Page 28 of Drift
I took another step back, pulse hammering in my ears.
“Ethan, I’m serious. You need to leave.” He reached out to grab my wrist, and I yanked it away just as my phone rang. The bandBlack Rebel Motorcycle Clubblared from the speaker. “That’s my brother. He checks in with me every night. If I don’t answer, he’ll have every Redline King on my doorstep in minutes.”
The part about Jaxton’s reason for calling was a lie, but the cavalry he’d send to my rescue wasn’t. Not after the text I sent him. My brother didn’t mess around when it came to my safety.
The warning was enough to make Ethan take a few steps back, his arm dropping to his side.
My phone rang again.
I swallowed hard and answered, pressing the phone to my ear instead of using speaker mode like I usually did when I was home alone. “Hey, Jaxton! Hope you and Lark had another amazing day in paradise.”
My voice came out overly bright, sounding fake to my ears. Thankfully, my brother saw right through it.
“Stay on the line.” His tone was calm but clipped. And dangerously controlled. “You alone?”
My throat tightened. “I’ve just been chipping away at a paper that’s due. Haven’t even worked on my research project yet since I needed to wait for Ethan to come over for that.”
Jaxton was the smartest person I knew. He’d definitely get the message I was sending—I wasn’t alone because Ethan was here.
Ethan’s jaw flexed. He didn’t move closer, but his eyes stayed fixed on me, unblinking.
“Got it,” Jaxton growled.
“I’m fine, though,” I quickly explained, before he popped a blood vessel or something. That was the last thing he needed while on his honeymoon. It was bad enough that I had interrupted it with my text. “Just tired. Really looking forward to wrapping up this assignment. The jump from my associate’s classes to this program has been tougher than I expected, even with the lighter course load.”
Ethan frowned and shook his head. “You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. You’re a great research partner.”
I forced a small laugh that sounded brittle even to my own ears. In large part because he’d literally threatened to report me to the school for an academic violation. “Thanks, Ethan. That means a lot.”
“Don’t like the possessive thread in that little asshole’s voice.” Jaxton sounded like he’d happily reach through the phone and rip Ethan’s balls off.
“That was Ethan.” I flashed my intruder a smile that was meant to reassure him. “You should’ve believed me when I told you that you’d like him. He just stopped by to check in on me.”
Since I hadn’t said a word about my research partner to my brother, he understood that I was just trying to keep Ethan calm.
“Good job, sis. You won’t be on your own with him much longer. I’m sending someone.”
The line went silent except for the faint sound of his breathing. Every second stretched long enough to feel like a lifetime.
Then I heard a familiar sound outside—the low, unmistakable roar of a motorcycle engine cutting through the night.
Ethan didn’t seem to notice. But I did.
And for the first time since opening that door, I let myself believe I might actually be safe.
The faint growl of the motorcycle grew louder, giving me the strength to issue one more warning.
“Ethan.” I forced my voice not to shake. “You really should go.”
“Why?” His eyes narrowed. “Is that even your brother on the phone? Or is it him?”
“Him who?” Jaxton asked in my ear, his tone suddenly suspicious in a way that only a big brother could pull off.
“Relax, big brother. The only guys I’ve talked to since you left for your honeymoon are Ethan and your club brothers.”
What I left unsaid was that I’d done a whole lot more than talk with Chance.
10
