Page 33 of Faking It with the Enforcer

“Open this fucking door right now, Wolf!” Mike’s voice is furious, echoing in the hallway as he shouts.

Emily comes racing out of her room, wearing an oversized sweatshirt and a pair of leggings. Her hair is still a wild tumble around her shoulders, her eyes wide. She’s even paler than usual, her fingers curled into the cuffs of her sweatshirt.

Mike knocks again, hard enough to rattle the door in its frame, and I know it’s time to face the music. I take a deep breath and then pull open the door before Mike can beat it down.

The door’s not even all the way open before a fist slams into my face, sending pain exploding across my jaw. Emily screamsas I stagger back half a step, my ears ringing from the blow. Mike always did have a hell of a right hook. I just never expected him to use it on me.

“You fucking asshole!” he yells, shoving past me into the penthouse. He kicks the door shut behind him. “I fucking trusted you, you sick son of a bitch!”

“Mike, stop!” Emily shouts, her voice shaking.

His gaze swings from me to her, and his expression shifts, softening slightly, but the anger is still there. Tears are spilling down her cheeks now, and I might never forgive him for making my girl cry. He can punch me as much as he wants. He can call me every name in the book. But making Emily cry is over the line.

“Mike, I can explain,” I say, but he cuts me off.

“Shut the fuck up, Hartley. I don’t want to hear your bullshit explanation. She’s been here less than a week and you just couldn’t help yourself, could you? You fucking bastard. You promised me you’d keep your hands off my baby sister. And what do you do? You fucking maul her in a bar for the entire world to see.”

I frown slightly, not entirely sure what he’s talking about.

“No one mauled me,” says Emily, a touch of defensiveness in her tone.

Mike rolls his eyes. “I saw the pictures and video online. Some hockey gossip site posted photos of you two making out in a bar last night. Getting into a car together. There’s no room for misunderstanding. You were all over each other.” He swings his attention back to me, anger pulling at his features again. “How could you? She’s my baby sister, Wolf. She’s nine-fucking-teen!”

I open my mouth, but no words come out. I don’t know how to explain something as consuming as what I feel for Emily. I don’t know how to make him understand that Emily is my everything. That I’m madly in love with her. We’ve knowneach other for such a short time that it’ll seem completely unbelievable.

But I know that I have to try.

My mouth is dry. My palms are sweaty. My heart is going a million miles an hour. My jaw fucking hurts from where Mike decked me. I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself. I don’t want to fight with Mike. I don’t want to lose him as a friend. But if push comes to shove, I’ll choose Emily. It’s not even a question.

I hope he doesn’t make me choose.

“Mike,” I say, holding out my hand in a placating gesture. “Calm down. Let’s talk about this like adults. I never set out to lie to you or break your trust. That was never the plan here.”

“So what was the plan? Seduce my baby sister and then send her on her way?”

I shake my head, my ears ringing. “No. There was no plan. I just happened to fall in love with her.”

Mike scoffs. “Shut the fuck up. She’s been here for less than a week.”

“I know. Doesn’t change the fact that I’m in love with Emily.” I glance over at her, and I can see her heart shining out at me through those pretty emerald eyes.

“She’s a kid, Wolf! She’s barely out of high school. She’s not even twenty!” His voice gets louder and wilder with each sentence, and I breathe through it, trying to let his anger roll off me. If he goads me into a fight, we’ll do irreparable damage. I don’t want that to happen.

“I’m not a kid, Mike,” Emily says calmly, stepping between us. Her voice is quiet, but steady. “I’m an adult who can make my own choices. And I choose to be in a relationship with Wolf.”

“No. No fucking way.” Mike crosses his arms and shakes his head. “You’re my baby sister, and clearly you’ve lost your mind.”

It’s my turn to put myself between Mike and Emily, because the way he’s talking to her has my protective instincts rising to the surface. “Don’t talk to her like that,” I warn. My voice is quiet, but there’s a deliberate edge to it that tells him I’m not fucking around here.

Mike decides to be an idiot and shove me. Hard. I absorb most of the impact, but I have to take a half step back. Emily gasps. “Or what, tough guy? You gonna actually hit me back? Or are you only tough when you’re being paid for it?”

I clench my fists, his words goading me. Tension radiates through my body, and I want to hit him so fucking bad. But I know that nothing here gets fixed if I do. So, I force air into my lungs, force my fists to unclench and take a step back, shaking my head. I might be a hired goon on the ice, but that doesn’t mean I can’t control myself.

“I’m not gonna hit you, Mike. Although it might make for a good story during your toast at our wedding.”

A sound bubbles out of Emily at that, half laughter, half scream, all joy.

Mike’s face goes slack. “Yourwedding?”

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