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"Remember? Did you two... when?" He was about to kill me, and I did not understand why he was this upset. He had texted to ask where I was, and I told him having lunch with Holly. If I was doing something wrong, wouldn't I lie about it?
Unfortunately for him, I could not let him murder me over this girl. I would hate for this school to lose another football player, but my gun in the kidney holster assured me we would if it came to that. "We went to high school together. Jesus, Storm. Settle down. What the hell is wrong with you?"
"I saw her talking to you." He made hand gestures and all.
I rubbed my forehead. "So? I'm sure she talks to lots of people."
He reared back as though I had just slapped him. "Just not me."
"Storm, you gotta help me here." I was so glad to see the waiter. "I need an ice water as soon as possible."
Storm said, "Same." He looked beyond the waiter and said, "She'll have a coke. Regular, not diet."
Again, how the fuck do you know that and not know someone? Unless he was spying on her. I leaned in because I knew she had to be getting closer and whisper shouted, "Did you spy on her?"
He snort-laughed and said, "No. I... take out her trash and... never mind."
She was really fucking slow getting to this table or he had eyes like an eagle. I turned and realized she was stuck at the edge of the patio. I waved, and then realized she might be literally stuck. I said, "I'll be back."
I got up and walked over, looking, trying to see if she was hooked on something, but when I got there, she whispered, "He's here."
"Yup." I nodded. "You okay?"
"He... he..." She shook her head. I looked back at him, and he seemed pained by the situation, so this was confusing as fuck. I rolled my hand, and she looked up at me. Yeah, me back then would have more patience for this. Hell, me back then would not be in this situation. Me now had to figure out if Storm was going to be a problem for us this year. And by us I meant Team Harpy. We didn't say that around her, but Apollo told us all how much this business meant to her, and no one was going to fuck it up. No one fucked with her without getting fucked by him. Last person who did that ended up exiled to another country and the other ended up dead, probably also dropped off in another country. "I get nervous."
"You like him." I took a step back, reassessed the situation.
She blushed deeply and said, "I don't know him. I just... I... like you."
Was it the rooms in the house that caused this crazy shit to happen? He was in Ripley's old room. I earned my spot in Titus's old room. Did we have to share a woman, too? I did not want to see that beast naked. I was only recently comfortable with my body. That guy looked like an ego breaker if one ever walked.
"If you really like me, you will come over here and have lunch with us. He's ready to fight me over you. Do you think that will work out in my favor?" I had been working out and training, so I might give him a decent go of it, but he was like Ripley plus some inches and at least fifty pounds. I did not want to fight that guy.
"Okay." She stepped forward and as she did, she said, "I'm really sorry. I don't know what is happening or why."
"It's okay. This... might work itself out anyway." If Apollo taught me anything it was to slow down and let it play out. See what I could gleam from a situation.
He stood up as we got closer and pulled the chair out for her. Oh shit. He was not just fucking her. He was tumbling. It had to be the rooms. Maybe I needed to see if someone in the vicinity could come cleanse them or something. As I took my seat and he returned to his, I considered that I spent time on the OBD files, not my house since he was the only new addition to it. I had not anticipated him being a complication. I asked, "You don't by chance have a kid out there, do you?"
He looked at me like I just grew another head. "What?"
"Ripley. He has Rip. So... I was just thinking the rooms might have something to do with it." I took a sip of water and they both looked at me with curious expressions. "Never mind." I looked at Holly and said, "Hey."
She gulped and looked at the drink. I watched the hulking man next to her try to decipher that expression like it was code. He then said, "Is that just for studying or."
He stopped. No one cut him off. Damn, this was painful to witness. I cleared my throat and said, "So, Storm, you have a game Friday. Holly caught me at OBD this morning. She showed me your hoodie and asked if I could help her with some information." Then for good measure I said, "Surprise."
He was so fucking happy it made me sad for him. He looked at her and said softly, "I would have answered those questions."
She blushed and gulped. I adjusted my lean, my proximity because I didn't know this guy. I knew two very large and brooding men similar enough to him I needed to be ready for any reaction. I said, "She can't talk to you, Storm. She's... shy, afraid... I'm not sure which or maybe both."
He stiffened, looked at me and then at her. He seemed to be thinking, then he jerked back and stood up. I pushed my hand under my shirt, closer to that pistol grip.
He looked at her and said, "Look at me." She did. "Say no to me."
She started to tremble a little bit. Oh no. Oh fucking no. He took a step back and put up both of his hands as he said, "I."
Now he was speechless and the tear that rolled down her cheek might as well have crawled over here, took out this gun, and shot him. I could see it hit him center fucking mass. He looked at me and then started walking, then he started jogging, then he was in a run. The direction of the street, but not his vehicle.
