“Not in the house.” The front door opened, and with a surprising amount of strength, Colt bulldozed Mitch from the back, forcing him into Kreed who was driven out the opened front door. Kreed couldn’t help but fall when his feet tangled with Mitch’s. The fight was gone from his mind as he reached for anything that might soften the blow of his body hitting concrete. Nothing did.
“Colton!” Jace yelled as Kreed tucked his head and landed flat on his back. Mitch followed him down, his friend’s weight knocking the wind out of him. As the air left his lungs, Mitch’s elbow landed in his gut and his palm slid across his face. Those two moves were done on purpose. They were the moves they used all the time in aggressive arrests. So even though the anger had left Kreed’s body during the fall, just for the hell of it, he executed a perfect wedding tackle assault, effectively kneeing Mitch in the balls as he thrust his lower body forward, gripping Mitch’s shirt. He tossed Mitch over his body.
Regret flooded him as soon as he heard the sound of planters breaking, but then the thuds of Mitch tumbling down the steps lifted his spirits and soothed the worry. He’d send over replacement planters tomorrow for Jace and Colt’s front porch.
“You’re a fuckin’ douche,” Mitch mumbled from the bottom of the steps.
“Yeah, takes one to know one, princess.” Okay, that was what eight-year-olds said, but it was the only thing that came to mind in the moment.
“Jace, this would’ve happened inside our house if I hadn’t gotten them out. Don’t be mad.” He heard Colt explaining from above. His coat was dropped on his body and part of it covered his face.
“Jace, be mad. I’m hurt real bad,” Mitch called out. Kreed pushed the jacket away from his face and rolled to his side to see many of the guests standing at the door. The rest were watching from the windows. Aaron fought his way through the crowd and came out on the porch. Kreed stumbled to his feet but looked down to see Mitch rising at a much slower pace, his hand cupping his crotch. It probably wasn’t fair; Mitch had been off work for a few months, but whatever… He’d started it.
“I’m sorry.” Kreed started toward Colt and Jace, but the sound of metal scraping across concrete followed by a loud thud, drew his attention back to the stairs. Knox had fallen again. He lay sprawled across the ground. From the looks of it, he’d used the rail to help climb the steps and that gave way under his weight. Kreed couldn’t help the belly-laugh that burst out. Served the guy right. Kreed’s back was sore. Certainly there was some road-rash going on. His clothing was probably ready for the trash bin, but he went down the steps and extended a hand to Knox. It took a second, but his buddy took it and scrambled to his feet.
“Where’s Cody?” Mitch asked, looking over his shoulder toward the group.
“If you were in there taking care of him instead of putting your nose in my business, you would know, right?” Kreed said, looking through the crowd at the door, not seeing Cody at all.
“What happened?” Aaron asked, rushing down the steps. “Did you tear up their front porch like that?”
“Knox did,” Kreed said.
“Fuck you. Where’s Cody?” Mitch asked again.
“He’s passed out on the couch. He’s been there for a while,” Colt answered, lifting his hands as he turned toward the partygoers behind him. “Show’s over, folks. Everyone back inside.”
Mitch held his back, probably where Colt’s shoulder rammed him, and said, “How the hell weren’t you a defensive end? You can fuckin’ tackle.”
“You’re paying for all this,” Colt responded over his shoulder as he shooed everyone back inside.
“No. Sinacola is,” Mitch tossed out toward Kreed as he moved across the front porch, his hand still on his back.
“No, Colton is. Why would you shove them out the door like that? They were talking,” Jace said, kicking the broken pots out of the walkway.
“Babe, when chest bumps and hand shoves begin, it’s all downhill from there,” Colt replied, picking up the handrail and placing it in a corner of the front porch.
“Knox, clean this up in the morning,” Kreed called out when Mitch was at the front door.
“Yeah, about that. Fuck you.” Mitch never turned back. He just lifted his hand and shot him the finger as he shut the front door behind him.
“Are you okay?” Jace asked, making his way to where Kreed stood in the front yard. Aaron stayed quiet, but remained close by. He held both their jackets in his hand. Like always, Kreed was drawn to him. The moonlight filtered through the clouds, lighting his face just enough so Kreed could see Aaron’s eyes were wide with trepidation. Maybe a little shocked in what was going on, but Aaron was still beautifully handsome, more so than maybe ever before.
“I’m fine. I’ll get this all replaced. I’m sorry,” Kreed apologized.
“No, it’s not a problem. I’m just sorry things got out of hand with Colt. I think he misses all that on-field aggression at times. To be honest, we were all so relieved you finally took matters in your own hands,” Jace said, giving Kreed that smile that lit up his face. He was almost as handsome as Aaron in that few seconds.
Kreed didn’t turn to gauge Aaron’s reaction to Jace’s words. “We should go.”
He stretched a hand out, placing it on Aaron’s lower back. He shouldn’t touch him in public like this, and he wouldn’t continue to. He just needed the contact, even if only for a second. “Thank you for tonight. Good night.”
Jace was silent as he walked back up the porch. Even though Colt was right there, Kreed made sure they got inside before he left the yard. This was why he didn’t mix business with pleasure. They were in an active case and all these men had to keep them safe were Mitch and him. And now their two protectors had fought like adolescent boys in a schoolyard over some pimple-faced little girl. Except Aaron wasn’t a pimple-faced teenage girl. No, he was sexy as hell and exactly what Kreed wanted. They probably wouldn’t have come to blows; Mitch was right about some of the things he’d said. But what-the-fuck-ever. Mitch couldn’t even follow his own advice when it came to Cody. Why should Kreed start following it now?