Those three simple words seemed benign enough, but her tone told me I'd made a misstep. “Yes. I texted you to let you know I was okay.”

  “You didn't tell me where you were. You didn't give me any expectation of when I could see you. There is a madman on the loose who literally took a shot at you and Darcy yesterday, so I needed a little bit more than a text.”

  A bead of sweat started to slide down my back. I knew she was right. But my shame was at the helm now. I couldn't tell her what I had thought about for over three hours the night before. I couldn’t tell her how I'd tried to bargain with myself to walk in there and kill my father in cold blood. So I swallowed hard and went all-in on the world’s most stupid response. “I don't know why you're overreacting like this.”

  I should have expected the splash of wine. Honestly, knowing Emma's volatility, I really should have planned for that. But when the vintage red splashed in my face, it was a surprise and made my anger flare.

  I took a step toward her to restrain her before she tried to jab me in the eye with a shard of glass, but Emma was quick. Wiley. She ducked under my arm, spinning around and delivering a knee to my arse, which sent this highly unpleasant sensation radiating up my tailbone and my spine, forcing me to stumble forward, flailing.

  I whipped around toward her. “Do you really think you can take me, sweetheart?”

  “Your shirt says that I can.”

  I glanced down at the Italian silk, scowling at it. When I lifted my gaze to meet hers, only one word came out on a growl. “Run.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Emma

  Maybe the glass of wine was a step too far. But honestly, the way he'd been so dismissive… that wasn't Bridge. Something was bothering him. Something was terribly wrong, and he wouldn't fucking talk to me.

  But that way he said ‘run’ told me I'd gone a step too far. And I knew there should be a trickle of fear rolling down my spine, but it was all theater. It was adrenaline and anxiety and lust, just as it always was with him. I really hated my automatic responses to him. They were a pain in my arse.

  I was quick, and honestly, that was my only advantage. Because he was bigger, and he'd already proven he was more than willing to kidnap me, spank me, and bend me over and fuck my arse until I begged and sobbed for him to come inside me.

  He looked more than ready, willing and able to do all three of those things. And while all three of those things would end up in quite a bit of pleasure for me, sex wasn't what I needed from him in that moment. I needed him to fucking talk to me.

  Alas, I wasn't fast enough. I made it just to the edge of the living room when he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me firmly against his body. “Tricky rabbit. You are a naughty little thing aren't you?”

  “We can play games, Bridge. I'm happy to. I can feel how much you want me to.” I deliberately rubbed my arse over the steely ridge of his erection. “I just want you to talk to me. Tell me what you're thinking. Tell me you're scared, you're angry, just tell me something. Don't freeze me out.”

  His breath was harsh against my ear, and I could feel him growing harder. “How is it we always end up in this position?”

  “Well, to be fair, sometimes I'm straddling you.”

  His chuckle was low and harsh as he wound his other arm around me, cupping my breast and squeezing it gently. His breathing was ragged. “I missed you last night.”

  “I was in bed, waiting for you.”

  It was then that I felt it, the shudder that racked through his body. He dropped his forehead to my shoulder and exhaled long and hard. “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.”

  “Just tell me what's going on.”

  He was silent for a long moment with his hand still on my breast, the length of his cock still pushing against my arse, begging for acquiescence. It was like he was fighting himself. “I don't want to talk about it. It will change how you see me.”

  I tried to turn in his arms, but he wouldn't let me. “When will you see that shutting me out is what changes how I see you.”

  “You don't understand, Ems.” He released me, and I whipped around to face him.

  “Make me understand then.”

  He hung his head, and his voice was barely above a whisper. “I shouldn't have said you were overreacting. That was shitty.”

  I rolled my shoulders back and shuffled from foot to foot. “I shouldn't have thrown wine in your face. That was a really good vintage too.”

  He shook his head, a wry smile pulling at the corner of his lips. “You will always be my Emma, won't you?”

  “Absolutely. Now tell me what the fuck is going on with you.”

  He wrapped his arms around my waist. “Can't you just let this go?”

  “No. If you—”

  Suddenly there was noise and commotion at the front door. London Lords interruptus.

  Bridge growled low. “We'll pick this up when they're gone.”

  “I hope you don't think I'm shagging you until you talk to me.”

  “You know, my darling wife, that almost sounds like a dare.”

  I gave him my most beautiful smile. “You are welcome to test the validity of your assumptions.”

  He gave me the devil’s own grin then. “Is there a reason that sounds like fuck around and find out?”

  My only answer was a middle finger to the air as he stormed to the door, trying to escape into the noise and ruckus of our friends.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Emma

  I was still smarting from the fight and couldn’t look at my husband right then. He was keeping something from me. I could feel it.

  No, you don't know that.

  Fine, but he wasn't talking to me. He was worried. Why couldn't he just say that? After everything we'd been through, everything we'd seen, if he couldn't tell me his fears, what were we doing?

  I moved over the bridge, looking down at the koi, arms wrapped around me as I headed for the gazebo.

  “You always were quick.”

  I was startled to hear Drew’s voice behind me. “Oh, it’s you.”

  He sighed. “I know, not the one you want to see, but here I am anyway.”

  Over my shoulder I gave Drew a soft smile. I had always liked Drew. He was easy to like. Affable. He always seemed like he didn’t quite fit with the others. I knew Toby had loved him though. Drew was one of the first people to make him feel welcome. Probably because of his nature. Easygoing, always there. Kind of that mate who never really rocked the boat too much.

  Drew was also the only one who actually enjoyed being Elite. It was part of his ethos.

  In the last year, it almost felt like we barely knew him. He was drinking a lot. We never saw his wife or his beautiful children. In some ways, maybe Angela was like Mina. Never really part of the gang. Her father was also Elite, so that likely posed a problem. “You don’t have to calm me down. I’ll calm down eventually after I kill him.”

  His laugh was a low rumble. “Oh you are forever destined to be at each other’s throats. Will you ever know any peace?” He laughed. “Probably not. Look, I don’t have to tell you that he loves you, and it’s obvious that you love him too. It’s the two of you who need to figure out how to communicate. You can't keep retreating to your separate corners. The rest of us will be miserable. And I’m really tired of being miserable. You two need to get your shite together.”

  I glowered at him. “I’m not the one with the problem.”

  “I didn’t say you were. But Bridge is Bridge. He hasn’t changed since I met him. Sure he can be a little bit more refined, but he’s still him. He still has his way of commandeering the whole situation as if trying to force it to bend to his will. He's also good at battling. And you will always jump off a cliff with your eyes closed, never having checked to see if there are alligators below or not. You live by your gut. You have to find a common ground. And I know neither one of you wants to be the one to step up and say that you need to find common ground, but come on, he’s stubborn. You think we don’t know that? You'll have to fight him to open up. He's so used to going at it alone. Give him time.”

  I had to laugh at that. “How has one of you not killed him yet?”

  He smirked. “Bastard won’t die. Ben nearly drowned him once in a yachting accident.” He put the word accident in air quotes. “We were sailing, and Bridge just went overboard while Ben was driving. Honestly, he swears it was an accident, but I know better. I think it was deliberate. I would never say so of course, but you and I both know he was trying to kill him.”

  I snorted. "Really?”

  “That’s what I’m saying.” He laughed.

  I ground my teeth. “He’s just so frustrating. And he looks at you with that smug look like he’s always right.”

  "That smug look only makes you want to not do a damn thing he says. I know. But the two of you are a team, and he knows that. He’s just trying not to let someone close. He doesn’t like it. But it's normal for him. Rest assured, he loves you, Ems.”

  “What the fuck am I supposed to do?”

  “Oh, don’t ask me for relationship advice. I can barely get my wife to talk to me. I work too much. I’m with the Elite too much. But she likes the money, so she doesn’t leave.”

  I winced. “Drew, I’m sorry.”

  He shrugged it off. “Aw, don’t be. I made my choices. I was more worried about my wife being fit than being a good match for me. I made this bed.”

  I frowned at that. “I suppose we’ve all made our beds, haven’t we?”

  He shrugged. “Yeah, in a manner of speaking, we have. Just don’t let it get to you. You of all people know exactly how to handle Bridge. I’ve been watching you effortlessly handle him since you were a kid.”

  I laughed as I turned to face him. “What are you on about? I have no idea what to do with him.”

  “You infuriate him, and that’s your superpower. Haven’t you noticed that when you do anything he is at a loss? He has no idea how to handle you. That’s the ticket. And you just don’t realize that you’re affecting him."

  “I’m just so frustrated.”

  Drew chuckled. “Yes, well, he has that effect on people."

  I sighed. “I know. I just… God, sometimes I want to shoot him.”

  “Welcome to the team. Did I tell you about the time East actually shot him?”

  I laughed. “Is there a scar?”

  “No, sadly, there isn’t. Plastic surgery, you see.”

  I gasped. “Are you serious?”

  Drew laughed. “No. At the time, East couldn’t hit shit. He did aim for his arse, though. Bridge to this day swears he's got pellets embedded inside of him because of East. We haven’t seen the proof of it though.”

  “I feel like I need to pay more attention. I’ll need to have a closer look at his arse.”

  Drew held up his hands then. “I won’t judge. I also don’t want to know.”

  I laughed and bumped my shoulder with his. “Thank you.”

  He shrugged. “For what?”

  “You know for what."

  He shook his head. “Since I don’t know what you’re thanking me for, I don’t accept. I just believe in you two, and if there’s anyone who deserves to be happy, it’s you.”

  He turned to go, but before he did, I stopped him. “Hey, Drew?”

  “Yeah?”

  “How come you don’t call me Little Tobes?"

  He shrugged. “You hate it.”

  I frowned. “How come the others haven’t noticed I hate it?”

  He laughed. “Oh, they’ve noticed. But it’s how they keep Toby close. It’s also why you let it happen. You know we miss your brother.”

  I frowned. “Since when do you know so much?”

  “Well, over the years I found it’s better to pretend to be dumb. People say all sorts of things in front of you when they think you’re a knob."

  I frowned at that. “You know you don’t have to do that with us, right? We’re your mates.”

  His gaze flickered. A shadow crossed over his eyes. I could feel it. But then suddenly he was back to being Drew. Possibly the slightly inebriated Drew. But there was a world of knowledge there in that gaze and something else I couldn’t pinpoint.

  "Just remember there are people you don’t have to hide yourself from.”

  "I know that." His smile didn't reach his eyes.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Bridge

  I knew what had to happen. I needed to tell her something. Anything.

  The lads left over an hour ago and the house felt empty even though I knew Emma was around. There was security outside. I just felt like shit.

  When I found her, she was in the sunroom reading. I cocked my head to look at the title. Seventeen Ways to Kill a Man.

  It was a thriller. Excellent. "Never fuck with a woman who reads crime dramas and watches true crime documentaries, I say."

  Her gaze flickered to mine, and she went resolutely back to her book.

  Fuck. All right, I deserved that. "Can we talk?"

  "I don't feel like talking," she said with her nose in her book.

  I deliberately sat on the coffee table directly across from her and picked up her feet.

  She kicked at my hands. "If I were you I wouldn't touch me right now."

  "I know. I know. I fucked up."

  "No Bridge you didn't just fuck up. You shut me out and that wasn't fair and it wasn't right and it sucked, so I don't feel like talking to you at the moment."

  "I understand that. I deserve that."

  "Damn straight you deserve that. What kind of bullshit is that?"

  "Honestly, I don't know. I was freaking out. Fell into old habits. It won't happen again."

  "Yes, it will. It will happen again. We are destined to repeat patterns over and over again. I don't care that we repeat them. I just want us to recognize what the fuck we're doing and correct it posthaste.”

  I frowned at that. "I'm trying to correct it now."

  She put the book down while still managing to glower at me. "Are you now?"

  "Yes. I'm a twat."

  "You're a wanker too."

  I nodded. "Yes, I'm a wanker."

  "Also a knob head."

  I smirked at that. "Of course you would bring my knob into this." The look she gave me told me the book was coming straight for me, and I ducked just in time.

  "Temper, temper, love."

  "You're one to talk to me about temper." She scooted toward the edge of the couch.

  "No, I'm not. Shit, love. I'm fucking sorry, okay?" I ran my hands through my hair. “I just I lost my shit for a moment there, and I was ashamed. And you were there and expecting me to be, I don't know, me, and I didn't know what to do so I lashed out, okay? I didn't want you to see."

  "See what?"

  I sighed. "The piece of shit that I almost was."

  Her concerned gaze scanned mine. "What the hell's going on, Bridge?"

  “You mean besides going after the old man after I left Ben’s last night?"

  She frowned. "Your father?"

  I nodded.

  "Oh, Bridge."

  "I sat in my car and watched that fucking house that I hate. I watched it with a gun in my lap, ready to do something that I could not take back." I waited for it, the condemnation, the furrowed brow, the disgust.

  Instead, her voice was quiet. "How did you feel while you were sitting there?"

  "Like it was the right thing to do."

  "Okay. Then why didn’t you do it?"

  My gaze lifted to meet hers. Those dark depths saw clear into my soul. "How do you know I didn't?"

  She rolled her eyes. "When are you going to realize that I know you to the bone? To the core of me, I know you. You didn't do anything. So why didn't you?"

  She had me there. "I'm not sure. Honestly, I don't know. I wanted to."

  "But you didn't. Why?"

  "Because fuck, I don't know. All I know is that I was sitting there and I wanted to go in, but I just couldn't take how you or Darcy or Mum would look at me. I knew the lads would get it. But I couldn't. Even after everything he’s done, I still I couldn't. So I sat there staring, willing myself to find as much hatred as I could easily summon. But he was still my father."

  "Exactly." She took my hand, her thumb gently rubbing over my knuckles. "You're not a cold- blooded killer, Bridge."

  "Don't say that Ems because I am capable."

  "Hell, we're all capable. With Middleton in front of me right now, I would shoot him dead. For what he did to Darcy, for what he almost did to you. Hell, for what he's done to me, trying to scare me, trying to possess me, trying to hurt me and my family. For making other people hurt because of me, I owe him pain. And I want to deliver it in spades. But I know that if you were present, you would stop me from doing something that I could not take back, and I love you for that."

  "You're what stopped me. What does it say that I almost pulled it off?"

  "It says you’re human. After all the pain, that was an amazing level of restraint. Honestly, I'm impressed."

  "Sure you are."

  "I am. You are everything to me. The best kind of husband. You just need to remember that we are a team. You should have called me."

  I winced at that. "About the jab earlier, I’m sorry."

  She lifted a brow. "Oh, you mean the one where you told me that I was overreacting?"

  I winced. "Yes, that one."

  "Fine. I'm sorry too. I should not have thrown the wine in your face."

  I laughed. "To be fair, I did deserve it. I have to tell you the wine was a nice touch. I wasn't expecting it."

  "Well, it was handy."

  I smirked at her. "You recognize that I was going to bend you over the counter right?"

  She laughed and shook her head. "I mean in all honesty, when are you not about to bend me over the counter?"

  "That’s fair."

  "So what are we going to do, Mr. Edgerton?"

  "Well, first things first. I need to apologize to my wife properly. And then after my penance, we’ll go back to what we've been doing. Finding a way around my brother."