Page 21 of Stella's Christmas Rescue
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“Get off him!” I can’t frigging believe this.
Jordan shakes his head, “He was gonna grab you!”
I shout, “OFF!”
Jordan stands up, and his victim rolls onto his side to gasp for breath. “What the hell, Stella?”
I crouch down and ask, “Are you okay?”
He coughs, “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
Jordan barks, “What the hell, Stella?”
I look up and snap, “You just tried to kill my brother!”
Someone from the firehouse yells across the street, “Everything okay over there?”
His mouth drops and he gasps at my brother, “Oh shit, I’m so sorry, man.” Then, Jordan yells back at his co-worker, “Everything’s fine, Michael.” The firefighter goes back inside. “I can’t believe I did that. Are you alright?”
“Alex. My name’s Alex,” he pants, as I help him up. He turns to me and says, “You hired some muscle of your own? Good idea.”
I chuckle and roll my eyes. “He is not the muscle. He’s a hired hand from Witness Protection.”
“Oh. Even better, right?” Alex asks brightly. He’s being cheery. Way too cheery, especially after what just happened to him. Something is up.
Jordan makes a face, as if to say, “See? I told you.”
I glare harder at him. “It’s not a good idea. You could have killed Alex.”
My brother points out, “Or, he could have been saving your life, Stella. He didn’t know. He was just doing his job.”
Jordan smiles smugly again but says nothing.
I tell him, “Keep doing that and your face will get stuck that way.”
He shrugs and says, “It’s just nice to know that someone appreciates me around here.”
Alex picks up on our vibe and says, “Yeah, well, even though my head is ringing and I’m pretty sure I landed on a nail, I appreciate you looking after Stella. My kid sister is a stubborn one, and she needs all the help she can get right now.”
“I can take care of myself!”
“If that were true,” my brother frowns, “then you wouldn’t be in Witness Protection.”
“Good, thanks, Alex, say it louder, so the whole town can hear you.”
He glances around, then sheepishly says, “Sorry. Don’t think anyone heard me.”
I turn to the smug son of a gun next to me and tell him, “Jordan, thank you for your completely unneeded heroics. That’s enough. You’re dismissed.”
Alex gives me a look of strong disapproval and I hate it. He mastered that look when we were kids, and it’s always made me feel like I’m the one being the asshole. Then comes the tone from my childhood nightmares, “Stella.” It sounds like a warning.
“Alex.” I fold my arms and return the tone. I’m not budging on this.
“Be nice to the man who could have broken me in half. By the looks of him, he held back, and I’m grateful for that.”
Jordan laughs, “Well, I thought you might need to testify, so I didn’t think breaking you in half would be all that useful to her.”
