Page 4

Emma

A s we pull up to the beautiful, stone brick house it dawns on me how remote the location is. On the one hand, that gives me a sense of security, it’s unlikely anyone would think to look for me and Max in this impressive home, but on the other, it makes me feel isolated and vulnerable. That feeling only seems to exacerbate as we park and get out of the car.

“Wow Mommy! We’re staying here?” Max asks in awe. “Look at the motorcycles!” he cries out with glee, pointing at the shiny impressive hogs parked outside.

Having never lived anywhere other than anapartment, this place must seem like a palace to him, and the bikers like rockstars. This is exactly why I’ve wanted to keep him far away from the Iron Serpents MC. I respect my brother’s decisions, but there’s no way I want this life for my son. If he grows up admiring the motorcycle club and seeing them as superstars, he’s bound to end up prospecting when he grows up. I want a nice, normal life for him with a respectable mundane job, a wife and kids, the whole nine yards. I want him to have what I tried and failed to give him with Adam. Or at least some safety and security, if nothing else.

“We sure are little man!” I reply, trying to put some enthusiasm into my voice and make this whole experience an exciting adventure for him rather than the harrowing ordeal it is.

Jacob hops off his bike and walks over to us, grabbing the bags from the trunk. “Come on then you two,” he says, jerking his head toward the front door.

“Jacob, how the hell did the Iron Serpents get a place like this?” I ask in amazement.

He shrugs, “I told you we have money. This place actually didn’t cost as much as you’d think either, it took a lot of us some serious hard labor to make it look like it does today.”

“Well, it’s beautiful and huge. How many bedrooms are there?” I ask, assuming Max and I will be sharing.

“Five, enough for you and Max to have your own rooms, and for Mason, Jax, and Ty too, they’ll be staying with you the whole time,” Jacob replies.

The names sound vaguely familiar, I’m sure I’ve heard Jacob talking about them before. Not that we talk much about the Iron Serpents. It also dawns on me that my brother is expecting three men to stay with me twenty-four-seven.

“Wait, all three of them are staying the whole time? I figured it would be one or two who rotate out, not three constantly in my space!” I reply with a groan.

“They’re the only men I trust to do this,” he replies earnestly.

“They must be pretty special to you,” I say, glancing at him sideways.

“Yep, they’re like family to me. I kinda wish I could stay with you all too and I didn’t have to get back to work,” he adds with a grin.

“Oh yeah I’m sure we’re gonna be one big happy family and this is basically a vacation, not a prison I’m being involuntarily made to hide out at from bad guys,” I reply sarcastically.

Jacob shakes his head at me, “You’re going to be fine. Nothing’s going to happen to you. You and Max are safe here.”

I nod, reluctantly accepting that he’s right. Here’s the best place for us until we figure out what’s going on. “Come on then, let’s get this over with,” I say with a sigh.

I just hope these guys aren’t all clones of my brother, one’s bad enough.

“Hey guys, we’re here!” Jacob calls out as we enter the hallway, dropping our bags down on the ground.

“We’re in here!” a deep, almost melodic, masculine voice calls back.

Jacob follows the sound, leading us into a bright and airy living room with three massive leather couches. Unsurprisingly, the football is on and there are empty beers already on the coffee table. Two of the men sit on the couches, their backs to us.

If these guys think they’re getting a live-in maid, they’ve got another thing coming.

The thought is cut off when the two men stand up and turn to greet us.

Holy shit they’re hot!

One is about six foot four, his body lean yet muscular with tattooed biceps that strain out of his t-shirt. He has shoulder-length blond hair and a short, well-kept beard. He looks like that actor Chris Hemsworth in the Thor movies Max loves. That is, if he was also covered in tats and had a smoldering bad-boy vibe going on.

The other is no less impressive, he’s tall too, around six foot, with short tousled light brown hair and a smattering of stubble that highlights his impressive jawline. He’s even more ripped than the guy next to him, his arms similarly tattooed over his massive biceps, and I can seea tattoo on his neck poking out the top of his t-shirt. He has a dark brooding energy, the walking definition of tall, dark, and handsome.

I can feel the red flush creeping to my cheeks as I try not to stare. These are my brother's friends?

“Hey Prez, all good?” the tallest of the two asks, he’s the owner of the sexy voice we heard when we arrived.

“Yep, no sign of them. Mason, meet my sister Emma, and her son, Max,” Jacob replies, pointing to us, “And this is Ty,” he adds pointing to the dark, brooding one.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Mason says with a kind smile, addressing both me and Max.

“Hi,” I squeak out, feeling tongue-tied and doing an awkward little wave.

“Hey,” Ty says with a nod of his head.

“Max, say hi,” I encourage him, reminding myself of why I’m here and it is not to gawp at hot strangers.

“Hi,” he says shyly, looking up at the men in awe. “Are you a giant?” he adds wrinkling his nose as he scrutinizes Mason.

Mason chuckles, a deep throaty sound, like a lion purring, “No. I bet if you eat all your vegetables you could grow up to be as big and strong as me.”

“Really?” Max asks with wide eyes, instantly charmed by Mason.

“Where’s Jax?” Jacob asks.

“In the kitchen,” Ty replies as Mason shouts out at the same time, “Hey, Jax, get your ass in here!”

I feel flustered enough around Ty and Mason, what the hell is a third one going to do to me? I feel like a schoolgirl, I need to get a hold of myself. I’m a mother for crying out loud!

“What’s up?” Jax says as he walks into the room.

My mouth pops open in surprise as I notice he’s wearing jeans and an apron with no shirt underneath, like some sort of naked waiter. Like the others, he’s over six foot, clearly works out, and is ridiculously attractive. He doesn’t have many tattoos on his arms unlike the other two, but he has a large chest piece that is visible under the apron and only serves to highlight his pecks. He has long brown hair that he’s tied into a topknot and is clean-shaven, though that doesn’t make him look like the boy next door type, in part because of the piercings in his eyebrow and lower lip.

In his hands, he’s carrying a pot with a wooden spoon in it, delicious smells of Italian tomato sauce waft toward me, and my stomach cramps, reminding me that while Max ate earlier, I couldn’t stomach anything because I was too nervous. Now it seems my appetite is coming back with a vengeance, and not just for food.

“Oh, hey Prez, sorry I didn’t hear you guys come in, I was in the kitchen. I thought that you guys might be hungry so I decided to make dinner, it’s nothing fancy just pasta,” he says apologetically shooting me a look, “You must be Emma and Max, I’m Jax, it’s nice to meet you,” he says with a wide, disarming smile.

He starts to walk over to us with his hand outstretched to shake my hand, but my brother cuts him off. “Jax, why exactly are you shirtless?” he asks, his voice somehow exasperated and warning at the same time.

“Oh, right, I forgot,” he chuckles, looking down at himself, “I spilled sauce on it.”

“In the future, you keep your clothes on in this house around my sister, got it?” Jacob growls, “That goes for all of you,” he adds grumpily.

“Yes, Prez,” they acknowledge in unison.

“No go put some fucking clothes on,” Jacob says to Jax, who smiles sheepishly and nods before backing out of the room.

“It was nice to meet you too!” I call out after him.

“Do you always have to be such an asshole?” I say, glowering at Jacob and swatting him with my hand. “He was trying to do a nice thing, and you act like he’s waving his you-know-what around.”

Mason and Ty snicker, evidently unused to their president being scolded.

“If he so much as takes his you-know-what out in front of you I’ll cut it off,” Jacob grumbles.

I roll my eyes, “They’re doing us a favor, remember?”

Part of me can’t help feeling a little bit disappointed that Jacob’s so clearly marked me as off-limits. Of course, three gorgeous hunks like Mason, Ty, and Jax wouldn’t look twice at someone like me. But a girl can dream…