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The only person he was more protective of was Chris.
“Well then I have to know her. Who the hell is she? Is it—?” Mike broke off and choked on his words. “What is she doing here? Something’s gotta be wrong for her to stop by like this.”
“Who?” Garrett asked, not bothering to look as he shoved his water bottle into his bag. Any distraction from Mike’s current line of thought was a welcome one in Garrett’s book.
“Kiersten. How did she know where we were?” Mike already headed her way, his stride quick and determined. “Hey, is Chris okay?”
Garrett forced himself to take a deep breath in and out. Just because she was here didn’t mean anything was wrong with her or the baby. She could have come because she needed to talk to them about something completely unrelated to that. Garrett sprinted to her side, passing Mike. “Hey, is everything with…you okay?”
His voice must have come out harsh, despite his intention to keep himself calm and collected, because Mike shot him a surprised look. “Why do you care so much?”
“I’m fine. Chris’s fine, too. He’s at home finishing up his homework.” Kiersten flushed and she smoothed her hair. She always did that when she felt uncomfortable. Her eyes flitted from Mike to Garrett. “Uh, Garrett, can we talk for a sec?”
“Why do you need to talk to him again?” Mike looked first at Kiersten, and then at Garrett incredulously, his green eyes round. He backed away from the pair of them and shook his head, turning red. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
Garrett shoved past Mike and grabbed Kiersten by the elbow as he strode past. “Sure, let’s go. Quickly.”
Kiersten’s cheeks flushed and she looked over her shoulder as he shuttled her outside. “Does he know? Did you tell him?”
“No,” he ground out. “But you just did by asking me that.”
“I’ll kill you, you son-of-a-bitch!” Mike shouted, running after them looking way too alive and enthusiastic for Garrett’s liking. So he’d gotten over his shock already. Excellent. “Get back here so I can kick your ass properly.”
“There goes my plan to tell him and Brianna over a calm dinner,” she said, her voice tight.
He looked over his shoulder. Mike closed in on them. “Yeah, I’d say your plan is ruined.”
“I know you can move faster than this,” Kiersten said, tugging on his hand. “Let’s go.”
Kiersten sped up, but Garrett dug his feet into the pavement. “I’m not running from him. He deserves a chance to yell and scream at me.”
“No, he doesn’t.” She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and paled. “He’ll kill you. He’s not kidding. Why do you think I didn’t want to tell him?”
Garrett shook his head and turned to Mike, grimacing as he grew closer. “No, he won’t. We’ve been best friends for years, so he’ll just—”
Wham.
Garrett saw stars, and hit the ground flat on his back. The back of his head slammed onto the concrete. Fuck, that hurt worse than a sucker punch. Groaning, he sat up and clutched his eye. “Damn it, Mike. What the hell? We have a plan—”
Mike picked him up by his shirt, leaning into his face, and growled, “Give me one damn reason why I shouldn’t kill you here and now.”
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“I told you why in the gym,” Garrett said, shooting Kiersten a quick glance. “Remember?”
“Let go of him, Mike,” Kiersten snapped, tugging on Mike’s arm. “I’m not a little kid anymore. We’re adults, and Garrett is going to be there for me the whole way.”
Mike swallowed and flexed his jaw, not releasing his death grip on Garrett’s shirt. “I don’t give a damn.”
Garrett squinted through his good eye, trying to focus on Mike. “I’m sorry, man, but you know how I’ve felt about her since high school. This can’t be much of a surprise.”
“What?” Kiersten looked at Garrett in surprise. “What do you mean?”
Mike’s grip slackened a fraction. “Kiersten, can you give us a second alone? We need to talk. No girls allowed.”
“No way.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glowered. “I’m not leaving you with him.”
“It’s okay,” Garrett said. “We need a minute.”
