“Eastern, it doesn’t—”
“What did she say, Sadie?”
It took a beat, but finally Sadie lifted her gaze. “To back off. That you and Avery are hers and I’m trying to steal you both.”
Rage punched through his chest. A familiar rage that he’d lived and breathed this entire last week.
“But I don’t even care about that,” she rushed to say. “I want to give you space so you can figure things out without having to worry about us.”
“You think you and I are something I worry about?”
Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times before she lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know.”
This was his fault. He’d asked her to put their relationship on hold. And before that, he’d been the one who’d resisted a relationship. Apologized for touching her.
He gripped her hips, tugging her closer before lowering his voice. “Sadie, you are not a puzzle I need to piece together. You aren’t a problem I need to solve. And you certainly aren’t someone I want or need space from. I tried that, and it’s too goddamn hard.” He cupped her cheek. “Maybe that makes me a selfish bastard, but when I’m with you, I feel like I can function. I feel stronger. Like I can think more clearly.”
“Eastern…” She grazed her hands down his chest. “I—”
Whatever she was about to say was cut off by the door to the liquor store opening and shouted voices ringing throughout the quiet street.
“A hundred dollars for a bottle? You having a fuckin’ laugh? You’re gonna send me skint, you fucking crook!”
Morris Anderson stepped out of his shop, holding Denny by his shirt collar. “I don’t rip people off. I sell alcohol. You’re unhappy with the price? Take your business the fuck elsewhere.”
Anderson shoved Denny, who almost fell into them. Eastern quickly pushed Sadie behind him and grabbed Denny to stop him from hitting the ground.
“Hey!” Eastern barked.
Denny ignored him and lowered his paper bag to the sidewalk. “You think I’m fucking daft? I oughta teach you a lesson!”
He shoved Anderson, and Anderson went to shove him back, but Eastern stepped between them.
“Stop!”
“Oh, look, it’s PC Plod,” Denny growled with an eye roll while trying to wrench out of Eastern’s hold. He didn’t let him go, and Denny turned back to Morris. “I want my money back.”
Anderson scowled at him. “Then give me the bottles back.”
“You over-fucking-charged me.”
“That’s what the bottles cost!”
Eastern looked at Denny. “He’s the store owner, so he sets the prices, Denny. You don’t like it, shop elsewhere.”
The man turned angry eyes on him. “Well, I can’t go to the damn bar because your no-good brother banned me, and the other liquor store in town is closed.” Denny shoved at Eastern, but he didn’t budge an inch.
Eastern’s eyes narrowed. “You drunk again, Denny?”
“Fuck off! The lot of ya.” He finally managed to yank himself out of Eastern’s hold before turning angry eyes to Sadie. “Careful who ya spend time with, missy. Some people ain’t worth the trouble.”
He grabbed his bag of liquor and stormed off while Anderson also spun around with a huff and headed back into his store.
When both were gone, Eastern turned to Sadie. “You okay?”
She nodded, concern in her eyes. “That’s Denny, right? The guy you were telling me about?”
“Yeah, he’s a regular at the station.” He blew out a frustrated breath.
