of Inferno

“Uh, thanks for the ride,” Emmy says shyly after I park, and we both get off my Harley.

“Anytime.”

She averts her gaze, glancing at her front door over her shoulder. When her eyes lock on me again, the fear from earlier has returned.

“Why don’t I walk you in, make sure everything’s okay before I head home?” I suggest, sensing she doesn’t want to go inside alone.

Emmy hesitates before responding, and I can practically see her working through what she should do: face the unknown or let the big bad wolf in. It’s a sticky situation, but she has to know I wouldn’t do a damn thing to hurt her.

“I’ll be okay,” she finally says, although she doesn’t seem convinced. “If you’ll just, um, wait until I’m inside and have locked the door to leave, that’d be great.”

I force a smile, hoping to reassure her. On the inside, my emotions are trying to take over. My cold dead heart heats to an impossible degree, and my skin tingles. I’d much rather go inside with her, but at this rate, I’d burn her house down if I did.

“I can do that,” I say. “No problem.”

“Thanks.”

She turns on her heel and scurries up her porch steps. It takes her a moment to dig her keys out of her purse, but as soon as she’s inside, I get back on my Harley.

I back out of her driveway and circle the block before parking down the road from her house. Emmy might not want me inside, but there’s no way I’m leaving now. Cryptic notes and slashed tires are nothing to ignore, and I need to be close to her to make sure she’s safe.

Eventually, her house goes dark, and I imagine her climbing into bed and burrowing under the blanket. I wonder if she’ll dream of her savior, of me, tonight.

“Watcha doin’?”

I almost fall off my bike at the intrusion. Turning my head, I glare at Demo.

“What the fuck are you doing, sneaking up on me like that?” I demand as I glance around us. “And where’s your bike?”

He grins. “Parked a few blocks away. Figured a motorcycle would make too much noise.”

Makes sense.

“And you’re here because…”

“You didn’t come back to the clubhouse. Viking sent me to check on you.”

“Aw, were you guys worried about me?”

“I sure as fuck wasn’t,” he snorts. “But you know how Pres is.”

“We’ve all died horrific deaths,” I remind him. “Can you blame the man?”

“No. Which is why I’m here in the middle of the night.”

I thrust a hand through my hair. “Right. Well, as you can see, I’m fine.”

Demo glances over his shoulder at Emmy’s house. “And her?”

“She’ll be fine. Her tires were slashed at work,” I explain. “I could tell she was scared but didn’t want to ask me to come in, so I decided to hang out and watch over her.”

“And your dick had nothing to do with that decision?”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Not everyone is a man whore like you. I guess I should be grateful you’ve got clothes on.”

Demo smirks. “It’s too cold to be outside naked.”

“You’re dead. You don’t feel the cold.”

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