Defiance (The Protectors 9)

I sensed rather than heard that I was no longer alone. I turned to see Nathan standing in the doorway, his eyes on me. I silently cursed the awareness that went through me.

“I told Mr. Deville that I accidentally broke the window when I was trying to move some furniture around.”

His statement should have irritated me, since I knew what it meant.

It didn’t.

And that just pissed me off.

I didn’t want to be stuck with him. Didn’t matter why.

I returned the picture to the nightstand. “You have two minutes to pack a bag,” I said as I strode past him. When he grabbed my arm, I instinctively reacted and shoved him back against the doorjamb. He sucked in a sharp breath, but didn’t try to get away from me.

“Don’t,” I muttered, feeling stupid for my reaction. I released him and pushed back. I had to force myself not to move away from him like I wanted. Mostly to prove to myself that I didn’t need to. That his proximity to me didn’t bother me.

Fuck, when the hell had I decided it would be a good idea to start lying to myself?

“I can’t just leave,” Nathan finally said. “I have responsibilities, commitments.”

“What you have is a target on your back,” I returned. “I know your job is to lie to people, but don’t pull that shit on yourself. It’ll just get you killed.”

Nathan stiffened at my words, but didn’t say anything. He hung there for a moment, and then he did the damndest thing.

He checked me out.

Not in an obvious way.

No, his eyes quickly swept my body from head to toe.

And my body reacted in a big way.

“You have a minute and thirty seconds left,” I snapped before I stepped past him and went back downstairs. I returned to the kitchen and pulled out my phone.

I dialed and smiled to myself when a groggy voice said, “Yeah.”

“Jesus, Ev, it’s only eleven. How fucking old are you?”

“Fuck you,” he murmured. “We can’t all be GI Joe.”

I snorted at that. “Whatever you say, Grandpa. You’re not even sixty yet, Ev. Next thing you know, you’ll be eating dinner at five and trying to stay up late enough to watch that reality dancing show you like so much.”

“Hey, that show kicks ass. Speaking of…”

I shook my head. “He’s alive,” I said.

Everett chuckled. “I should hope so. But if you’re calling this late, it’s not just to give me shit for my television viewing choices.”

“Need you to take care of something for me.”

“Fuck, Vincent, how many?”

“None, you asshole,” I responded, knowing he’d assumed the worst. That I’d left bodies in my wake as usual.

Okay, so maybe it hadn’t been such a stretch of the imagination.

“The only casualty is a window. Can you get someone over here to fix it…and ignore the bullet holes all over the kitchen?”

“Yeah,” Everett sighed, and I heard him moving around. “Address?”

“624 Birch Street.”

Everett paused, presumably so he could write the address down. “So I take it no bodies means the threat’s still out there?”

“Yeah,” I murmured.

“You taking him to your place?”

God, the last place I wanted to take Nathan to was my house. But it was the safest place, so I’d just have to get past the idea of having someone I despised in my private sanctuary. When I didn’t answer, Everett said, “Give him a chance, Vincent. He might surprise you. I did.”

I smiled at that. Yeah, Everett had been a big surprise, in more ways than one.

“You’re the exception, not the rule,” I said. “I gotta go,” I added when I saw Nathan enter the kitchen, small bag in hand. “Talk to you later.”

“Later,” Everett said just before he hung up. As I was tucking my phone into my pocket, I saw Nathan grab his off the floor.

When he went to put it in his shirt pocket, I shook my head and said, “No, that stays here.”

“I need my phone,” Nathan said.

“You need it more than you need to breathe?” I asked impatiently. “Because it’s traceable.” I reached for it to take it away from him, but he stepped back. I got into his space and ripped the phone from his hand. “Is your career really more important than your life?” I ground out. “Because it sure as shit isn’t more important than mine.” I dropped the phone to the floor and made a move to crush it under my heel, but Nathan suddenly lunged forward.

“Don’t!” he yelled. My instincts took over and I grabbed him by the arms and swept his legs from underneath him, taking us both to the floor. He let out a whoosh of air as my body crashed down on his. Too late, I remembered the way he’d been holding his side after the earlier attack.

But I didn’t apologize.

“You lay your hands on me one more time-”