Page 13 of The Drag Race Debutante & the Detectives
Emily knew they’d do the right thing. Not because she knew them intimately, not because they loved her or—hopefully—because she loved them. No. She knew they would keep her safe because they were cops. Because it was their fucking job, the thing they were paid to do.
Despair gut-punched him so hard he thought he might vomit.
She’d given up on them.
Completely.
Eric shook his head, rejected the idea. No. Fuck that. Emily wasn’t giving up. They wouldn’t let her, and before he could even think about what he was doing, his hand latched around Emily’s throat and squeezed just enough make sure he had her full attention. Her eyes grew wide, her pupils dilated, and her plump lips parted on a gasp.
“Did you try contacting us at all in the last two months?” he said. “Even once?”
She tried to shake her head. “No.”
“You saw Kiki every week for one reason or another,” Dane added. “Did you ask her where we’d gone or what we were doing?”
Her eyes narrowed. “You said you didn’t tell Karen what you were up to.”
“We didn’t. But do you really think she wouldn’t have kicked our butts to get you answers if you’d wanted them?” Eric felt her hammering pulse against his fingers, saw the myriad of emotions dancing in her pretty eyes. Saw the storm she didn’t know how to navigate. But that’s why she had them. They would be her compass, her anchor, her safe harbour. They would take care of her. But first they had to tear down the walls she was constantly rebuilding against them. “Why did you give up on us so easily?”
“Easy?” Her lip curled and then the storm exploded. “You think losing you was easy?”
“You didn’t lose us, baby,” Dane said, tightening his grip as she struggled to free herself from his arms.
“How was I supposed to know that? You were there one minute and gone the next!”
“Why didn’t you reach out to us, Emily? Not one call. Not one text. By your own admission, you didn’t even ask our sister about us. Why?”
“Because you abandoned me,” she yelled, stamping her foot against the carpet and narrowly missing Dane’s foot. “You ghosted me. And I learned a long time ago not to bother chasing after men who obviously had no interest in being with me. Why wouldn’t I think you were done with me? I’m short, overweight, and boring. Not to mention?—”
“Not to mention what?” Eric said, his fingers flexing around her throat in warning.
A warning she ignored completely as she continued disparaging herself. She scoffed. “Well, I’m not exactly winning any beauty contests over here, am I?” Angry tears fell thick and fast as she glared at him. “I always knew my time with you two would end, I knew I was nothing more than a temporary distraction….” She cast her gaze to the side, away from him again. “Or worse.”
“What could possibly be worse than you thinking we don’t want you?” Dane growled, tightening his grip again as Emily tried to shove away from him.
“Using me.”
Dane stared at the back of Emily’s head, confusion writ across his face. “For what?”
“As a way of getting back at my brother for dating your sister. I hear how you speak to him, the disdain you have for him.”
Eric’s head lolled back until he was staring at the ceiling, then he let loose a long sigh. This fucking undercover bullshit was ruining their lives. And the urge to hold Emily tight suddenly overwhelmed every other sense he had, but he had to wait. Just a little longer.
Straightening up, he dropped his hand from her throat. “Let her go.”
Dane’s gaze snapped to his, and panic sat heavy in his voice. “Eric, what are you doing?”
“Getting a few things straight,” he said, and folded his arms over his chest. “First, we have nothing but respect for your brother. What Teddy did all those years ago, what he sacrificed to keep you and your family safe, that took guts. And do you really think we would let him anywhere near our sister if he hadn’t already proven himself to be a good man?”
“He takes care of her,” Dane added, mirroring Eric’s stance. “He makes her happy, and if you think he doesn’t give as good as he gets when we tease him, then you haven’t been paying attention.”
Eric moved closer until the toes of his boots bumped into the tips of Emily’s sneakers. It forced her to look up at him and stumble slightly, but he caught her upper arms and held her steady. She gasped at his touch, at his nearness, and he welcomed the sweet sound. Couldn’t wait to make her gasp for other, more pleasurable reasons.
“Second, you were never temporary, kitten.” He brushed her hair away from her face. “And you certainly weren’t some kind of payback against your brother.”
“Yeah, right.”
“It’s true, baby. We’ve wanted you from the moment we saw you.”
