His hand clamped and unclamped right before one of those fists slammed down onto the hood of Emma’s car. Chase was on the verge of going twenty-one flavors of crazy.
“Goddammit Chase. Can’t you use something else as a punching bag? Not my car?” Emma spat from behind me on the porch. I hadn’t heard her come out after me. Emma and I might be friendly, but Chase and her…not so much. They didn’t trust each other. Truthfully, I think Chase harbored some resentment against Emma and the part she had in my kidnapping. It hadn’t mattered that she was also the reason I escaped.
He turned his caramel eyes on her snarling, and she took a step back. “Jeesh. Fine,” Emma relented, learning when not to push Chase’s demon switch and hightailed back into the safety of the house.
Now I was the one on the receiving end of his rage.
Joy.
Jaw set, he said, “You are not doing it. You got that. I forbid it.”
“You forbid it?”
After hearing the outrage in my voice, he realized that forbid might not have been the wisest choice of word. Not for me. “Okay, so that might have come out a little strong–”
“A little?” I crossed my arms over my chest. It was no secret I didn’t like being told what I can and can’t do.
“Fine. Whatever. The point is, I don’t want you that close to him. Never again. We will find another way. I’m not yielding on this.”
“Chase you are being unreasonable.”
His brows slammed together and he bristled. “Am I?”
I nodded my head. “Yeah, you are. Trust me, I am in no hurry to be up-close-and-personal anytime soon with Mr. Wack-job, but if there is even the slimmest possibility that I can stop him, I have to try.”
“And I disagree.”
God, he had a fierce protective streak that was both enduring and maddening at the same time. “Errrr. Getting you to be sensible is like smashing my head against a brick wall.”
He leaned against Emma’s dented SUV. “No argument from me.”
“Dammit Chase. You could at least consider it. I might just do it with or without your so called approval. It’s my choice.”
He fixed me with an icy glare, closing the space between us. “Don’t test me.”
For the first time, I could feel the anger that was feeding him. It radiated inside me. Placing my palms on his chest, I tried again. “You really need some anger management classes. At least just let me try it out on Emma. If it doesn’t work, no harm done.”
“And if it does…”
“How about we cross that bridge when we get there, before going all he-ho about it.”
He went rigid. “This is a very bad idea. I can feel it.”
“So you are no longer forbidding it?” I steeled myself for his refusal.
He shook his head. “N-no. Like I ever could.”
I think that was the first time I’d ever heard Chase falter his words. “D–did you just agree?” I asked.
He pulled me against him, squeezing in me in an epic hug, his mood veering sharply to despairing. “Angel,” he murmured my name through my hair. “If I could tuck you away and keep you safe, I would. I’ll never be able to give you the fairytale ending you deserve.” His fingers stroked my cheeks.
I blew out a slow breath, stirring the long strands of dark hair that escaped my messy ponytail. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet Angel Eyes.”
***
“Are you even trying?” Emma asked. Her toned legs were stretched out in front of her.
I gave her dry glare. “Look, I never said I knew what I was doing. It only happened once and I didn’t do it on purpose.”
She sighed heavily. “I’m starting to think Travis made the whole thing up.”
Every time I looked at Emma with the intention of full concentration she was making some stupid face at me, crossing her eyes, or sticking her tongue out at me. “I swear. If you do that again, I am going to rip your tongue right from your mouth.”
Emma laughed. “Do you think you are going to have time to center yourself out in the field?”
“No drill sergeant,” I replied, giving her a poorly executed salute.
She only laughed harder. “You would make a sorry excuse for a solider.”
“And you are a crappy test subject.”
She bunch up her nose. “I am not all that keen about you screwing with my head.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not going to make you do anything crazy like jump in front of a train.”
“Geez, that’s comforting.” As far as verbal sparing went, Emma and I were perfectly matched. “I can’t believe your menacing shadow left you alone with me. Even for just an hour.”
I shrugged, happy for a break. This compelling thing was taxing my brain. “Trust me. He is not far, probably lurking around a corner.”
Emma’s eyes shifted around the family room. “Well that’s not creepy.”
A small smile snuck over my lips. It might have made Emma nervous, for me, knowing Chase was never far was comforting. “Did you honestly think either of them would leave us alone? You’ve been out of the game too long.”