Avenging Angel (Pounding Hearts 5)

Walking back through the gym, heading for the doors, I take one last peek around, soaking in everything around me.

Honestly, I don’t know what I was expecting when I first walked into the gym this morning, but it certainly wasn’t to be embraced by this… family.

Everyone, from Brett and his wife Mandy, to the big, hairy guy they call Bear, has been friendly and welcoming. So welcoming, I almost feel uneasy.

I’m not used to people being so nice to me. In the circle I’ve been running with, people aren’t nice unless they want something.

That mental shit, though, is completely on me. No one has given me any reason to believe that they’re being anything but sincere. And I know I can’t live the rest of my life suspicious of everyone’s motives, so I try to push the uneasy feeling away.

Sighing at myself, I take another deep gulp of my coffee and then nearly choke on it when my gaze happens to land on the guy everyone has been whispering about today—Emmett.

Our eyes meet as if drawn to each other like magnets, and just like it happened when we first met, I feel this strange and unwelcome jolt coursing through my body.

And just like earlier, I find myself smiling nervously.

Emmett smiles right back.

My heartbeat starts to beat in this quick pitter-patter at the sight of his teeth, and I seriously have to wonder what the fuck is wrong with me.

The last thing I need right now is to be getting all boy crazy over some guy. For fuck’s sake, I caught my boyfriend cheating on me yesterday.

But no matter how much I urge the beat of my heart to slow down, it always seems to pick up when he’s around, and it’s annoying the hell out of me.

What the hell is it about this guy?

Yeah, he’s hot… with that smile… and those muscles… and those dark, soulful eyes… but so are most of the guys strutting around this place, and not a single one of them has had this affect on me.

In fact, compared to a lot of the other guys, he seems kind of… broken in a way.

Everyone’s been talking about him today, and the things they’re saying aren’t exactly great. Apparently, he’s been drowning himself in the bottom of bottle since his best friend passed away.

And I have no doubt that what they’re saying is true because I swear I got the faintest whiff of alcohol off of him when he introduced himself to me.

Even Chase has gone the big brother route and warned me away in his own way.

But my stupid body and heart don’t seem to be listening. He’s the last thing I need… Hell, with all the shit I have going on, I’m the last thing he needs.

Forcing myself to tear my gaze away, I push through the front doors and out into the near-blinding sunlight.

And nearly crash into an old lady and a little boy.

“Sorry,” I mumble and quickly grab the door, holding it open for them.

“It’s okay, dear,” the lady smiles at me, but the little boy just glares and stomps on past me.

Damn, if looks could kill…

And double damn, if he doesn’t look a little young to be so angry. He can’t be more than ten… or twelve…

Fuck, I don’t know.

Gaze trailing after the two of them, I realize I’m staring and shake my head. Letting go of the door, I make my way down the side of the building, searching out a bit of shade.

Then I do the one thing I’ve been dreading to do all day, I pull out my phone.

A sigh of relief slips out of me once I see I don’t have any new messages on my screen. It might be wishful thinking, but I can’t help but hope that Tristan has given up on me.

For the life of me, I still can’t understand why he would even want to still be with me. If anything, you’d think he’d be happy to be rid of me.