Page 9 of Her Selfless Warrior (Omega Sky)
He really didn’t need this to escalate.
Poke.
I’m too old for this shit.
“Seriously, knock it off.” Kostya’s voice was serious.
“Whatchya going to do, old man?” The kid poked him again.
Aw, hell.
Kostya grabbed the young man’s wrist and wrenched it down, spun him around, then shoved his arm high behind his back until he squealed in the same high pitch as his sister.
It must run in the family.
“I warned you to back off.” Kostya shoved him to the ground. “Are we clear now?”
Dumbass cradled his wrist to his chest. “You broke my arm.”
Kostya gave him a cold stare, not even flinching as something else thudded behind him. The Gregg Allman music stopped and he turned to see another beefy young man running toward him. His head was down as if Kostya were a tackling dummy.
For fuck’s sake.
A half-second before the next idiot was going to slam into him, Kostya stepped out of his way. He watched dispassionately as the kid sprawled onto the cement sidewalk, his head bouncing once off a concrete step.
“Petty Officer Kelly,” Kostya yelled up towards the house. “Get this situation under control. Now!”
“Lieutenant?” Landon shouted down.
“Yes,” Kostya yelled back up. “You have one minute. If you fail to do so, I’m coming up.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Don’t touch me,” Angelique shrieked.
Kostya walked over to the man who had tried to tackle him. He’d hit his head hard. Kostya gently turned him over and examined his skull. It wasn’t cracked. The kid pushed up from the ground and glared at him.
“You fucker.” He tried to take a swipe at Kostya, then fell back onto the cement.
“Give it up,” Kostya said as he grabbed his arm and pulled him up into a sitting position. “You and your brother need to take your sister home.”
He looked up as the door to the duplex opened, only to gift him with more screaming as Landon carried his illustrious girlfriend over his shoulder. Angelique kicked and beat him on his back with her fists. She had the vocabulary of a Marine drill sergeant.
“Who arethey?” Landon asked as he stood on his porch.
“Her brothers.”
“Great, they can have her,” Landon said with a relieved sigh. Then he eyed both of the injured men. “Shit, boss, can either of them drive?”
Even though he’d been busy with the offensive lineman, he’d kept an eye on the kid nursing his arm.
Kostya nodded toward the brother who was standing. “He can drive one-handed. Dump her into the red pick-up.”
“I’m not going anywhere with Earl!” Angelique shrieked. Landon ignored her ear-piercing howls and walked toward the red truck.
“If you keep my stuff, I’m calling the copsssssss!”
Kostya winced. It was like she was practicing for a contest to shatter glass.
