26
KRISTA
A loud crashand the shattering of glass pulled me out of my thoughts as I lounged in bed, twirling my hair in complete boredom. Jumping up from the bed, I raced to the door, through the tangle of halls, and down the stairs, stopping midway when I found my brother tossing Rob into a mirror on the wall.
“Michael!” I shouted, but he didn’t hear me.
Hauling Rob up by the shirt, he slammed his fist into his face repeatedly while my brothers yelled for him to give them a turn.
My feet flew down the stairs as I rushed to get to Rob before they killed him. What were they doing here, anyway?
I grabbed Michael by the arm just as he drew back again. I knew it was a stupid move, but I’d grown up fighting with them, and I knew how to take care of myself.
When he turned and swung with the other fist, I ducked, then brought my knee up, right into his balls. All the color fled his face for two seconds before it flushed bright red and he bent over, vomiting all over the pristine floor.
“Holy shit,” he groaned, collapsing at my feet.
“What the hell are you doing?” I shouted.
He rolled over, barely avoiding the vomit on the floor. Spinning around, I pinned Liam and Jeff with the same look.
“Well?”
Jeff pointed at Liam. “He told me to come.”
“For our sister’s honor,” Liam bit out.
“Oh, now this is about my honor? You sure as shit don’t care when it’s about a woman you’re with!”
“Watch it,” he ground out, his gaze turning deadly.
“What? We’re not supposed to talk about the fact that you slept with Bailey, then tried to destroy her?”
“I was protecting her!”
“And Rob was protecting me,” I snapped back. “You came out here without even talking to me?—”
“I talked to Ma.”
“Oh, well, that solves everything!” I shouted. “Why didn’t you ask Bud what his take on it was?”
“Because he’s the local pharmacist.”
“But he always has good advice,” Jeff cut in, wincing when Liam scowled at him.
I took a deep breath, doing my best not to punch my brother. He didn’t really deserve it. At least, that’s what I told myself.
“You had no right to come out here and attack Rob. He’s done nothing wrong.”
“He married you in Vegas,” Liam bit out.
I tossed back my head and laughed. “Wow, so did you think he kidnapped me and forced me to marry him?”
“He could have.”
“We were both drugged. We were riding a high and did something stupid. That’s not his fault.”
“If he was better at his job, you never would have been in that position,” Michael said from his spot on the floor.