Page 4 of Take The Risk

​“You heard him!” Alex waved at them, still keeping hold of my wrist, a shit-eating grin plastered on her face, loving this even if I wasn’t. “Get lost. Move along. Eat a bag of rancid dicks with Ex-Lax sauce.”

I really hoped Lachlan hadn’t heard any of this. And that no one else did.

​“Alex!” I whipped my head around to glare at her.

​The men all laughed. I didn’t.

​Giving me an innocent look I knew she spent weeks perfecting in the mirror, she shrugged. “What?”

​“Fine!” Jeremy snapped, shoving the papers at me, scratching my forearm with them. “Take these.”

​I pulled my arm out of the way at the sharp sting, followed by blood welling fast and hot along the thin slice in my skin. “Ouch!”

​A low snarl sounded as the cop said, “Chill, dude.” His hand was on his friend’s chest, but he didn’t take his eyes off Jeremy. “I’ll take those.”

​Amber Eyes’ jaw snapped closed so hard I wondered if he broke a tooth.

​“Here!” Alex plucked the papers out of Jeremy’s hand. My hand instinctively covered the wound, forcing Alex to let me go. Tearing them up with a flourish, she stuck her tongue out in a dare. “Time for you to follow your receding hairline and disappear.”

​“Let go, Wade.” Amber Eyes spoke so softly I should have missed it. “I’m good.”

​That voice seemed to have an amplifier that went straight to my ear. My stomach tumbled at the intensity on his face, and at the rippling of ink that swirled and dipped, creating an intricate Celtic pattern down his arm to wrap around his wrist.

​Wade considered him, dropping his hand, ensuring Layla and Jeremy were firmly in his sights. “Let’s go, folks.”

​Jeremy stomped off, leaving Layla behind.

​“This isn’t over.” Her voice was devoid of warmth, sounding almost inhuman.

​Silently, we watched them until they were in their car, Jeremy pulling away from the curb. In the passenger seat, Layla looked back at me. Her eyes were nearly black and full of malice. Fear filled me. There was just something about the look on her face that warned me she might be more dangerous than I’d previously thought.

​Beside me, Alex shivered, and not in her usual dramatic way. When she cast a look in my direction, I knew we were having the same thought.

​“Are you okay, ma’am?” the officer—Wade? — asked once Jeremy and Layla turned the corner, their taillights no longer visible.

​“I’m fine.” I tried for a smile, feeling the all-too-familiar tension in my shoulders and neck take hold. Now that Jeremy and Layla were gone, all eyes were back on me, and I shifted restlessly, the boards creaking beneath my feet.

​Alex narrowed her eyes at me, concern twisting her mouth. “What about me?” she exclaimed, shooting Wade a mock glare. “I could have ended up on Dateline!”

​Wade chuckled. “My apologies, ma’am. Are you okay?” He directed his attention to Alex, who had moved just slightly closer to me, her hip bumping mine to stop my shifting.

​The move had me adjusting, and I found myself ensnared by Amber Eyes again. He was focused on me, a nerve ticking so fiercely in his jaw I could see it beneath his neatly trimmed beard. I hyper-focused on that beard. The way the short hairs rippled, the auburn highlights that only appeared when it caught the sun. It looked soft, and my fingers rubbed together again, wanting to find out if I was right.

​Wade and Alex said more, and maybe the others joined in, but all I could see was that beard. I wished I was wearing my glasses, so I could make out the individual strands better…

​“MOM! I’M HUNGRY!” Lachlan’s demand made me jump, ripping me out of my trance.

​My gaze flew to Amber Eyes and found him giving me a slightly bemused smirk that did funny things to a part of my anatomy that should be dead. Especially right now.

​I fought the need to press my lips together, giving what I hoped looked like a smile. “Well, we should get back in…inside. Thank you for your help.”

​Escape. Escape. Escape.

​Wade reassured me, “It was no trouble. I don’t think they’ll be back tonight, but if they are, just call the station and we’ll come back.”

​We’ll come back? So, they were all cops?

​“Oh! She will!” Alex’s eyes ate up the men in front of her. She leaned more fully into me so I couldn’t shift without stumbling.