Page 64 of Borden 3

We began to move, heading straight back to the doors. I needed to get out. Away. Now.

“Emma,” he called from behind us.

My shoulders tensed. Panic zipped down my spine. To my shock, Hector paused, forcing me to stop too. I looked up at him. “No,” I growled at him. “No, Hector.”

Hector had already turned around. “Hell of a fight.”

Don’t talk to him.

Don’t engage.

That’s how he sucks you in!

I heard his footsteps approach us, and I wanted to shrivel in on myself. He stopped, and the scent of his sweat and musk hit us.

“Sometimes the only way to learn is to lose,” he said.

“I think the dude’s dead,” Hector replied. “I don’t even think you followed the fucking safety procedures. I’ve been to boxing clubs before, man. The fuck was that?”

He sounded amused. “We’re sort of underground. You’d know what that’s like, right? Being a biker.”

Hector was way too chill for this. I glanced up at Hector, keeping my eyes pinned anywhere but him.

“I ain’t a biker no more,” Hector returned, edgily. “Haven’t been for a while, either.”

“Is that so?”

“You can’t say shit like that, you know. You gotta respect the fuckin’ code.”

He chuckled smoothly. “If you left, what code do I gotta follow? I’m not a biker. Never was one.”

“It doesn't matter. You keep that shit to yourself.”

I was impressed by Hector’s commands. I eyed him, feeling a wave of respect toward him. Pride, too, that he was by my side talking back to Theo.

“Or what?” Theo prodded, completely at ease. “You gonna send Borden’s men after me? Or your brother’s men? Or maybe both.”

I shouldn’t have been shocked by his brazenness. This was Theo, after all, and some people never changed. Still. I whipped my head around to look at him and stilled. His eyes were already on mine. Like he’d been talking to Hector but staring at me the whole time.

He smiled coolly when our eyes met. “Hey, Emma.”

My eyes ran the length of him quickly, taking in the scars and burn marks. Unlike the rest of the people in the room, he didn’t have a single tattoo inked on his skin. It was odd considering he had such a rebellious nature.

I waved a hand around the room. “What is this?”

His stare was steady. “Don’t you already know?”

“I see nothing’s changed.”

“Not from my end.” His eyes ran the length of me too, and a flash of disgust followed. “Can’t say the same for you.”

His words hurt in an unusual way. I didn’t let him see it. The smile I gave him was sour. “Yes, some of us evolve, Theo.”

“Is that what you did? Evolve.” He chuckled, but it sounded empty. He took a step closer, but he got immediately cut off when Hector wrapped an arm around me, pulling me close to his side. Theo turned his gaze to Hector and held it for a few seconds. My heart rate climbed. Flashes of the past flitted through me, reminding me that Theo was capable of scary things. He was abrupt, and he could be mean. He always thought one step ahead, calculating his next move with precision.

He looked back at me and then smiled casually. “What brought you back here?”

“Memories,” I simply said.

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