Being on the outside looking in really sucked. The group was so tight, so protective. Her father had been like that, and then she’d been alone until finding Loretta. Family mattered. Zara was so lucky. Yeah, Anya understood confidentiality, but still. She patted her hair into place and calmed herself. She’d be with these people just until the case was over, and then she’d go find her own life. Yeah. Good plan.
Steeling her shoulders, she walked out into the alcove and into a body. “Oh, sorry.” She looked up and gasped. Her knees weakened. “Carl?”
He smiled and grabbed her arms. He wore a heavy ski jacket, and snow was still evident on his thick blond hair. “I’ve been following you for two days. Finally, we’re alone and can talk.” His gaze darkened. “Please. I really need your help.”
That quickly, heat flushed through her entire body until her skin ached. “You are such a dick.” Reeling back, she swung and hit him right in the gut.
CHAPTER
19
Heath’s nape tickled, and he turned around in time to see Carl Sparks stagger into the entryway as if he’d been kicked. What the hell? Heat slammed into Heath’s solar plexus. He sped past the line of booths and grabbed Carl by the coat, steering him easily through the door and out into the chilly night. Keeping his momentum, Heath shoved the bastard down the sidewalk, turned him into the nearest alley, and threw him up against a metal door.
“What the fuck?” Carl tugged down his coat, his face a mask of fury. “Who the hell—”
There was only one reason the asshole was in town. Heath swung and punched Carl in the face, sending his head back into the door. It protested with a loud clang. A round red circle appeared on Carl’s cheek. “I pulled that punch, dickhead.” Heath flashed his teeth, anger ripping through him. “The next one’s going to break something.”
“You don’t understand.” Carl charged him, grabbing him in a bear hug.
Heath’s ribs protested, and he reacted instantly. He dropped onto the icy snow and threw Carl over his head to crash into the opposite building. Then Heath stood, turned, and strode toward the guy groaning and rolling in the snow. He picked Carl up and planted him against the brick.
Carl’s eyes narrowed and he kicked uselessly, his boots sliding on the ice. Heath kept his hold strong. The guy needed to learn what happened to men who hurt women.
“Heath!” Anya skidded around the corner, with his brothers and Zara right behind her. “What are you doing?”
He released Carl and took a step back. Forcing calmness into his movements, he wiped snow off his hands and took a good look at her. Pale, eyes wide, no bruises. His muscles vibrated down his back, and he reminded himself he was in control. Fully. “Did he hurt you?”
“No.” She shook out her right hand. “I punched him.”
They’d have to work on her fighting skills, because Carl had still been standing. “You want to knock them down fast and hard, sweetheart,” Heath said, turning his attention on the bully breathing heavily against the wall. The man thought he could stalk an innocent woman and get away with it. Somebody needed to teach him differently.
“I tried to knock him down,” she grumbled.
Heath stiffened. A bully needed to be put down and swiftly—it was the only way he’d stop. If Carl didn’t learn a lesson tonight, he’d never leave Anya alone. “Ryker? Take Anya back inside, would you?” He didn’t think she needed to see any more violence.
She set her boots in the snow. “I’m not going anywhere.” She stomped toward Carl, and Heath halted her with an arm around her shoulders. “How did you find me? You said you’d followed me, but we didn’t see you.”
“I had been getting to that questioning,” Heath said, his temper fraying. HowhadCarl found them? What if the jerk had gotten Anya outside before Heath could’ve intervened? Images of Loretta in death and his mother on the floor filtered through his mind. He gently pushed Anya toward Ryker, who planted a hand on her arm. “Get her out of here.”
“No.” Anya shrugged off Ryker’s hand. “How did you find me, Carl?”
Blood dripped from Carl’s lip. Snow slid down his face to mingle with the red. “I need you.”
Heath pivoted and kicked Carl in the gut. “Wrong fucking answer.”
Carl fell back, his arms spreading wide before he leaned over with a painedoof. Even then, he chuckled. “You are such a Neanderthal. Anya? You are better than this. We are better than this.”
Heath kept the entire group in his sights. Denver hissed out breath and looked both ways down the street. “We’re clear.”
Ryker just studied the scene, even as Zara paled next to him. “I suggest you give a good answer, buddy,” Ryker said calmly. “When Heath starts kicking instead of hitting, usually people end up drinking through straws for the rest of their lives.”
Heath straightened. Yeah. His brothers had his back. But he needed to calm down.
Carl straightened and spit out blood. His eyes hardened, and his welling lip curled. “I understand Anya on an intellectual level you’ll never reach.” The absolute tone held as much arrogance as determination. “I’ve decided I will never let her go. She doesn’t want to go anyway. She knows we belong together.” He feigned right and punched left, hitting Heath in the ear.
More heat rushed through Heath, and he nailed Carl in the chin with a quick front kick.
Carl’s head cracked against the brick, and blood pooled from his ear.
