"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.