Semper Mine (Sons of War #1)(62)

“Ditched you? I lose one brother and the other comes back hurt, and you’re worried about me ditching you!” So much for calm. “I never want anything to do with you again, Harris. Not now, not tomorrow morning, not ever!”

“Selfish bitch! I’ve done so much for you, and you just –”

I whirl. I’m getting nowhere, arguing with a drunk, and I’m losing what calm I’ve learned to maintain over the past few weeks.

Harris snatches my arm, and I grimace. He’s squeezing too hard, reminding me of the night at camp when he slapped me after we had a similar argument about Petr.

“Let go, Harris!” I snap, trying to pry my arm free.

His grip is too tight.

“Let her go, Harris, and I won’t gut you the way you deserve.”

Harris goes rigid then turns.

If Petr’s lethal, sharp tone unnerves me, his stony expression renders him almost unrecognizable. I’ve never seen that look on his face. It’s scary and dangerous, an indication that my brother is every bit the trained killer he jokes about being. There’s no way the older brother who teases me with warmth is the same man as the one in the doorway to the deck, who looks ready to kill someone.

Riley is standing behind him, grim.

Harris gazes at him uncertainly for a moment before recovering. “I see you brought backup.”

“I don’t need backup with you.”

Riley moves into the room.

“Let my sister go, Harris. This is between us. I warned you what’d happen if you laid a hand on my sister again.” Petr is peeling off his sweater to reveal the white t-shirt beneath it. He tosses the sweater.

Again? How did he know? My thoughts fly to Sawyer. I wonder if this is the reason Harris hasn’t dropped by my house in months. Petr or Sawyer – or both – scared him off.

“The cripple thinks he can still fight.” Harris appears amused.

“Petr is not –” I start.

“Katya.” Petr’s sharp tone silences me. Riley offers a small smile and shakes his head for me to keep quiet. “Let’s finish this, Harris. You and the cripple.”

Harris’s grip loosens, and I yank free.

“Fine,” Harris says curtly.

Petr walks out of the kitchen onto the veranda. After a hesitation, Harris follows. Riley remains in the kitchen with me.

“They’re not seriously gonna fight are they?” I trail, alarmed.

“Your brother can handle it,” Riley advises.

“I don’t need him to handle anything for me!” I snap. And he shouldn’t be fighting on his bad leg!

“Katya, respectfully, if you interfere, I’ll pick you up and move you.”

“Just try it!” That shit never worked for Captain Mathis. It’ll definitely never work for Riley, who almost sounds apologetic.

I hurry out, making my way through the crowd gathering on the veranda. I reach the stairs before Riley catches me and wraps an arm around me, hauling me away from the stairs to the railing instead.

“Dammit, Riley!” I mutter and push at the thick arm.

“You’re staying right here, Kitty-Khav.”

“He’s right.” Carson says joining us. “This is Petr’s battle.”

“It’s not anyone’s battle! This is stupid and insane!” I retort.

Carson gazes down at me, amused. “He’s taking care of his sister. It’s the right thing to do.”

I’ll never understand how these men think. Violence doesn’t resolve issues. It makes them fester, and if Petr gets hurt, I’ll probably kill Harris and then him. Fighting to get free from Riley is like trying to move a tree out of my path, and I stop struggling with a frustrated sigh.

Petr and Harris are in the snow. Harris is saying something that doesn’t reach those of us on the deck watching. I can’t get over the change in Petr. It’s strange. I can see Captain Mathis cracking necks. I can’t see my sweet Petr doing the same, even though I know they went through similar training and ran missions together.

Harris lands the first punch, knocking Petr back a couple of steps. I flinch and try once more to get free. Riley isn’t moving. Even if he did, I don’t think Carson is going to let me past him.

Not that either of them would stop me from trying, if something bad happened to my brother.

Petr’s nose is bleeding. I’m panicking inside, eyeing his fake leg and afraid he’ll get hurt.

He dabs at the blood and then laughs.

What the hell? Who responds like that to getting punched? I watch, anxious and concerned for my brother. He shakes out his shoulders and lowers his stance some. I’m waiting for his leg to snap in two or something horrible.

I’m not expecting my gentle brother to slam one fist then another and another … over and over into Harris. He moves so fast and hits hard enough to knock Harris back with each strike. I’ve never seen my brothers fight. They wrestled once or twice but never like this.

Harris gets in a couple more blows, including one aimed at my brother’s leg, before Petr picks him up and slams him into the ground.

Harris stays down. Petr goes with him, planting his knee on his chest while his fake leg is straight off to the side. He’s pounding the shit out of Harris’s face. Blood flies everywhere, terrifying me. If he kills Harris … if he hurts him enough to go to jail …