Page 53 of A Sudden Response

“Bastard,” Eric muttered, turning his attention back to the game. He had absolutely no idea who was playing since all he could think about was Joe.

Last night, she’d surpassed every one of his fantasies. Well, the fantasies they had time to play out. There were still thousands of fantasies that they hadn’t had time for and never would. Besides, the fact that he wouldn’t allow himself to touch her again there was also the issue of work.

He may have dropped the subject for now, but he was still trying to figure out a way to get her off the truck. Right now, he was hoping that she enjoyed the dispatcher class enough to go full-time with it. If not, he was going to have to figure out another way to get her off the truck. Maybe she’d meet some guy and start a family, Eric thought.

The idea of another man touching her turned his stomach and made him want to hit something. He didn’t want anyone else touching her or giving her children, but one day, that would happen. It would be the worst day of his life, but if she was happy that’s all that mattered. He could pretend to be happy for her and act like he didn’t want to kill the bastard.

As long as Joe was happy and safe, he could do anything.

“You want to talk about it?” Nathan asked.

“Not even a little fucking bit.”

“It would probably help to talk about it.”

Eric turned a glare on his brother. “Would you like to get something off your chest?”

The scowl Nathan sent his way was answer enough. He mumbled something before turning his attention back to the game. Good. He didn’t want to talk about Joe any more than Nathan wanted to talk about Caitlyn. As long as Nathan kept his ass close by so that he could manipulate the bastard into sending text messages to Joe for him, then he didn’t care if his brother was pissed. He had his own shit to deal with and he didn’t-

“She’s not Joe,” Nathan said softly, grabbing his attention in a big fucking way.

“What?” Eric asked, frowning in confusion.

“I ended things with Caitlyn because she’s not Joe,” Nathan admitted.

“Oh, I see,” Eric said slowly as his brain struggled to comprehend what Nathan said, and when it did, he found himself on top of Nathan and beating the shit out of him.

“Stop!” Nathan snapped, but he couldn’t. He knew Nathan would be the perfect man for Joe and that he should just step back and wish him well, but jealousy was a bitch and currently had him beating the shit out of his brother.

The fight quickly turned into a wrestling match with Eric trying to get in a few more shots at his brother while Nathan did his best to shove Eric away.

“What the hell is your problem?” Nathan demanded as he slammed his elbow into Eric’s gut to get him off.

“You want Joe,” Eric said, moving to throttle the bastard.

Nathan’s horrified look made him go still. “I don’t want Joe!” he snapped, looking like he was going to be sick.

“What the hell is wrong with Joe?” he demanded, pissed on Joe’s behalf.

“She’s my sister, asshole! Now, get the hell off me!” Nathan said, shoving him away.

Eric got to his feet and wiped at the blood dripping from his nose. Well, it looked as though Nathan got in a few shots. Thankfully, his brother didn’t break his nose, but it still hurt like a bitch.

“What the hell is your problem?” Nathan demanded as he wiped blood off his lip with the back of his hand.

“What’s yours?” Eric demanded right back.

“You are!” Nathan snapped, looking ready to kill him.

“What did I do?”

“Joe!” Nathan shot back, shoving a frustrated hand through his hair as he started pacing Eric’s small living room.

“What about her?” Eric asked, wondering if Nathan had any idea what happened between them.

“You’re a fucking idiot,” Nathan practically snarled.

“You want to explain that?” Eric bit out tightly as he took an aggressive step towards his brother. Between the bullshit at work and what happened with Joe, he wasn’t in the mood for any more bullshit.

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