“What? Kick my ass?” He laughed. “Pretty sure you proved out there that the only thing you’re interested in doing to an ass these days is fucking it.”
I whirled around on him so fast that my head spun, then I grabbed hold of his harness and hauled him in until our noses were practically touching. My chest was heaving, my anger at an all-time high. Utah stared me down with a look of contempt in his eyes.
“Solo?”
Panther’s voice echoed around the bay again, but I wasn’t about to take my attention off Utah.
“Are you in—Solo? What are you doing?”
Utah’s eyes narrowed on me, and a smirk curled his upper lip. I wanted to wipe it right off his face.
“Solo, let him go,” Panther said from somewhere behind me, but I wasn’t in the mood to listen.
“You know,” Utah said in a voice that made my spine stiffen, “maybe if you weren’t so busy thinking about sucking Panther’s cock while you were flying today, things might’ve gone better for you.”
I’d wondered when I would reach my breaking point. As I twisted my hands around the straps and rammed Utah back against the cage wall of my bay, I knew I’d just reached it.
“Say that again, motherfucker,” I growled. “I dare you.” My jaw clenched, my entire body shaking, and as I let go to throw the first punch, I felt a hand clamp around my wrist and jerk it back.
I turned my head to the side to see Panther standing beside me, his eyes boring into mine.
“He’s not worth it. He’s not fucking worth it, Solo. Let him go.”
20Panther
WATCHING SOLO IN the sky today only confirmed what had been on my mind for days now: something was seriously wrong.
And from the look of things in the bay area, shit had gone from bad to worse. Solo had Utah backed up against the wall, the straps of Utah’s harness in his tight grip, and he looked two seconds away from bashing the guy’s face in. Something that would get him discharged from the program.
“Solo, let him go.”
It was like he didn’t even hear me. I picked up the pace, rushing toward them. Solo’s entire body was vibrating with rage, and I knew it wasn’t entirely Utah’s fault, even though the guy was a mouthy shit. Whatever had been eating Solo up was finally breaking free, but using his fist on Utah wasn’t the way to get a release.
“He’s not worth it,” I said as I stopped beside him, holding my hands up like I was taming a wild animal. I used the same words he’d said to me when I’d had enough of Utah’s shit too. Hopefully they’d work as well on him as they had on me. “He’s not fucking worth it, Solo. Let him go.”
Time seemed to slow, and I held my breath as I waited to see what Solo would do. I was close enough to interfere if I had to, but I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that.
After what felt like forever, I saw it, the change in Solo’s eyes as he looked at me. Behind all that rage still simmering was the anxiety I’d been sensing from him, along with… No, it couldn’t be fear. What could Solo possibly be afraid of?
Solo slowly dropped his arm and then faced Utah—who had the good sense to keep his mouth shut for the moment—and let go of the harness. As Solo stepped back and took in a deep breath, I shot Utah a glare.
“Get out.”
I didn’t have to tell him twice, though he shook his head, a smug look on his face. Once he was out of the bay, I reached for Solo’s arm, wanting to give him some comfort, but he pulled away from me. Running his hands through his hair, he turned his back to me. All I could do was watch the way his body expanded as he took in several more deep breaths.
“What’s going on? Talk to me.”
Solo kicked off his boots and then peeled off his flight suit, his silence deafening. I’d been trying to pinpoint the change in him, what I could’ve possibly done, but all I could trace it back to was the day he’d gone out to grab a few things from the store. Had he run into Utah? Or someone else? It just didn’t make sense, and he wasn’t talking to me, so…what the fuck.
“I know whatever this is isn’t just about what happened in the air.”
With his back still to me, Solo snorted. “Sure it is.”
“Then how do you explain your mood for the last couple of days?”
Solo slammed his fist against the locker so hard that the sound echoed off the walls. “What the fuck do you want from me?”
“I want you to tell me what’s going on. You won’t even look at me.”
