Page 6 of Knight Before Christmas

“Hey! Where’s your mind at?” Colt’s voice tugs me out of old, painful memories. It’s a place that I hate going so I shake my head and a smirk tugs at my lips.

“You miss me? You sound like a jealous girlfriend.”

That does the job. “Humph!” He snorts and glowers at me. “You are a sick son of a bitch sometimes! But I’m super-glad that you’re here and you’re gonna help me with this. I wouldn’t trust anybody but you with my baby sister’s safety. You know that.”

And just like that all the dirty feelings that filled my mind from the second I saw Raine again tumble to my feet and float away like dust in the wind off the mountain.

What kind of a sick bastard am I thinking about my best buddy’s little sister like this while he’s standing right there and she’s facing danger with her little chin pointed straight at it. Like the fighter she is.

I stand up and fiddle with the lock for a second to gather my thoughts. I close the door and flick the lock, watching to make sure it works right. I glare at the door like it’s my mortal enemy. I really don’t like how flimsy this stupid-ass door is.

But this is what I have to work with so I’ll make the best of it. The best of all of it. I can’t mess this up.

This is my best buddy and his little sister. Hell, she might as well be my little sister.

My gut tightens and I smile sickly up at Colt, my head bent to my task.

“I promise you, Colt. You will never regret calling for me to help you. I got this and I got you. Your sister is going to be more guarded than a pop singer with an entourage going into a gig.”

He grimaces and flicks his eyes towards the doorway. “I just wish she was happier about it. I don’t understand why the two of you fight like cats and dogs. You’re the two people that mean the most to me and I’ve never been able to get you two in the same room together without World War 3.”

You’ve heard of fight or flight. This is our version of fight or fuck. It’s a defense mechanism and it’s worked thus far.

I just have to try and keep my damn head straight until we get this mess straightened out and then I’ll decide what to do about how I feel about Raine Showers.

Because I will not let anything happen to Raine on my watch. Never again.

CHAPTER 5

Raine

Five days of straight-out hell. Five days of Knight following me around and his deep, dark whiskey eyes locked on me like a heat-seeking missile.

I need to get out and get a break before I lose my mind. Or before I do something so stupid that I will never be able to take it back.

I head for the local watering hole and smile when I see my brother inside. My smile quickly turns into a frown when I realize that that means that Colt might be with him.

But once I look around, I relax because I don’t see the annoying man. I stroll up to my brother and wrap my arms around his waist. The damn man’s tall as a tree.

“Hello, big brother.”

He smiles at me, the dimple in his left cheek winking. “What are you doing here, sis?” The smile disappears. “Wait a minute. Did you tell Gray that you were gonna be here tonight. He didn’t mention it to me.”

I roll my eyes. “He’s not my jailer, big brother. I don’t care what you and he think. I’m a free person and I can do whatever the hell I want.”

He chuckles and hugs me tight. “I’m aware that you’re a grown-ass woman. But you’re still my baby sister and you always will be. So don’t mess with me or Gray. We just want what’s best for you. We don’t want you to get hurt or worse.”

I sigh and rest my head on his broad chest. “I know you love me, Colt. I do. But that doesn’t mean you get to run my life. No matter why you’re doing it.”

“Humph!” He snorts. “Tell that to Gray. I don’t think you’ll get very far.”

“I’ll be happy to tell him that,” I growl.

“Happy to tell me what, sweetheart?”

My back stiffens and I groan silently, closing my eyes. Why the hell can’t that man wear a bell? That way he can’t sneak up on a girl when she doesn’t expect it!

A low rumble of laughter under my ear makes me glare up at my brother. “Et tu, Colt?”

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