Page 25 of Emmy's Ride

A rush of guilt settled in my stomach. How had I not known? He’d been putting himself in danger, beating the shit out of men for money, all to take care of me. To make sure I had food to eat and clothes to wear. College… had he helped me pay for college with the money he’d earned from fighting?

I felt sick.

“Jesus, Candy,” I whispered, sinking back down on the bed. “I had no idea.”

“He didn’t want you to, honey.”

The lump in my throat felt big as a boulder. Luke had always protected me. Even from the truth.

Candy pulled out her phone and swiped through some pictures. “Look, here.”

I leaned in. A photo of Candy and Luke flashed on the screen. He looked younger, but still rough around the edges. A cut on his cheek, his arm slung around Candy, sweat dampening his shirt. Thinking back, I remembered him coming home with cuts and bruises that he explained happened during “club business.”

In the picture, Candy was looking up at Luke, and by the expression on her face… “Are you and Luke together?”

She gave a raspy cackle. “Lord, no. I mean, we fuck, but that’s about it. He’s a straight-up kind of man, and we share a love for the fights. Now don’t you get that look on your face. I had a man once. He beat the shit out of me on a regular basis before the Kings saved me. I’ve been happy as a clam ever since and have no desire to ever settle for one man again when I can have a club-full.” She laughed at her own joke.

I had known Candy for a long time, but I’d never known about the abuse. Or that the Kings had saved her. Honestly, I didn’t know much about the actual dealings of the club. Club business stayed club business and wasn’t discussed with outsiders. Because of my gender I was considered only a level above an outsider even as Luke’s sister or Austin’s girlfriend.

I bit my lip, mentally shaking myself to get back to the task at hand. Luke. “Are there any more recent pictures?”

Candy hesitated, then opened a different app. A private site. “I shouldn’t be sharing this. It’s where they let everyone know when and where the fights are going to be. It’s all in code, but there are some non-fight pictures. You know, nothing the cops could use to shut them down.”

My pulse spiked as she tapped on a video. The footage was shaky, the lighting terrible. We watched almost a dozen videos before I saw it.

There.I backed the video up for a closer look, and I was sure beyond a shadow of a doubt, it was a glimpse of Luke. Just for a second, moving through the crowd.

My hands shook as I searched for the time stamp. I gasped loudly when I found it and saw the date matched. The night Luke went missing. My heart slammed against my ribs.

Candy leaned in closer and asked, “What is it, Emmy?”

I shot to my feet, running to the door. “I need to find Austin.”

“No.”

I braced myself as Austin’s stare burned into me, his jaw locked so tight I thought it might crack. His broad shoulders were rigid, fists clenched at his sides like he was holding himself back from shaking some damn sense into me. But I wasn’t backing down.

“You’re not going. Have you forgotten how well sticking your damn nose in where it doesn’t belong worked for you a few days ago?” he said again, slower this time, voice deep and controlled in that way that used to send shivers down my spine.

Not this time.

He was right, and if I was going to get to the fights, I needed to admit it. “I’m sorry about that. You were right. I should’ve stayed in the car. But Candy has been there plenty of times with Luke. I really want to go with you. I might see something or hear something you miss. Luke’s my brother, Austin. I need to be there. I promise I’ll do whatever you say.”

“Rusty’s was a fucking pony ride compared to this. You think I’m taking you to a goddamn underground fight? With men who’d slit a throat just for looking at them wrong?”

I did. “If Luke was there the night he disappeared, then that’s where I need to be. I’ll stay by your side the whole time. Plus, I know how to read emotions and body language. I might pick up on something that could help us find Luke.”

I could see it—the war raging inside him. The part of him that wanted to throw me over his damn shoulder and lock me in his room for my own safety. And the part that knew me well enough to understand it wouldn’t work. He was also realizing I could be a help.

His nostrils flared, his chest rising and falling in heavy breaths. I could almost hear the words forming in his mind, the argument he wanted to make, the fight he wanted to have with me about why this was too dangerous. About how I didn’t belong in a place like that.

But I did. Because Luke had been there. And nothing—not Austin, not his club, not even my own fear—was going to keep me from finding him.

His eyes darkened. Then—“Fine.” His voice rough and dragging over my skin like a warning. “But you stay by my side, don’t talk to anybody, and if I say leave, we leave.”

The underground fight was exactly what I had expected—and nothing like I had expected.

The place reeked of sweat, beer, and desperation. The dim lighting cast shadows against the caged ring in the center of the warehouse. The crowd pressed in close, their shouts echoing offthe metal walls as two men pounded fists into each other’s faces, the dull thuds of impact making my stomach churn.

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