Avenging Angel (Pounding Hearts 5)

But I can easily picture the consequences. Chase going after Tristan… Chase beating the shit out of Tristan… Chase ending up in prison… Avery and their children suffering without him…

Our family completely and utterly ruined.

Unfortunately, with the shit I’m dealing with, violence isn’t going to settle it.

Tristan’s family is filthy, stinking rich.

Theoretically, I could file a police report against him, but his team of lawyers will just make it disappear. And if they don’t, then there’s all the judges they know…

When you have as much money as his family does, you don’t have to play by the same rules as everyone else. You can use it to practically live like a god amongst us lesser mortals.

I know because I’ve been witnessing it for years.

They own the entire system we’re all forced to live and abide in.

Really, the only thing I can think to do is wait him out because fighting back is not an option. I can’t risk whatever he’d bring down on me, my mom, Chase… or even this gym.

Tristan will get bored eventually and move on…

I hope, anyway.

The heat simmering off Chase shoots up a hundred degrees as I press my lips together and refuse to answer him.

“I should call the fucking cops,” he mutters, giving me a threatening look.

And once again, I can only hope it’s simply that. An empty threat.

Because if he actually does it…. Fuck me… I don’t even want to think about it.

Turning my face away, I hold my breath because it’s the only way I can keep myself from hyperventilating.

Once again my heart is racing a million miles a minute, and with everything it’s gone through today I’m afraid I might have a damn heart attack.

My eyes scan the crowd, searching for something to focus on. I need a distraction or I’m going to have an emotional meltdown.

As if my mind is subconsciously seeking him out, I find myself picking Emmett out of the dozens of faces in the crowd. With Casey beside him, he’s standing outside one of the two cages that have been set up for today’s exhibition. There’s currently a fight going on inside the cage, and the two of them seem to be focused on it.

At once I begin to relax a little bit. It’s almost as if simply seeing Emmett, knowing that he’s close, has a calming effect on me. I try not to think about it too hard as I soak in every little movement he makes.

The way he lifts his muscled arm to point, the slight turn of his head as he talks to Casey.

I zero in on him, shamelessly using him as the distraction I desperately need.

He has a damn good jawline, I find myself musing. And I especially like that natural arched quirk of his left brow.

He might not be quite as fit as some of the guys around here, but he stands tall. His posture alone practically screams don’t fuck with me.

I only had his hands on my cheeks for a minute or two, but even now I can’t forget the sheer power his touch had over me.

Or the way those eyes of his seared into me as if he could see me. The real me.

Casey says something, his mouth moving, but the crowd suddenly begins to cheer and hoot.

Emmett leans down to Casey, putting himself at his level to give him his ear.

It’s such a little thing, but out of the blue I have the most fucked up thought of my life.

Emmett would make such a good daddy.