I will hate you forever, Travis.
21
“Have you been to New York before?” I ask Adri as we pull into the garage at Vin and Ember’s condo.
“No,” she shakes her head. “I guess there won’t be much sightseeing.”
“It may feel like Ember is being a bit overprotective but trust me, Talia is not to be fucked with.” I pull the Mercedes into the visitors parking spot and hop out quickly to stretch my legs. “I’ll take you to a bomb ass restaurant though.” I wink at her.
“Okay.” She smiles and her gorgeous brown eyes melt my fucking heart.
We grab our bags out of the trunk and walk to the elevator. To get to the penthouse, we have to punch in a code. “On the top floor-where we’re going-has two separate penthouses and it’s fucking huge.” I say to her with a grin.
“I can’t wait to see it.” Her voice sounds excited but her face is sketched with worry.
“You okay?” I ask her.
“I’m scared about Ember’s fight.” She whispers softly.
“Why?” I ask incredulously.
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen her fight yet and anything with the description ‘to the death’ should be worrisome.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. The first time I saw her fight, I was worried about her. Especially seeing her put beside a large built man. But you’ll see, Ember is quick. She’s so fucking fast, and you can see she has her whole fight mapped out before it even starts. Even considering everything her opponent might do. Let go of the worry and enjoy it, it looks like fucking art.” I reassure her.
“Okay, I will.”
We get to the floor and I take her hand to guide her to the door. Ember, Vin, and Travis are already here, having left together a few hours earlier than us. I knock on their door and after a few moments, it opens to reveal Travis with a backdrop of New York behind him. I’m a little awestruck as the streaks of blonde in his hair seem brighter against the tawny rest. His green eyes sparkle and his smile is a small curve of his plump lips. He hasn’t shaved in a few days and I really like the light brown stubble on his chin and cheeks.
Adri goes to him and falls into his arms, while he looks at me, I can see his affection and it’s for both of us. “How was the drive?” He asks me, Adri still nestled in his arms.
“Emmett drove the whole way here without a break. We stopped maybe twice to use the bathroom. He should probably rest before tonight.” Adri pops her head up and glares at me.
“Nah!” I walk by them, placing my hand on Travis’ shoulder. “But if the hosts of this place want to get me a beer, I wouldn’t complain.” I call out.
“Get it yourself, Asshole.” Vin says as he rounds the corner, with a grin on his face.
We bump our fists and he slings an arm over my shoulder, “I dropped your sister off with Carm, felt like he was missing her with how much he was blowing up her phone. Something about her needing to warm up before tonight.”
“Yeah, after the shitshow of Spain, it seems he’s grown fond of her. He’s constantly asking me if she’s okay.” I snort.
“Yeah, I can’t believe he can look at her and not want to kill her after that.”
“Should we be worried she’s there alone?” I crinkle my brow. I love Carm but the way he thinks and conducts himself is a bit unorthodox.
“No,” Vin chuckles, “you should’ve seen his face when she got out of the Hummer.”
“He came up to get her?” I ask, slightly astonished.
“Yeah,” Vin nods, “he tried to look annoyed, but as soon as she was close to him, his eyes were all soft and he pulled her in for a hug. He missed the shit out of her.”
“Wow,” I rub my fingers across my mouth, “that is a bit crazy.”
“Maybe he just needed a sister to soften him up.”
“Ember?” I raise a brow at him, “soften him up?”
“Especially Ember.” He winks.
He’s probably right, Carm needed a tough sister he wouldn’t have to protect but at the same time feel protective of. Again, I am struck with a familiar sadness, too bad we didn’t grow up together.
“What time do we have to be there?” Adri asks from under Travis’ arm.
If Vin has any questions about the three of us, he doesn’t show it. “Ten. Before that they have regular fights.”
“Oh?” Adri raises a brow, “regular? Like ‘you don’t have to kill each other if you don’t want to’ fights?”
“Yeah, those.” Vin grabs some beers out of the fridge. “You guys eat?”
“Yeah, we grabbed burgers on the way here.” I nod while taking the beer.
“You’re not worried about Ember in these fights?” Adri asks as she accepts a beer from him.
“I always fucking worry about her. I feel like it’s my new state of normal.” He swallows half his beer in one go, “but Ember doesn’t need anyone to protect her or worry for her. She needs people that will stand beside her and assist her when she needs it. She’s the toughest person I know. Trust me Adri, after tonight, the way you see Ember will be shattered. In a good way.”
“Aren’t you worried?” Adri looks up into Travis’ face. He hasn’t seen her fight either.
“A bit,” he shrugs, “but it’s E. She’s has a lot of power packed in that body. I’ve also seen her single-handedly take out two large gangsters with just a set of brass knuckles.”
“Oh yeah!” Vin snaps his fingers, “I fell in love that day.” He scrubs at his chin and we all laugh.
“You also saw her fight that dude
