I glanced over my shoulder toward the shop front. All I had to do was move a few inches to my left and I would be in Nitro’s line of sight. But Chett was too deep into the kitchen to be seen.
“Get out, Chett,” I said, forcing my voice to be steady despite the tremble in my knees.
“Or what? You’ll go running to that behemoth who’s been following you around town?”
I clamped my mouth shut and swallowed hard. He stepped closer, lowering his voice so we wouldn’t be overheard by the other employees.
“Yeah, I noticed you two together,” Chett continued. “Did you really throw away five years of our relationship for that trained gorilla, Riley?”
“Youare the one who threw everything away when you cheated on me,” I shot back.
He huffed and shook his head.
“Why can’t you just let that go? I said I was sorry.”
“Actually, you’ve done nothing but make excuses. You have never apologized. Not even once.”
A shadow darkened Chett’s eyes. I took a step back, groping along the counter for something I could use as a weapon.
“If you’d give me a chance—”
Then Nitro was there, quick as a blur. He grabbed Chett’s arm and twisted it behind his back so tightly that Chett rose on his tiptoes.
“What the fuck? Let go of me!” Chett squawked.
Nitro said nothing. A muscle twitched in his jaw as he marched Chett out the back door. I scrambled after them. Snow and arctic air blasted me in the face as I hurried outside.
Nitro gave Chett a shove and stood there like a brick wall, muscles clenched, shoulders squared. Despite the frigid cold, wearing only his T-shirt, he didn’t even shiver.
“If you come anywhere near her again, if you sayone more wordto her,” Nitro said. “You will be celebrating Christmas in the ER. Is that clear?”
“Fuck off,” Chett snapped. “This is none of your business. I’m talking to my girlfriend—”
“Ex-girlfriend,” I said through my teeth. “And you have nothing to say that I want to hear.”
Chett seethed and took a step forward. Nitro moved in front of me, blocking his path. They came nose to nose, and the difference between them was like night and day.
Chett postured and preened like a rooster, goading Nitro into a fight.
Meanwhile, Nitro just stood there, steady as a rock. He had nothing to prove.
Chett wanted to win me back like some carnival prize or the spoils of war. He didn’t like that I had walked away from him, despite the hateful things he’d said to me, despite him cheating on me.
“Get out of my way,” he snarled in Nitro’s face.
“Make me,” Nitro replied in a voice so deep and dark that it sent goosebumps rippling along my skin.
The air crackled with tension. I hugged my arms around my middle, teeth chattering. I should go inside. Nitro was perfectly capable of fending for himself. But I couldn’t take my eyes off them. It sickened me to think that Chett and Nitro would come to blows. I wasn’t worth all this trouble.
I hurried forward and tugged at Nitro’s elbow.
“Come on,” I said softly. “It’s freezing out here. Let’s go back inside.”
Nitro didn’t budge.
“Aw,” Chett crooned. “Your ape-man is protecting you. That’s adorable.”
“Shut up, Chett,” I spat. “I told you to leave.”
