Brian’s POV

“6 Days?” I gapped looking down at Emery. “Your birthday is in 6 days?” Six days? Was she fucking kidding me? “Don’t you think that was something you should have told me?!”

My heart thundered in my chest as I looked down into those stunning blues, trying to figure out what was going on in that beautiful head of hers. Why wouldn’t she tell me this sooner? Did she think I wouldn’t care or that she didn’t mean anything to me? Fuck, after last night I thought everything was perfectly clear. Hell, I never made love to a woman like that before! I just hoped she understood that.

Emery open and closed her mouth her mouth a few times before she bit down on her plump bottom lip. That motion right there excited me more then she would ever know. I licked my lips and brushed my thumb against her cheek, feeling my heart rate increase. I didn’t know why but I was quickly becoming addicted to the feeling I got every time we touched. This little woman was like a drug and I knew now that I never wanted to let her go.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I tried again, my tone a little softer. Em shivered under my touch as I gently stroked her cheek and let my hand rub down along her curves. “Did you think I wouldn’t care?”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before looking back up at me. “I don’t know… I-I guess it didn’t seem very important,” she muttered averting her eyes to the ground. “Its not really a big deal… just another day really.” She shrugged and bit down on her bottom lip again, making my dick respond with just that one little motion.

I frowned at her words. Not a big deal? Why would she think that? Why would Em think she didn’t matter? But just when I opened my mouth to question her, she placed her hands on my chest and looked up at me with pleading eyes.

“I just want to do something special for Jo because she always takes care of me… please can I bake her the cake?”

“Yes,” I sighed, knowing I couldn’t keep her from doing something that made her happy. Plus I knew if I didn’t let her go, I would receive her icy cold shoulder for the rest of the night, ruining any and all plans I had for later. “But only on one condition…”

Em looked at me with cutest fucking expression and I almost burst out laughing. What the hell was this girl doing to me? “When something important comes up, like a birthday or something,” I said, pressing her back against the wall and letting my hot breath tickle her exposed throat. “You better tell me…”

“Why do you care?” she rasped out but I wasn’t going to let her get away with dismissing what we had. I pressed myself into her, letting her know exactly what she was doing to me. My lips left a little trail of kisses up her neck until I reached her ear and I gently licked the delicate shell, feeling her shiver.

“Because princess… you’re—”Only I didn’t get to finish my sentence because I was rudely interrupted by a loud knock on the door. Fucking hell! Why couldn’t I ever get a goddamn moment alone in this place?! I should have just taken her to the bungalow like I wanted to all along! No one could interrupt me then!

“Em?!” Jimmy’s voice echoed through the door. Fuck the cake… “It’s Jimmy! I’m coming in!”

With a disgruntled sigh, I quickly pushed Emery behind me and opened the door, coming face to face with my lanky and very boisterous best friend. He bounced up and down on his heels as he tried to peek around me to find Emery, which only pissed me off more. Was he really that excited to take her away from me to bake a fucking birthday cake? The Rev really needed a night out drinking with the guys to get his priorities back in check.

“No touching,” hissed so only he could hear. I narrowed my eyes and gave him a pointed look before stepping aside. Damn what the hell was I supposed to do? Tthere was no way around this! I had to let her go with him so she’d be happy.

Maybe I could use this little baking thing to my advantage. While Jimmy was distracting her in the kitchen, I could get something special around for my little princess. But what? What could I do for her when we were trapped in the compound? I didn’t know what yet, but I had to do something for her.

Jimmy quickly took Emery’s hand and dragged her out the door, blatantly ignoring my ‘no touching’ rule. I swear if he laid one finger on Emery I would beat his ass so bad that he wouldn’t remember his own name. Fuck what the hell was wrong with me? That was my best friend I was talking about! He knew better than to break my rules but even the thought of him near her made me feel uneasy. Hell, I wanted to kill any man that looked at her too long. She was mine and I wasn’t going to let her go.

I let out a ragged breath and began to pace. I needed to calm down and come up with a plan for Emery’s birthday. But what? It wasn’t like she was a normal girl that I could just take out for dinner and a drink, not that I had ever actually done that before. It wasn’t my style… but now? I wanted nothing more than to spend time with my blonde little Pagano girl. What had she done to me?

I frowned and pinched the bridge of my nose, my thoughts flying in all different directions. I was starting to turn into someone that I didn’t recognize, someone that would go out of the way to do something for a girl. I was turning soft and there was nothing I could do about it. Sure I would take a bullet for my best friends, but never in my life had I ever thought of a girl the way I did Emery. She was different and I wanted to impress her, wanted to take her out and give her beautiful things. But what could I offer a girl like that?

The Pagano’s had fucking everything in their mansion. Their wish was their father’s command and I knew that I couldn’t do that. I didn’t have that kind of power, especially as a wanted man. Emery was in danger with me but I couldn’t let her go, not when I knew what awaited her outside these walls. I wanted to protect her and do what was best for her. And what was best for Emery was giving her the freedom to have fun for once in her life. No walls, no boundaries, no guards… just freedom.

Where could she be free? My mind instantly went to my little tropical paradise on the south beach. Emery loved it there and we could do whatever we wanted. We could have a nice dinner and a drink on the beach, and watch the sun set over the ocean with her body pressed to mine. I could already taste her skin on my lips…

The only problem was that Emery would undoubtedly want to spend her birthday with her sister, and there was no way in hell I was going to give away my secret hiding place. I pursed my lips and crossed my arms, stopping in front of the door. Maybe there was another way I could get Emery and Jolie to the beach for their birthday… and I knew just the person who could set it up.

Without another thought, I raced out of my room towards Matt’s office. Did he know about the girls’ birthdays or was he just as much in the dark as I was? I wasn’t sure but there wasn’t any time to waste. If we were going to do this we only had a few days to pull everything together. It had to be perfect.

“You bought all this for her?” I heard Em’s voice squeak as I walked into the kitchen. She was beaming and even from the door I could see the light in her eyes, and it was honestly the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. “Oh that is awesome, Jimmy!”

I leaned against the doorframe and crossed my arms over my chest just as Emery dived into Jimmy’s arms. My heart instantly constricted in my chest as I felt the evil green monster course through my veins. Obviously it was an innocent act but I couldn’t stand to watch her touch someone else. I had to put an end to this before I hit my best friend.

I loudly cleared my throat and stood up to my full height, unable to stop myself from glaring at the pair. “I thought this was about fucking baking?!”

“It is! But what can I say? I make women happy with my presence and they throw themselves at me.” Oh and that smartass had the nerve to give me a smirk like he knew more than I did. My jaw locked and I swallowed thickly, trying to keep the little green monster in check. I was still having a hard time believing that I was jealous… I was never jealous!

“I need to talk to Shads, hurry with all this… you would be faster if you would concentrate on the fucking cake!” I snapped in return, my eyes lingering on Emery. She had a small smile on her face as she watched me, almost like she amused by the whole situation. Did she like seeing me jealous… if that’s what you wanted to call this emotion?

“Go have the boss talk, we will have our fun here,” Jimmy said, pushing me towards Matt’s office and breaking my eye contact with Emery. I scoffed and shook my head before heading into the office.

“What do you want?” Shads snapped as I walked through the door without knocking. I knew that probably wasn’t the best choice but my mind was still on the beautiful woman in the kitchen. “Don’t you know how to fucking knock?”

I shook my head and looked up to see Matt pacing the office with dark circles under his eyes. He looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks and was carrying the weight of the world on his back. To be honest, he looked like shit and that wasn’t like him. Something was off.

“Relax, Shads, I just came to check in and see if you needed anything before we lock up for the night,” I lied. Well, I guess it was half true considering Jimmy and Emery were planning Jolie’s surprise party for the rest of the evening. “Are you okay?”

Matt turned to look at me with a raised brow. What? It wasn’t like I’d never checked in before… well, not unless I wanted something. “Bullshit, what do you want, Gates?” He snapped, ignoring my question and calling my bluff all in one response.

“Fine,” I grumbled, moving to sit in the chair across from the desk. “I guess you could say that I acquired some information from Emery, but since you’re dating her sister. I guess you already know,” I said trying not to sound as bitter as I felt about the whole thing.

Shadows rolled his eye and plopped down in his chair, running his hands over his face. “Look, I don’t know what kind of passive aggressive shit you are trying to start right now, Haner, but I’m not in the mood. So tell me what you know or get the fuck out.”

I raised a questioning brow at him with a frown. Damn who pissed in his Wheaties this morning? I guess I better get right to the point. “I just thought since the girls birthdays are tomorrow and next Friday, maybe we could have a party or something.”

Matt looked across the desk at me with narrow eyes as he leaned forward on his elbows. His expression was both confused and threatening at the same time. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Jolie and Emery’s birthdays?” I repeated, tilting my head to the side. Did he really not know about this? Seemed like something he ought to know about his girlfriend, but then again I never had one.

“When?!” Matt asked in a deadly whisper, his jaw tightening dangerously. “How did you find out?!”

“Emery told me that her sister’s birthday is tomorrow and hers is next Friday,” I sighed. Matt slammed his fists on the desk as he stood up and began pacing the room again.

“Fuck!” he hissed. “Add that to the list of things for me to fuck up! Why wouldn’t she tell me something like that! FUCK!”

“You didn’t know? Shit, I thought Jolie would have told you…” What the hell was he talking about? Did something happen with Jolie?

“Well she didn’t tell me shit!” Matt raged, throwing his hands up in the air. There was definitely some kind of trouble in paradise but I wasn’t about sign my death warrant by asking about it. “Fuck, I need to go talk to her…”

No, he couldn’t walk out of here without making some kind of plan! That was my whole reason for coming in here! “Look, I don’t know what’s going on with you and Jolie,” I said, stopping him from going out the door. “But don’t you think it would be better if you have a birthday plan before you go talk to her? Don’t chicks love that surprise shit?” I asked, feeling my heart race just thinking about planning something for the little blonde spitfire.

Matt turned away from me and ran his hands over his face before pulling on what little bit of hair that was on his head. “I guess…” he sighed, sitting back in his chair. “What did you have in mind?”

A smirk pulled over my face as I leaned back in my chair and put my hands behind my head. “You know how the girls have never really had any freedom? Never really got to experience anything like normal people?”

“Go on,” Matt said, leaning forward with narrow eyes.

“Well, what if we give them just that? A traditional California style birthday on the beach?” I offered, watching the expression on Matt’s face change as he contemplated my words. “Just hear me out… Emery wont shut up about how much she loved going to the beach one time with her sister,” I said, making my own version of the story that Emery told me.

“So wouldn’t you win boyfriend of the year if you take both girls to the beach for their birthday? There is no way that wouldn’t fix whatever is going on between you two.”


Matt’s POV

I tilted my head to the side as I looked at Gates, trying to decide if his plan for the girls’ birthday was the most brilliant thing I had ever heard or a death wish. I mean, fucking Christ, look at what happened the last time I took Jo out? I ended up being shot and the time before that that, Gates got shot. How many more bullets could we dodge before one of us wound up dead?

“I know what your thinking, it would be a security nightmare,” Gates continued as if he were reading my thoughts. “But could disguise them and do some research to find some beaches outside of Pagano territory. Christ could have that work done in a matter of minutes and the Pagano girl wont be able to keep her hands off of you for your thoughtful gift.” He smirked, looking a cocky son of a bitch.

Okay, so that wasn’t a bad idea, especially since my beach time with Jolie during our date got interrupted. Jolie loved the beach and I knew she would love this birthday gift. Maybe it would even clear up whatever was going on between us, though I still didn’t feel like I had done anything wrong. I just wanted my girl to stay with me and help her family be happy. What was so wrong with that?

It was my job to protect her and her family. So I just didn’t understand why she was so upset with me following through with exactly what she asked for her sister. I guess I could have ask for her assistance in the process but from what I saw she couldn’t complain with the results. Dan was a good match for Emery and would take good care of her. Sure we would go to help her settle in, but there was no way in hell Jo was staying anywhere with out me.

I just hoped that this birthday surprise would help Jo see how much she meant to me and make her come running back to me with open arms. I just had to make her see that I had both her and her sisters’ best interests at heart and I was sure this gift would do just that.

“What do you think?” Gates asked, interrupting my train of thought.

“It’s not a bad idea,” I admitted, putting my elbows on the desk as a small smile came to my face. This could be exactly what I needed to make things right with Jo! I just wanted to know why Gates was pushing so hard for this birthday party. Hell, why did he even care about the girls’ birthdays? What was he playing at?

“But what’s in it for you?” I asked suspiciously. Something was going on because Gates didn’t do anything without a motive. He wanted something—that was for damn sure. Did it have to do with the little blonde Pagano girl?

Gates raised a brow at me and scoffed, looking offended by my question. “Nothings in it for me,” he replied defensively. “Well, accept some time on the beach,” he chuckled, but I wasn’t buying his story. I could hell he was lying just by the way the corner of his mouth twitched when he spoke. It was a signature Gates trademark that I only knew from knowing him for over fifteen years. “Not to mention I thought the idea might help you out.”

“Huh,” I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at him from the side. “So this doesn’t have anything to do with Emery?” I pressed watching Brian put on his Synyster Gates mask. “Oh and by the way is she feeling better? Dan said she disappeared last night because she wasn’t feeling well.”

Gates’ jaw tightened as he sat up straighter in his chair. “Yes, she is feeling better,” he said in a strained tone. “And like I said, I thought this idea would help you out. It doesn’t matter to me if the girls sit home or in the prison room on their birthday. I was just doing my fucking job,” he snapped, getting defensive.

Now that was an interesting reaction from him. I had suspected something was going one with Gates and Emery ever since he smashed the lamp a few days ago, so now I would really have to watch their interactions.

“Okay, just checking,” I sighed, turning back over to my computer. “I don’t want you to get attached when she will be going to live with Dan in a few weeks,” I continued, watching Gates out of the corner of my eye.

“I’m not fucking attached! She is my responsibility to look after and that is it. Now do you want my help planning this fucking trip or not?” he snapped, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

“Good to hear,” I smirked, knowing that he was hiding something. I would keep an eye on the situation to find out what it was. My men always thought they were cleaver, but the truth was they couldn’t keep anything from the boss.

Within an hour, Gates and I had found three secure beach locations with specs and demographics. We also planned escape routes and set up security for the beaches. The last step was to have Christ run the information though his surveillance equipment to find out which beach would be the safest for our surprise birthday gift. I just hoped everything would go without a hitch this time, considering each week the girls were missing Pagano got more and more ruthless. Hell just last week he killed a gang just for alluding to the fact they had seen the girls. He wasn’t playing games and neither were we.

“So what do you think, Shads? Will the girls approve?” Gates asked, leaning over my shoulder as we looked at a picture of the most promising location.

“I fucking hope so and this better go off without a hitch, or your ass is on the line. Got it, Gates?” I warned. He was in charge of this whole operation and if something happened, he wouldn’t hear the end of it. He was the head of fucking security and enforcement for Christ sake!

“Don’t worry, I wont let anything happen. We will have men surrounding the area if anything happens, plus we will have Rev, Vee, and Short shit on standby and lookout. Nothing will happen. This plan is solid,” he vowed and I knew he wouldn’t let me down. “The girls will be safe.”

“They better be,” I snapped, pushing away from my desk. “Now if you will excuse me, I have some other business to attend to,” I said, all of my thoughts instantly going to the dark hair beauty that would undoubtedly be ready for dinner.

I had ordered take out and I hoped that she would be willing to talk now that we both had time to cool down. I still didn’t think I was wrong in this situation but I was willing to apologize if it would make things right between us. Jo couldn’t stay mad at me for wanting to protect her.

Without another word, I walked out of the office to find the hallway, kitchen, and living room covered with Birthday décor and accompanied by tons of food, drinks, and a huge purple birthday cake on the kitchen counter.

“What the hell?” I asked, walking into the kitchen to see Jimmy and Emery waiting excitedly.

“We are having a surprise party for your little lady!” Jimmy gushed, his voice definitely louder than it needed to be. “She will be out any minute! Zack just went to get her!”

I opened and closed my mouth as I looked around the room, feeling my heart sink in my chest. I felt like the worst boyfriend on the face of the earth. I hadn’t even considered throwing her a party like this! What the hell was wrong with me? Now Jolie was never going to forgive me, especially when she finds out none of this was my doing.

“You guys did all this for her?” I gapped, feeling smaller and smaller by the second.

“Of course, we always go all out for birthdays, you know that,” Jimmy said, elbowing me in the side. “Though I was surprised this wasn’t your idea, but don’t worry. We put together something special from all of us!” he continued, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.

“I hear footsteps!” Emery squeaked. “Quick, hide!” she said, grabbing Brain and pulling him behind the island as the sounds in the hallway got louder.

“Thanks for offering Zack, but I don’t really feel like watching a movie. I just want to stay in bed,” I heard Jo say and my heart constricted in my chest. How could we both be so miserable over something so stupid? It didn’t make any sense to me.

“Oh just come have dinner and if you still don’t feel like it after then I’ll take you back,” Zack replied just as they came into view. He had his arms around his shoulders and it took every ounce of effort not to charge him from the kitchen. No one touched what belonged to me, not ever my best friends.

“Fine, but I’m not very hungry—”

“SURPRISE!!”

Notes

Will Matt and Jolie make up for her birthday or will it all explode in front of everyone? And Brian had a change of heart, but will it last? What do you think will happen during their party?