“She has no right,” I hissed. “None at all.”
“Too late to run,” Bailey snipped cheerfully. “You’ll just have to get rid of her.”
My smile turned feral, and I went to do just that. The crowd parted, albeit reluctantly, since there were children running around everywhere. That, and the fact that I only stood about five-feet tall on a good day.
“Move...” I demanded through clenched teeth as someone stepped into my path. “Now!”
My order fell on deaf ears, though, when I looked up and saw one of the club hangarounds.
“Your brother is busy,” he said cheerfully. “I don’t think he’d want you bothering him.”
I put one hand on my hip and looked up at him while biting my bottom lip while I thought about the best way to handle this ignorant brute. Finally settling on blunt, I let him have it. “That’s your first mistake.” I moved around him, but he stepped in front of me again.
“I’m serious, Avery. Your brother’s busy.”
Though I don’t even know how this guy knew my name, because I didn’t have a clue who he was. His short black hair and dark eyes might look intimidating to most anyone else… but not me. I dealt with children who could tear him apart without even thinking about it.
“Leroy,” he said when it was clear that I didn’t know him at all. “My name’s Leroy.”
“Look, Leroy.” I said with my tone overly saccharine-sweet. “You really don’t want to get in my way. Not today.”
When he put his arm around me, he made the biggest mistake he possibly ever could. He didn’t need to fear my brother, or any of the men who actually belonged in his club. He should have thought twice about touching me since I was a force to be reckoned with.
Too late, I heard someone call out my name in warning. Deacon was too far away, though, to stop what was going to happen next.
I grabbed the wrist that was currently digging into my shoulder and twisted it so hard an audible popping sound filled the air. “You made a mistake, Leroy.” He dropped to the ground, the pressure I applied to his wrist too much for him to keep standing.
Normally, I’d just drop his hand and walk away. I hated being touched. Literally, every person in my life knew it. My brother had told the members of his club not to touch me.
“You laid your hands on me.”
Leroy’s eyes darted in the direction that Deacon had been standing with Karen. Clearly, he wasn’t concerned with me, but with what Deacon would do to him for touching me.
“Not only that, Leroy. My brother isn’t the one you should be afraid of. I am.” I leaned down into his face, noting that he might actually be attractive if his eyes weren’t filling up with unshed tears. “You shouldn’t ever touch a woman without her permission.”
I dropped his wrist and turned away, ready to lay into my brother for bringing that hussy to his son’s birthday party.
Unfortunately, the brick wall I ran into wasn’t wearing a leather jacket. He was wearing a badge and the handcuffs in his hands weren’t fuzzy or fake-looking in the slightest. When I looked up into a pair of the most intense eyes I’d ever seen, I almost passed out.
I opened my mouth, ready to apologize to the god of a man standing in front of me, but that’s not what came out.
“The vodka made me do it.”
2
Carter
For the second time in five minutes, I was ready to murder the officer standing at my side as I shooed away another kid who asked about playing with my weapon.
“I’m going to murder you. And bury your body in the woods. And no one is going to miss you either.” I meant it, too. We were standing in a crowded camp driveway, but I think I could take him. Even if he had been in the military while I’d been playing football in college.
“Just give the kid your gun like he wants,” Remy snorted, stepping around a little girl who was trying to get his attention. “I’ll videotape it and we’ll be internet famous for about thirty seconds until we’re both fired. Better yet, we can say it was Keegan’s fault. No one would know the difference between the two of you.”
Jeremy Townsend, better known as Remy, was my training officer at the Birch Police Department. For another two hours, at least. Once this shift ended, I would no longer be on my two-week probationary period.
“Suck a dick, Remy,” I bit out with a grimace, and expertly distracted the child that wouldn’t leave me alone by pointing toward the cake and treats in the distance.
“Miss California and your cushy patrol job in Sunnyville yet, Malone?” He elbowed me and walked further into the crowd, looking for the reason we’d driven out to the border of our patrol area. “Just give me a minute. Once I make sure Parker’s all right, we can go.”
I rolled my eyes heavenward and tried to get a grip on my annoyance. Even being back in Birch County for the last month, I still didn’t understand the ins and outs of Remy’s relationship with Parker Hayes.
“It’s weird, right?” A redhead said next to me.
There was no stopping the huge smile that overtook my face. “Kennedy?”
She leaned into my shoulder, keeping her eyes locked on a kid in the crowd.
“If it isn’t Carter Malone, football star and all-around golden boy. I didn’t know you were back in town. I’m gonna have to murder Remy for that one.”
I laughed, unable to help it. Then, I scratched my chin and gave her my undivided attention. “I just told your brother the exact same thing. You’ve grown up, Kenny.”
She shot daggers in my direction before turning back to the child in the distance. With the cup in her hand she motioned to him. “Have you met Parker and Danny’s son? She named him Nox.” Kennedy snorted. “Bitch stole the name I wanted for my first kid.”
“I haven’t, yet. Remy wanted to check on her for some unknown reason.”
Kennedy rolled her eyes and finished her drink before turning away from the crowd of children. “He’s stalking her. Man won’t even talk to her at all. It’s pathetic.”
Chuckling because there wasn’t any other response to that, I agreed with her. “He’ll get over himself eventually.”
I watched Remy move through the crowd; he was doing a damn good job of staying off Parker’s radar. At least, in my opinion. The small brunette woman I’d watched break his heart in high school was staring at a little boy that looked exactly like his father had.
“Shit.” I groaned. “It’s like looking at a carbon copy of Danny and Lincoln.”
“Yep.” Kennedy popped her lips. “And it’s about as much of Linc as I’ll ever see again, I think.”
“I’m sorry, Kennedy.”
Kennedy Townsend and Lincoln Hayes were another couple who’d refused to work out their problems. Just like Parker and Remy, they were stubborn and filled with pride. When Danny died overseas, I’d been in college across the country in California. Though even there, we’d felt it. I couldn’t even imagine losing one of my brothers, even if they were giant pains in the asses.
“I’m so glad I’m not gonna end up like that.” Kennedy nodded toward her brother, who was still staring directly at Parker like someone had just kicked him in the gut.