Page 73 of Mistle-Ho

And now is not the fucking time to tell him.

“I just want to get to her and make sure she’s good.” My best friend shifts in his seat, leaning to look at the GPS on my phone. “Why does it say it’s gonna take so long?”

“Fucking traffic, man.” We landed not long ago after taking the earliest flight home possible. The rest of the team won’t come back till tomorrow, but Leo was hell-bent he was getting homeas soon as possible. And being the good friend I claim to be, I offered to accompany him.

Because, while I’m not worried about Al’s safety, I don’t fucking like being away from her. We’ve been together every day for weeks now, and last night in the hotel was awful. I hated every second of it. Instead of sleeping, I laid in bed trying to come up with ways to convince her to go with me to all my away matches.

Unfortunately, unless she quits her job, that’s not possible, so I’m stuck suffering.

Speaking of suffering, my stomach growls as we pass an exit. “I’m guessing you don’t want to stop for food.”

Leo’s head snaps my direction and he looks at me like I’ve lost it. “No, I don’t want to fucking stop for food.”

“Got it.” I turn back to the road, keeping my focus there, because I honestly don’t like thinking too hard about Leo’s current state. He’s almost become a different person lately, and I don’t like it. I understand it, because I would be the same way—was the same way when Alexis was in danger.

I still don’t like seeing my formerly laid-back, goofy friend like this.

The rest of the drive is silent, but the tension rolling off Leo speaks volumes. And what it’s saying is that I might never be able to tell him I’m in love with his sister. I can’t bring myself to add one more thing to his already overflowing plate. Six months ago, I could have anticipated his reaction. He might’ve been a little pissed. A little shocked. Maybe even grossed out. But he would’ve accepted it and eventually been happy enough to give me unending shit about it.

Now?

Now it might be the thing that pushes him over the edge. Especially if he discovers how long it’s been going on behind his back.

The drive feels like it takes forever. Both because of my friend’s silence, and because I can’t wait to see Alexis. If Leo wasn’t in the seat beside me, I could have called her. Checked in. Made sure everything was going okay and that she’d eaten. But, under the current circumstances, that’s not possible, so I’m forced to wait.

By the time we’re pulling into Al’s complex, I’m practically crawling out of my skin with excitement. I don’t know how the hell I’m going to hide it. The best I can hope for is that Leo’s so distracted by Maddie, he doesn’t notice what’s going on around him.

Cutting through the parking lot, I go straight for Al’s building, ready to park as close as possible so we can get inside as fast as possible.

Leo leans forward as I round the corner, one hand coming to grip the edge of the dash. “What the fuck?”

I follow his sight line and see what has him agitated. “The fuck?” I don’t think, just throw the Hummer into park and jump out, feet hitting the blacktop hard. I take off, pushing my body to its limits, grateful for every ounce of speed I’ve managed to gain. Because I can’t get to Alexis fast enough.

Even with as hard as I’m pushing, Leo manages to catch up to me, so he’s right at my side as I close in, giving me zero time to choose who I want to get my hands on. Ultimately, he decides for me.

In the blink of an eye, Leo leaps, tackling the man gripping Al’s arm and barely giving me enough time to sweep her away from the collision. She lets out a little yelp because the prick doesn’t immediately let go. I clamp one hand around his forearm, squeezing hard enough I’m shocked I don’t break bone. The instant I see his fingers relax, I spin her away, hauling her body up against mine.

My heart is racing, my breath coming fast as it saws in and out of my chest. I don’t know what the fuck I just witnessed, but I don’t ever want to see it again. This is twice in one week I’ve had to deal with the sight of another man putting his hands on her. It’s like the universe is fucking testing me, and at some point, I’m going to fail.

Alexis latches on to me, her arms so tight around my neck it’s hard to breathe. “Oh my God.” She buries her face in my neck. “I was doing so good until I figured out who he was, and then I just froze.”

I curve my palm against the back of her head, squeezing her even tighter. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Al. You did just fine. Fucking perfect.”

“No, I didn’t.” She almost sounds mad, which makes me relax a little. “How come I could punch that guy at the bar, but no one else?”

“You didn’t know him.” I take another step away before craning my neck to see what’s going on behind me. Leo’s got the other guy on the ground and is beating the complete and total shit out of him, making it relatively easy to deduce who the man is. “It’s a hell of a lot easier to hit someone you don’t know.” I smooth down Al’s hair, trying to calm her as much as I’m trying to calm myself. “Trust me.”

“Leo.” The piercing sound of Maddie’s wail makes me go still. “Stop.”

I want to run away with Alexis. Let everyone else figure this shit out on their own, but I can’t.

Gently, I settle Al on her feet, cradling her face in my hands. “I’m gonna go make sure your brother doesn’t kill him.”

She gives me a jerky nod. “Please do that.”

I have to force myself away from her, because I know she needs me, but Leo needs me more, whether he knows it or not. I’m at his side in two steps, hauling him away from the bruisedand bleeding piece of shit who doesn’t deserve this mercy. As I expect, Leo fights me, using all his strength to try to break free of my hold.

“Let me the fuck go.” His voice is low and deadly, making it even less likely I’m going to give him what he wants.

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