Page 147 of Pucking Strong

All the guys in the room stop their yapping and look to Henrik. Novy is one of the last to turn, his brow raised in question.

“My husband is talking to you,” Henrik says, pointing at me.

Novy turns, giving me his full attention. The man is built like a freaking tree. He’s a few inches taller and several pounds heavierthan Henrik. He’s a wall of muscle, with broad shoulders and a barrel chest. It’s what makes him such an excellent enforcer. “What, Ted?”

I clear my throat. “I need you to calmly get your things and come with me. Please.”

“What? Why?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

His eyes narrow. “Why not, Ted?”

I swallow, taking a step back. “Because I don’t want you to hit me.”

He frowns in confusion. “Why the hell would I hit you? Come on, man, knock it off. I can’t find my damn keys.” He turns around, ready to tear his stall apart.

“I have your keys,” I call out.

The silence in the room deepens as he turns back around. “Why do you have my keys?”

“Poppy gave them to me during intermission with strict instructions that I’m to drive you to … the place where she is.”

He quickly does the math, his eyes widening. “Oh shit. Fuck.” He pulls his phone from his pocket, checking it for messages. “When did it happen? When did she leave?” He grabs his dress shirt and tugs it on, leaving the jacket hanging in his stall. Crossing over to me, shirt unbuttoned, he holds out his hand. “Teddy, give me my keys.”

Tipping up my chin, I stand firm. “No.”

His face becomes a mask of rage as he leans away. “No? Teddy, come on, you just said Poppy is in fucking labor. Give me my goddamn keys!”

“Just give him his keys,” one of the guys calls.

“Yeah, man. Before he knocks out all your jibs.”

On instinct, I raise a hand to shield my mouth. Oh god, I love my teeth. They’re straight and cute, and they have the thinnest little gap in the front. “She thought you might react this way. Which is why she instructed me to keep your keys and drive you to the hospital myself.”

He storms forward, getting right in my face. “I don’t need a goddamn babysitter!”

“And I totally respect your position. But I made a promise to—ah—” The shriek that comes out of me as he grabs me is totally involuntary. “Violence will avail you nothing!”

He wraps an arm around me and squeezes like a goddamn boa constrictor. With his free hand, he digs in my pocket, searching for his keys. “Where are they, Ted?”

I flop like a fish out of water. “No—I promised Poppy!”

“Is a promise worth your goddamn life?”

“I’m more afraid of her than I am of you,” I squawk, twisting in his hold as he checks my other pocket. “Just let me drive you, asshole!”

“Gimme um—ouch—”

“Let him go,” a new voice growls.

“Ow, ow—fuck—you’re gonna rip it off,” Novy snarls.

“Let my husband go, or I twist.”

I’m panting, room spinning, as Novy’s iron arm loosens around my middle. I wriggle out of his clutches to see Henrik behind Novy, gripping so tightly to his ear that the tissue is already turning reddish purple.

Novy growls like an angry bear. “Let me go, Karlsson!”

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