Mayhem & Mistletoe, стр. 35
Van, who towered over Shepperly by a good six inches, flexed his rather impressive biceps as he regarded the house monitor. To his credit, Shepperly didn’t flinch. I very much doubted this was his first go-around with an unruly tenant. “And what if I don’t like the rules?” the big man gritted out.
“Then you’ll have to leave.”
“And I suppose you’re going to make me.”
Eliot snagged the back of my shirt and directed me to his left side. I’d been so busy watching the show I hadn’t noticed the way his muscles tensed. I shot him a curious look, but his attention was focused on the two men.
“All I have to do is place one call and you’re out of here,” Shepperly warned. “The rules are very clear. I don’t understand why you’re having such a hard time with this.”
“And I don’t understand why it matters,” Van hissed, leaning closer to the man who held his fate in his hands. Upon closer inspection, his head looked like a bowling ball and he appeared to be missing a neck. “All you have to do is mind your own business. That’s all I’m asking.”
“And all you have to do is follow the rules.” Shepperly refused to back down. “The doors on this house close at seven. You know that. It’s almost nine o’clock.”
“If I’m not allowed to crash out, then I won’t be here for roll call in the morning,” Van pointed out. “If I’m not here for roll call, then my PO will find out ... and that’s not good.”
“A PO is a parole officer,” I offered to Eliot helpfully. “That means he did hard time.”
“Thanks,” Eliot gritted out, irritation evident. “I never would’ve figured that out.”
Slowly, Van tracked his eyes to me. “And who are you, little girl?”
I didn’t much like his tone. “Avery Shaw.”
Eliot groaned. “You don’t have one single survival instinct, do you?”
I pretended I didn’t hear him.
“I didn’t know Shepperly was arranging deliveries.” Van winked at me, creepy rather than flirty. “I have to say, the perks of this place are looking up.” He turned to the house monitor. “If I can keep her, I’ll be on time.”
Shepperly looked more tired than offended on my behalf. “You’re already out. You missed curfew. I can’t let you inside. That means you’ll miss count tomorrow morning ... and you know what that means.”
Van took a menacing step toward Shepperly. “It means they’ll send me back. I ain’t going back.”
Eliot took advantage of Van’s distraction and gave me a little shove toward the edge of the porch. The idea of jumping made me frown. I wasn’t known for being graceful and I could only imagine how I might land. With visions of twisted ankles in my head, I fought his efforts ... and lost.
“You know what? Fine.” Van threw his hands in the air and shifted. “If you want to play it this way, we’ll do it. I’m taking her with me. I might as well go out in style.”
It took me a moment to realize he was talking about me. “Yeah, I’m good.”
Van’s reach was long and his fingers were already brushing against my hair when I registered he really meant what he said. Eliot shoved me again, this time harder, and I stumbled off the porch as Eliot launched himself at an enraged Van.
I grunted as I hit the ground. When I sat up, I found Eliot grappling with Van ... and it looked as if he was losing. Eliot was a big man compared to me, but he was normal sized. Sure, he was built and worked out, but Van probably weighed at least fifty pounds more ... and he was using that to his advantage now.
“Son of a ...!” Eliot landed on the opposite side of the porch with a terrific thud. He looked dazed, which shifted me into protective mode when Van started moving in his direction to give him another shot.
“Hey!”
Van jerked his head in my direction, his eyes wide, nostrils flared. It was almost as if he’d forgotten about me. “What?”
“I thought you wanted me.” I wasn’t really sure how I should approach this situation. Talking my way out of trouble had become a way of life, so I went with that. “If you hurt him, I won’t go with you.”
Van cocked his head. “What if I make you go?”
“You can’t make me do anything. I’m Avery Shaw.”
“We’ll just see about that.” He started toward me, which was my plan, but I wasn’t sure what to do once he got to the bottom of the steps. I could hide in Eliot’s truck, but that wouldn’t stop him from turning right around and going after Eliot again.
“I think we’re going to have a good time together,” Van offered, flexing his fingers. “I love a mouthy chick.”
“Then you’re going to love me.”
“That’s the idea.”
I didn’t like the way he was looking at me, as if he’d been on the Keto diet for six months and I was the last bag of potato chips to feed his PMS. “Listen ....”
“Oh, I’m done listening.” Van’s smile was evil. “I’m a man of action, Blondie. I think you’re going to enjoy it when I show you just how close to a superhero I can be.”
I needed a distraction. “What sort of superhero are we talking here? I tend to be a Marvel girl myself, but only because DC keeps screwing up their movies. I’m a big fan of Wonder Woman ... and Captain Marvel ... and, well, Thor. You don’t look like Thor, though.”
“Come here, my little pretty,” Van hissed when he reached the bottom of the steps. “I have something I want to show you.”
I was profoundly certain I didn’t want to see anything he had to offer.