Page 68 of Love, Always and Forever
“Shut up, dog. Let me handle this.”
Two men, both strangers to him, were standing in front of Amy. They stood too close, crowding her and clearly trying to intimidate her with their superior height. Yeah, well, they had nothing on Mikhail in either size or sheer cussedness. And if it became necessary, he’d also learned how to fight from the best.
Amy saw him coming and started to shake her head. Maybe she was trying to warn him off, but too damn bad. No one—NO ONE—talked to his friend…no, his woman like that and got away with it. So far, neither of the men had noticed him. Good. Surprise was a handy tool when it was time to confront the enemy.
He grabbed the bigger of the two by his shirt collar and sent him stumbling backward. The guy had barely caught his balance before Mikhail sent the second one bouncing into him, nearly taking them both to the ground. Then he planted himself right between them and Amy, his hands ready to clench into fists or to grapple with both men if they went on the attack themselves.
The taller one shouted, “Who the fuck do you think you are?”
Mikhail snarled right back. “I’m the guy who’s going to lay you out flat if you so much as look at her wrong, asshole.”
In the meantime, Amy was tugging on the back of Mikhail’s shirt, clearly trying to catch his attention. “Please, Misha. They’re my brothers.”
He kept his eyes glued on the potential threat. “I don’t give a damn who they are. No one talks to you like that. And if they’re your brothers, they should know better.”
The younger of the two men stepped in front of his brother and held up his hands, playing peacemaker. Maybe it would work, but Mikhail doubted it. Anger was pumping too hard through his veins right now to want to accept any offer of a truce.
“I don’t know who you are, but like she said, we’re her brothers.” He ran his fingers through his hair in an obvious show of frustration. “Two of them, anyway. Our mom asked us to come by to check on her.”
He took a step to one side to get a clearer line of vision at his sister. “The family is worried about her.”
“For Pete’s sake, Chad. That’s ridiculous. Mom knows perfectly well that I’m doing fine. I told her that the last time we talked on the phone.”
Amy sounded completely exasperated with the entire situation as she moved up to stand next to Mikhail. It was hard not to smile when Sarge and Panda joined the lineup to lend their support in facing down Amy’s uninvited and clearly unwanted company.
The older brother had himself under better control by that point. That didn’t mean he wasn’t glaring at Mikhail for all he was worth. “You still haven’t said who you are.”
Then he shot a quick glance at Amy. “Actually, I don’t care. This has nothing to do with him, so tell this guy to leave. We don’t need some random stranger poking his nose in our family business.”
Oh, hell no, that wasn’t happening.
Mikhail crossed his arms over his chest and planted his feet wider, making it clear to her brothers that he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. “I’d be right here even if I didn’t know Amy at all. I don’t like seeing women being threatened. But for the record, I’m not just some random stranger.”
Amy butted back into the conversation to make the necessary introductions. “Will and Chad, this is Mikhail Wanjek. He lives next door.”
Will mirrored Mikhail’s stance with a nasty sneer plastered across his face. “Yeah, like being a nosy neighbor is any better.”
God knows Amy was going to kick Mikhail’s ass for what he was about to say, but he’d deal with that later. “Actually, I might live next door, but I’m also her boyfriend. In my book, that trumps the idiot big brother card every time. It also gives me every reason to stand here and make sure you treat your sister with the respect she deserves.”
By that point, Chad was staring at Amy as if she’d grown a second head. “Boyfriend? Since when? How come we haven’t heard about this? You know damn well that the folks would expect to be told about him and given the chance to meet the guy before things go too far.”
Amy was fuming. “Just like you and the twins parade your girlfriends through the living room to get Dad’s approval? Funny, but I don’t seem to remember that ever happening. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.”
If Mikhail hadn’t been so pissed off, he would’ve laughed at the I-just-sucked-a-lemon look on Chad’s face. If the guy had any brains at all, he’d start backpedaling like crazy right about now.
“Aw, come on, Amy. You know it’s different with you. It’s a big brother’s job to look out for his sister.”
He shuffled his feet and offered up what he must have thought was a charming “aw, shucks” smile. Amy didn’t buy it, not for a second.
“No, it’s not. I’m an adult and entitled to make my own decisions. The entire family’s failure to understand that is precisely why I left town in the first place. This idiocy only proves I made the right decision.”
Chad started to protest, but she cut him off. “You both need to leave right now and don’t come back until I say you can. All things considered, I wouldn’t expect that to be anytime soon.”
Will had been focusing all of his attention on Mikhail, but now he shifted his gaze back to his sister. “Don’t order us around, Sis. It won’t work. Tell blondie here to run along, and we’ll continue this discussion inside like reasonable adults.”
If the guy thought he’d just won any points with his sister by insulting Mikhail, he was an even bigger idiot than Chad. “I won’t be going anywhere, jackass. I’m not about to leave her alone with the two of you.”
Evidently Amy had her own ideas. “Fine. If you two won’t leave, I will. Misha, I’ll tell Tom hi for you.”
