Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
“Fuck no!” Alfie yells, and then he’s storming towards me with a murderous look on his face.
I let him land the first punch when I see his fist swing out. Because, well, after what I’ve been doing with his sister, I deserve it. But that’s all I’m letting him get.
I duck when he throws another jab my way. As much as every fighter instinct inside me tells me to hit back, to knock his ass on the fucking ground and make him stay there, I can’t do that. He’s her fucking brother, and I’m not about to risk pissing her off.
“Stop!” Frankie shrieks and pushes at Alfie, who is trying to swing at me again.
I stop moving, focusing on her. I pick Frankie up and stand her behind me, turning my back to Alfie, because I’m fucking furious at his sister right now.
“Are you out of your mind? Don’t ever get between two men fighting, Frankie. Jesus fucking Christ, what if he hit you?” I ask her.
“He’s not going to hit me.” She rolls her eyes. “And you two need to stop.” Frankie looks behind me. Her eyes widen. And then the sound of a gun being cocked rings out through my ears. It’s pure instinct when I spin around and push Frankie farther back.
“You either need to pull that trigger or put it away,” I tell Alfie.
Before he can make a decision, I hook a foot behind his left ankle and wipe his legs out from under him. I push his shoulders and he drops backwards. Cocky fucker wasn’t expecting me to do anything.
The gun fires as I snatch it out of his hand.
“Fucking idiot.” I lose whatever sense of control I had and jump on top of him, throwing the gun across the floor as my fist slams into his face and then the asshole manages to get a roll on me. I’m stuck under him as the cocksucker lands another blow to my jaw.
Fuck, he hits hard.
My vision blurs but I can hear her. Frankie. She’s in this room and this asshole pulled a gun out. That has my rage burning red fucking hot.
“Don’t ever pull a gun out when she’s in the fucking room again!” I yell as I flip us so I’m back on top of him, sans towel because that fell off in the tumble.
“Get your fucking dick off me.” Alfie shoves at my chest.
“I figured you’d like knowing what a real dick feels like,” I taunt as I hit him again.
“You need to stop, please.” Frankie is screaming but I can’t stop. This is why I’ve always been great in the cage, because I like to fucking win and I don’t stop until I know I’ve won.
A pair of strong arms wraps around my chest, pulling me away. I tip my head backwards, connecting it with someone’s nose. I hear the satisfying crunch.
“Motherfucker, you just broke my fucking nose.”
I turn and see Sammie Junior, my Aunt Lailani’s son, who hasn’t loosened his hold on me and manages to drag me off Alfie.
“You need to stop before one of you kills the other,” Sammie says.
“I can live with that.” I shake out of his hold.
Sammie steps in front of me, pushing me backwards. “Where the fuck are your clothes?” he asks, his face screwed up and blood dripping from his nose.
Frankie hands me the towel from the floor. I’ve seen that face on her many times before. She’s pissed off, and it seems she’s going to direct that anger at me. “Here,” she says.
“You good?” I ask her.
“Am I good? Let’s see… My brother and my boyfriend are rolling around in my living room, fighting like a bunch of morons. So, no, Emilio, I’m not fucking good. And someone is replacing my damn vase,” she says.
I look to the side and see broken shards all over the floor. Probably a good thing I didn’t see them before. I would have used one to fucking stab her brother. But I can’t help but smile at her words. She called me her boyfriend and I fucking like it.
“Well, I’m not about to let anyone wave a fucking gun around when my girlfriend is in the fucking room. I don’t care who they are,” I tell her.
“You two really need to get a room,” Sammie Junior grumbles.
“Shut up!” Frankie and I yell back at him.
“This isn’t happening. You are not dating him. We’re leaving now, Frankie.” Alfie walks over and takes hold of his sister’s arm.
“I’m not leaving. I live here.” Frankie tries to tug her arm free.
“Let go of her. Now.” My voice is calm. I’m anything but.
“Fuck you! She’s my sister,” Alfie spits out.
“And she doesn’t want you grabbing her like that. If you don’t drop her arm, I’ll break your fucking hand. How are you going to jerk off with a broken hand?” I ask him.
“Okay, this is way too much testosterone in one room.” Aunt Lailani walks in. She looks from me, to Alfie, and then over at her son. “Which one of these assholes did that to your face?” she asks, and Sammie Junior points at me and smirks.
“In my defense, it was an accident.” I hold up my hands. I do not need to be on my aunt’s bad side.
“Seriously? Grow up, Alfie. Frankie is an adult.” Aunt Lailani points an accusing finger.
Alfie lets go of his sister, and she steps to the side. “Okay, this has been fun and all, but I do have a class to get to. You can all see yourselves out of my apartment.”
“I’ll take you.” I follow Frankie to the door.
“Nope, I’m good,” she hisses before picking up her bag that’s on the entryway table. Turning around, she looks up at me. “Sorry for snapping at you. I’ll talk to you later.”
When she turns and walks out of her door, I follow her. I take hold of her hand and pull her towards my apartment. I enter the code into the handle and drag her inside.
“Emilio, I really don’t have time for this,” Frankie says.
“And I’m not letting you go while you’re shitty at me, Frankie. I just need a minute,” I tell her. I’ve parted ways with her like this too many times to count. It always fucks up my day, because I feel like shit and can’t get my mind off her.
“I’m not shitty at you. I’m shitty at the situation,” she says. “I knew this was going to happen. I knew it would blow up in our faces. I just thought I’d have longer before it happened.”
“I’m sorry your brother’s an asshole.” I pull her against me, wrap my arms around her, and hold her tight.
Frankie chuckles. “You didn’t have to hit so hard.”
“He pointed a gun at me,” I remind her.
“He was bluffing. He wouldn’t have shot you.”
“I’ve seen your brother kill people for a lot less than dating his precious little sister,” I grind out.
“You think I’m precious?” Frankie looks up at me with a huge smile.
“You know you are.” I lean down and press my lips to hers. When I pull back, she’s still smiling. “That’s better,” I tell her.
“What is?”
“You, smiling. That’s how I want you to leave, while you’re happy. I don’t like it when you storm off like that.”
“You have a way of bringing that out of me.” Frankie raises a brow as if to dare me to challenge her.
“I will fix it,” I assure her.
“Fix what?”
“Things with your brother. I’ll talk to him.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t. Let me talk to him first. I know him better.”
“His problem is with me, not you.”
“His problem is with us dating, not you personally. Think of it from his perspective. How would you feel if one of the cousins started dating Eliana?”
At that idea, I laugh. “They wouldn’t be able to. I’d kill them,” I tell her honestly.
“Exactly.” She points at me. “Don’t go poking the bear. I would like to get more use out of this body of yours before my brother kills you.”
“Okay, I won’t do anything,” I agree.
“Thank you. I really do need to go, but I’ll see you later?”
“Call me. I’ll be around.”
With one last kiss, Frankie walks out of my door.