Page 26 of Awakening the Wild
“Fine.” I went inside and slammed the door.
“Don’t you dare lock it,” Michael warned.
And damn him, I didn’t. I did, however, run to the back door. But one of the goons had beaten me to it. “Kevin, are you there?” I gasped into the phone.
“I heard everything. Lock the door.”
“He said he’d break it down.”
“Fuck the door. I’m on my way. Hang in there. I’m coming.”
I locked the back door, but when I sprinted to do the same to the front, Michael and the other goon kicked it open.
"Time's up, ma'am. Let's go,” the goon said.
When I didn't move, he reached for my arm. I jerked back instinctively, and his grip tightened painfully.
"Don't make this harder than it needs to be," he said, dragging me outside.
We were almost to the SUV when I heard the distant roar of an engine being pushed far beyond its limits. Kevin was racing back at dangerous speeds.
Michael heard it too. His expression darkened. "Deal with him," he told his men. "Whatever it takes."
Hi truck came into view and skidded to a stop. Kevin jumped out and came at us in a dead run. The sight of him made my heart pound with relief and terror in equal measure.
He looked primal and dangerous—six-foot-four of pure muscle and fury, his dark eyes taking in the scene with death in his eyes. When his gaze landed on the man gripping my arm, all civilization leaked away..
"Let her go," he snarled.
"Mr. Pike, I presume," Michael said smoothly. "I'm Michael Castellanos, Tonya's fiancé. I'm here to collect my property."
"She's not your property." Kevin stepped closer, and I could see the controlled violence radiating from his massive frame. "And she's not going anywhere."
"Actually, she is.”
Kevin's eyes never left the man holding my arm. "You have three seconds to let her go before I make you let her go."
The hired muscle looked to Michael, who nodded slightly. Instead of releasing me, the man's grip tightened and he reached inside his jacket.
He never got the chance to draw whatever weapon he was reaching for.
Kevin moved like lightning, covering the distance between them in three strides. His first punch caught the man in the throat, dropping him instantly. The second man rushed forward, but Kevin was already swinging for him.
KEVIN
The moment I saw that bastard's hands on my woman, something savage tore loose. This was my home. My woman they were threatening. And I was going to make them regret ever stepping foot on my mountain.
The first man went down from my throat punch, gasping and choking. The second came at me trained and ready. I could see it in his stance, the way he moved. Former military, maybe private security. He knew how to fight.
But he'd never fought a man protecting what was his.
He threw a professional combination—jab, cross, hook. I took the jab on my shoulder, slipped the cross, and caught his hook arm mid-swing. Using his own momentum, I yanked him forward and drove my knee into his solar plexus. The air exploded from his lungs.
Before he could recover, I grabbed him by the back of his head and brought his face down to meet my rising knee. Cartilage crunched. Blood exploded from his nose as he staggered backward.
The first man was back on his feet now, one hand still at his throat but reaching for his jacket with the other. I closed the distance in two steps and buried my fist in his kidney—a shot that would have him pissing blood for a week. He folded with a strangled cry.
I spun back to the second man, who was trying to circle me despite the blood streaming down his face. He was tough—I'd give him that. Came at me again with a low tackle, trying to use his training to take me to the ground where size mattered less.
