Rubbing away the pain in my chest, it occurred to me he was right. John cared about me for some damn reason. Maybe he even loved me. And I felt the same way about him.
I walked into the kitchen, no longer afraid to need the reassurance he gave me every day. But when I rounded the corner, I found him much different from when I left him a few minutes ago.
Something was wrong. John had both hands flat on the counter as he looked down at the ingredients and pots covering the counter. His jaw was tense like he was holding back his anger and his brow was furrowed as he peered down at the counter.
My heart sank when I saw what he was looking at. And when his eyes met mine, I felt his anger from across the room.
“John—”
He cut me off. “What the fuck am I looking at here, Brent?”
I frowned and propped my hands on my hips before I straightened my spine and stalked over to pick up the bag that held the hunting knife and my picture.
“None of your fucking business,” I said, snatching it off the counter.
“The fuck it’s not! Why did you hide this from me? From Dare? When did this happen?”
He was uncharacteristically losing his shit. But I was losing mine too.
“I can take care of myself and I can find whoever is doing all this shit. This doesn’t concern anyone but me. It’s about me.”
John ran his hand over his head and threw his hands in the air. His voice got louder the more frustrated he got with me.
“I bet Daredevil won’t agree with your bullshit. Neither will GQ or Phantom. And if you think for one goddamn fucking minute that I’m going to let you handle this alone, you’re full of shit!”
Daredevil came into the kitchen, his brow furrowed. “What the hell is going on?”
John walked over and grabbed the bag from my hand, then held it out for Daredevil. “This asshole has been hiding this from everyone.”
Dare took the bag and looked at the contents. “What the fuck, Brent? Where did this come from?”
“The motherfucking door” John barked. “That’s where the gouge came from, isn’t it? You lied to me. You said you didn’t know how it happened!”
Fury grew inside me the more he came at me. The rational side of me knew it was out of fear, but I didn’t need any of them involved in this.
“I’m a goddamn Navy SEAL. I don’t need any of you to protect me from whatever nut job is doing this shit. I’ll find them. So back the fuck off and let me handle it.”
John gritted his teeth together and I could see the hurt in his eyes before he turned and walked away. He stopped in the middle of the floor and turned to look at me. “You’re not doing this alone. I won’t allow it.”
I threw my hands up. “Why are you so fucking determined to take care of me?”
John leveled me with his expression. “Because I fucking love you. I fell in love with you the minute you touched me on the dance floor in Vegas. And if you think I’m going to allow my husband to deal with this bullshit alone, you’re out of your goddamn mind.”
He turned and walked out of the kitchen without another word.
Daredevil stared at me, wide-eyed as the front door opened and slammed shut. I waited for him to come charging back through the door, but he didn’t.
“Dare—”
He picked up the bag and looked at it. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because this isn’t about you. That proves it. You have a new husband and a new life, and I’ve pissed someone off. I’ll find them on my own.”
He laughed humorlessly. “He’s right. You are out of your fucking mind.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re all overreacting. I can handle it.”
“I have no doubt that you could, but you don’t have to handle it alone. Would you let me do it alone if it had been my picture instead of yours?”
