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… Just as the car door opened.
A pair of hands grabbed him, yanking him painfully from the small space out onto the asphalt before he was slammed against the car.
A very angry man was standing there looking at him, with an arm shoved against his throat, making it hard to breathe… and it was nearly impossible to remove. Michael’s fingers dug into the skin, trying to pull him away, but this man was a solid fifty to seventy-five pounds heavier than him – and it was all muscle. He was no wimp, but this guy had him pinned, hands down.
“I’m going to give you three seconds to tell me what is going on. One… two…”
“Who… are… you?” Michael strangled out, gasping for air.
“I’m the man that is going to make you use a feeding tube for touching Reaper’s daughter,boy…”
Michael stared at the man’s pale eyes as he leaned menacingly over him, pressing harder against his throat. He knew this man – it was Mr. Merrick’s best friend, and had seen him several times in the distance at the Christmas gatherings.
He felt a bolt of real fear combined with a choking sensation as the man put more pressure against him. He tried kneeing the man, but he was leaning into the stance heavily, his lower body far from him.
“Uncle Aeron! Wait! Uncle Aeron, No!” Ruby was screaming as Michael was starting to black out. “UNCLE VALKYRIE, STOP IT!”
Suddenly the pressure and pain were gone – and Michael grasped at his throat, sucking in several excruciating breaths and shaking his head, before he surged at the other man… hearing him laugh.
“Does your father know you are out here?” the man snapped at Ruby.
“Don’t… talk… to her… like that!” Michael heaved hoarsely, pushing Ruby behind him. “You can deal… with me.”
“Oh geez,” the man said, rolling his eyes like he was dealing with a pest – but Ruby put her arms around Michael’s waist, almost hugging him, and he instinctively put a hand over hers where it laid almost over his heart.
The man looked past him at Ruby again.
“I’ll ask you again, young lady… if I call your father right now, does he know you are out here in the backseat of a car with some boy?”
“If you do that – I’m heading for the nearest hotel with him,” Ruby snapped angrily – causing both men’s eyes to widen in shock. Michael turned to look at her, stunned, and hesitated.
“What?”
“What did you just say?” the man growled.
“Wait, Ruby, uh… I’m in no position to do anything permanent yet. I mean, it’s really tempting, but I can’t be married or anything while I’m at West Point. If something happened and there was a baby? I’d get kicked out and…”
“I’m saying it to get under his skin,” she hissed.
“You are getting under mine,” Michael admitted nervously. “I love you and I want to be a part of your life, but it’s gotta wait.”
“Now, I know who this is,” the man called Valkyrie said openly. “West Point? You’re Griffin’s young whelp, aren’t you? Jeez, Ruby – talk about giving your father heart failure. Let me call your mother and see if she wants you home now – I can’t do that to my best friend.”
“You even sound like my dad…” Ruby muttered.
“She’s an adult,” Michael said openly as the other man dialed his cell phone, ignoring him. “Ruby, get in the car please.”
“Yeah, kiddo,” Valkyrie ordered. “Get in the car and lock the doors. Your hot-headed boy can get his mommy to pick him up. Soph, it’s me… yeah, your daughter is…”
Michael half-way listened to Ruby angrily muttering how ‘stupid bossy men were treating her like a child’ and ‘It was nobody’s business but her own’ or ‘Ican kiss who I want’…
… Only to hear Valkyrie hesitate as he looked at him.
“Are you sure, Sophie?” Valkyrie hesitated. “Seriously? The same girl we both know with the pink hair – that girl? Yeah. Yes, ma’am. Yes, I understand. No, don’t call my wife. I’m going. Yeah – bye.”
“What did my mother say, Uncle Tattletale?” Ruby snapped – and Michael gaped at her as the man glared at her in frustration.
“You be glad you aren’t my daughter,” Valkyrie snapped, pointing at her. “Your mother has the patience of a saint… and said to ‘Trust you to do the right thing’ – and that she wasn’t concerned.”
