Page 61 of My Hunger, Your Soul

“He stalks you? Now that is fucking romantic, that beats the rest of us,” Aaron gushes, watching Noah like he’s a treat Lev has bought him to play with.

“I’ll rip your eyes out, doe, if you don’t stop looking at him like that,” Lev warns, and Aaron smirks.

“He touched my property. I have to end him,” Noah says, his voice sounding like a smoky whiskey, smooth, sensual and gravelly.

“This is our bar and you ain’t killing anyone. We will deal with him back at the house,” Lev says, walking up to Noah. Uh oh. Someone is feeling intimidated by the new guy.

“And you are?” Noah asks, and Lev’s nostrils flare, his hands clenched, ready for a fight.

“We’re the Kozlovs and we own this town, fuckface.”

“I’ve heard of you. Thought you would’ve branched out by now, this town is hardly a blip on the map,” Noah says, his bat still in Timmy’s face as he lays on the ground, groaning from the pain in his back.

“And who the fuck are you?” Lev asks.

“Someone you don’t wanna mess with. Unlike you, I prefer to stick to the shadows,” Noah says, and he grins. All he’s missing is the sharp teeth as he is reminiscent of a shark right now. This guy does not give a fuck.

“Enough!” Dima shouts, his patience finally snapping.

“I’m sorry Noah, but this is business and we need to take this guy back to the house. We’ve planned this and he’s a cop, so no mistakes can be made,” Dima says, de-escalating the situation. Noah tilts his head to the side as he looks at Dima. His eyes flick over his face like he’s scanning for information.

“I’m coming too. He touched my man,” Noah says, and I totally understand. Plus I wouldn’t mind watching what he has in store. The bat is an interesting choice and it looks well used from the scuffs and dents on it.

“Fuck no,” Lev scoffs.

“Sure,” Dima says at the same time.

“You’re not serious?” Lev says.

“This isn’t a time for egos, Lev. We need to get this shit settled before word gets out.”

Lev gets into Noah’s face.

“I’m watching you.”

“Thanks, but I’m married,” Noah says, and I can't help but laugh. Lev storms out of here followed by Aaron.

“Jules and Kai, restrain Tim and bring him back to the house. You can take the truck that's out back,” Dima says.

“The rest of you, back to the house. Ivan, take Chase, Tyler and Noah with you.”

“Come on boys, let's go.”

As we get outside and into my car, Chase starts questioning Noah.

“How did you get here and why have you got your bat?”

“I got a taxi and brought the bat just in case. I knew the brothers were in this town, so I was prepared. Lucky I was. You shouldn't have been here, baby,” Noah croons at Chase in the back seat while holding his chin. They kiss and I shake my head at the display. Tyler is quiet next to me and distant.

“Are you okay, Ty?”

“Am I okay…is that all you’ve got to fucking say? What the hell was that back there?”

“Business.”

“Business,” he says mockingly, as I start the car and ramp up the heating, because it's colder than the arctic tonight.

“Fuck your business, Ivan. Chase could've been killed, I could’ve been hurt, you could've been hurt!” he yells, and I snap. I turn and grab him around the throat and pull him into my space.

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