Page 3 of Last Man Standing
At movement through the kitchen window—Lincoln and Sebastion, fighting for prime positioning to peek inside—Nova’s friendly smile transforms again, but this time, her intolerance shines through. She stomps past me, the scent of something flowery and pretty wafting from her hair, and leaning across the top of the sink, she fists the curtains and yanks them closed.
Too bad the curtains are sheer lace, and not… a metal shield.
“It’s not perfect, but it’ll do for now.” Turning and resting against the edge of the counter, she tilts her head to the side and studies me through compassionate eyes. “I’d like to say he’s harmless, but there’s a reason we know him as Tank.”
“T-Tank?” I shuffle on nervous feet and watch the duo scuffling on the back porch. “You call Sebastion, Tank?” I consider his massive stature, the ink covering his skin up to the underside of his chin, and down to the tips of his fingers. “He’s not harmless?”
“Well…” She ponders for a moment, long enough for me to bring my hands up and swipe my warming cheeks. Then she draws her shoulders higher into a shrug. “He’s on our side,” she decides. “Most of the time.”
Most of the time?
“It would be naïve to say he’s harmless, but he saved my life a few months ago, so there’s that. When he could’ve hurt me, he protected me. When he could’ve killed Lincoln—”
Killed Lincoln? “What?”
“He didn’t. I’m led to believe he’s a highly trained, extremely dangerous person. But he typically only aims that danger toward his foes. Luckily for me, he’s decided I’m more valuable alive than I am dead.” Pushing away from the sink, she takes my shaking hand between hers. “I won’t stand here and act like I know nothing about your past…”
“Y-you know?” I tremble. “Lincoln told you?”
“Not the details. Not really. I know you had trouble with a guy a while back, and that trouble was bad enough to lead to…” She chews on the inside of her cheek, hesitant to finish her thought. “Worse stuff. I won’t pry, and Lincoln hasn’t spelled things out. But none of that stopped me from seeing the panic in your eyes out on the porch. It didn’t stop me from noticing the tears you wish so badly you could control.”
I choke out a whimpering laugh. A snotty snicker that vibrates all the way to the base of my stomach. “Seems you’ve figured me out already.”
“I don’t pretend to know everything that passes through Tank’s mind either, but I don’t feel unsafe around him. I like that he’s here, and I don’t mind when Linc has to leave, and it’s just the two of us here alone. So, despite your past and your extremely valid reasons for not being thrilled about meeting that pushy, overgrown oaf, I do think I could vouch for him.” She pauses for a beat, before adding, “Ish.”
“That’s…” I draw a long breath, filling my lungs and tugging my hand from hers while I have the chance, then I exhale and glance at the now-empty window. Both men are gone. Warily, I look at the ceiling. They wouldn’t, would they? “Your vouch-ish is comforting. Ish.”
She snorts.
“And I just made a total dick of myself. I’ve been here for thirty seconds, and already—”
“Eh.” She wanders toward the fridge and whips the door open to reveal soda cans and… not much else. “I doubt you have to worry about impressing Lincoln.” She snags a soda and spins, extending her hand in offering.
I shake my head.
Nodding, she keeps it for herself, closes the fridge, and releases the top with a noisy hisst. “He’s your brother, after all, and I bet you’ve both made dicks of yourselves in the past.”
“Yeah, but—”
“And you don’t have to worry about me, since I was totally jealous for a second there.”
“You…” Frowning, I drag my bottom lip between my teeth. “Huh?”
“When this beautiful brunette with a smokin’ hot body waltzed into my yard and snatched my boyfriend’s attention as if I didn’t even exist, I was jealous.” She shrugs and sips her drink. “I heard him call you Scarlett, so it’s not like I didn’t know who you were. Still, I was jealous. So there…” She lowers her hand. “That’s my brain, weird and wired wrong. My innermost thoughts laid out for you to pick apart. So either we both made dicks of ourselves—”
“No, you d—”
“Or neither of us did. And then there’s Tank. Honestly?” She snickers. “No one should ever worry about how they act in front of him. He’s not in a position to judge. At all. So that brings us back to neutral ground.” She shoots a look toward the opposite side of the house. To the snick of opening locks, then the schwoop of the front door opening. “Your breathing time is officially over. Are you ready? Because he’s missed the crap out of you, and now you’re here.”
“Scarlett!” Lincoln’s voice echoes across the house. “I need answers, Little Girl.”
“Little Girl?” Nova scrunches her nose. “That’s an unfortunate thing to be called when you look like…” She gestures my way. “That.”
“Stopppp.” Finally, I exhale the nasty anxiety swirling in my belly and replace it with genuine happiness. In just two minutes, I’ve met the woman my brother has sworn his life to… and I like her. That’s a nice change. “Don’t act like your jeans aren’t…” I cup my hands to show her what I mean. “Even I looked, and I’m obnoxiously heterosexual.”
“Scarlett!” Lincoln stomps through the doorway and tears me around to face him. “You’ve been here for three seconds, and you’re already talking boys with Nova?”
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