Excerpt #5 – Emily & Jolene Protecting their club:

Emily and her cousin Jolene do not like to ask for help, and really don’t think they need it. 😉

Slainte’

Excerpt #5 – Emily & Jolene Protecting their club:

Emily fell asleep waiting for Tyler. She couldn’t say what it was that woke her from a deep sleep, but she knew something must have. Blinking, wiping the sleep from her eyes, she shifted in bed and groaned.

How could she forget about her knee? Damn had she really fallen asleep and missed her first chance to get all tangled up with the man?

The rhythmic snoring from the bedroom down the hall from her eased her mind that Jolene was still asleep, but didn’t give her a clue about where Tyler was. Annoyed at herself first and Tyler second, she wondered why he hadn’t just snuggled up in bed with her if he couldn’t wake her. Double damn. Too honorable, he probably wouldn’t. She sighed and heard another sound. Not able to decide if the noise she heard was someone downstairs in the bar or a little creature with black, beady eyes looking for a midnight snack that had disturbed her sleep, Emily strained to listen.

Thud. Thump.

Heart racing, hand to her breast, she sat up in bed. “That’s no mouse!”

Tossing the covers aside, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood at the exact moment glass broke and someone cursed. She didn’t waste any time, and she wasn’t going to lie in bed waiting for whoever it was to come upstairs.

She limped to her cousin’s room. “Jolene,” she rasped, shaking her cousin’s shoulder.

“Mmmpf…”

“Jo, wake up!” Her stomach began to churn. “Someone’s downstairs in the bar.”

Her cousin mumbled something into her pillow, but Emily couldn’t make it out.

“Jolene. Wake up!”

Her cousin lifted her head and groaned. “The guys are downstairs. Remember?”

“Fighting?”

Jolene swore beneath her breath and mumbled, “How would I know?”

They both heard the splinter of either a chair or table being smashed. Jolene shot up in bed and was out from under the covers before Emily could straighten up; they’d nearly knocked heads. “Somebody’s wrecking our place!”

“Before you woke up, I heard some loud noises, then something broke and somebody cursed. Maybe whoever broke in took out Tyler and Jake and is trashing the place.”

The look on her cousin’s face changed from fear to anger. “Then let’s go get the sons of  bitches!”

Emily grabbed a hold of Jolene’s hand. “We don’t know how many there are.” She wasn’t afraid exactly, just being cautious; it was a new feeling for her.

“Probably three or four, if they got the jump on the guys.”

Emily hesitated. “Maybe we should call 911.”

But Jolene was already moving toward the closet. She reached in and pulled out a hockey stick, which she immediately handed to Emily. She reached inside again, this time pulling out a Louisville Slugger.

So much for calling 911 or being defenseless.

Jolene motioned for her to follow, and Emily nodded. As they crept down the stairs, sweat beaded on Emily’s forehead and between her breasts. She shivered and looked down. Damn! She forgot she’d been too tired earlier to look for her favorite T-shirt to sleep in. When Jolene had pulled two miniscule nightgowns out of her top drawer and had tossed the silky black one at her, she grabbed it and put it on while her cousin had donned the copper-colored chemise.

“Sonofabitch!” a deep voice yelled.

The women froze on the steps, their eyes wide and backs pressed hard against the handrail.

“Jo,” Emily whispered. ”Was that Jake?”

Jolene turned toward her, and from the look on her cousin’s face, Emily realized they wouldn’t be waiting. “Not sure… could be, but this is our place,” Jolene rasped. “And no one is going to break into it or hurt one of our men if I have anything to say about it.”

She grabbed the bat in Jolene’s hands, holding her cousin in place. “But Jo, what if—” Another thud echoed in the night, this time followed by a series of loud curses and what sounded like someone getting punched.

Their eyes met and their gazes held. Emily nodded. “Hell, if you’re going, then I’m going. What are a few more bumps?”

Jolene grinned and Emily was ready. They tiptoed the rest of the way down.