Page 92 of Avery's Hero

Gunnar’s nostrils flare. I don’t miss the fact that his fists are huge, as big as mine and clenched tight.

“Good call.”

Avery’s off her seat, leaping toward the door in a wild flurry of nerves. “Wait! No one is fighting.”

I hold up a hand. “We’re not fighting. We’re going to have a talk. Man to man.”

Her eyes fly back and forth between us. “I don’t like the sound of that. You two look like lions that are about to fightover a carcass.”

“It’s okay, sweetheart. We’re grown men. We need to take care of this now.”

I step back and shove the door open. Gunnar strides out, slicing me with his glare as he goes.

Avery looks like she might throw up. I catch her in my arms and pull her to me. “It’s okay, sweetheart. We know each other from the fire academy. No one’s going to die.”

She’s shaking. Her arms wrap tighter around my waist. All of her fear is in her voice. “I might. I can’t take this kind of thing.”

I hug her tight, then slide her hands off. “Wait here. Trust me. I won’t let this get out of hand.”

The fear in her eyes makes my chest tighten. She begs, “Please. If anything bad happens, he could go back to prison.”

I kiss her, cupping her face in my hands, wishing I could take her worry away. “No one’s getting arrested. Just go start some water in the bath. Make yourself busy.”

When I turn and stride out the door, I know she’s still standing there. I can practically hear her pounding heart all the way down the steps.

Gunnar’s standing at the bottom on the landing. Neck straining. Big fists clenched. Laser beam eyes focused on me like two aimed weapons.

“Why her?”

“Because she’s amazing.”

He snorts and his jaw clenches. “So are seventy million other women.”

Working my own jaw, I stare at him, letting my anger simmer hot. “You might as well come to terms with this, nothing you do, Gunnar, is going to chase me off.”

He takes a stalking lunge toward me. “If you fucking hurt her, I will destroy you. I went to prison to protect heronce. I’m not afraid to gut you like a fish and leave you in the lagoon.”

I let my own threat remain silent. He knows I’m dangerous too. The fight we had in the academy left us both bloodied and bruised. If six of our classmates hadn’t stopped us, who knows what could have happened.

“Let it go,” I say finally. “No one comes out a winner if we fight. Especially Avery.”

We breathe fire at each other, but neither of us moves. We’re an even match, it’s why we were head to head in school for top of our class. I won’t go down easy and he knows it.

Staring right into his angry eyes, I make a move to diffuse the situation. “Take it down a notch, brother.”

“Don’t brother me, you bastard. She’s over ten years younger than you. What do you think you’re doing?”

“Making sure she’s happy and taken care of.”

That really pisses him off. His lip curls back. “Fuck you. You have no right to ruin her life.”

“We’re in love. I know you might not know what that feels like, but let me tell you, there’s nothing that’s going to come between us. I won’t let it, so you and I are going to work this out. Tonight.”

For a long time, he seethes at me. Looking for any damned reason he can concoct that I should stay away from Avery. Good fucking luck, buddy.

“What about your damned wife and kid?” he snarls.

I hold up my left hand. “Divorced. And my kid’s fine, thanks for asking. He’s fifteen—got the usual problems that come with that—but he’s turning into a strong young man.”

---