Hammer's Pride by E.C. Land (brene brown rising strong TXT) 📕

I’ll lose my shit, and I can’t allow that to happen,” he growls the words. His grip at my hips tighten, and his head lowers. Resting his forehead against mine, he lets out a deep breath. “I can’t lose you, Avery. I can’t. Lost my brother and his wife to a madman who killed them both. I saw the aftermath where my nephew was soaked in his mother’s blood. I gotta keep you where I know you’re safe, away from those who want to take you from me,” Hammer rasps, his breathing harsh.

Now, I get it, and I feel like a complete and utter bitch. No wonder he flipped.

Chapter Seventeen

Hammer

Ending church hours later, I feel somewhat better now that we’ve come up with a plan to get rid of these assholes. My brothers weren’t too happy I waited to bring shit to them, but they’re not stupid. They knew something was up with the way I’d been acting.

Gunner made a comment for all the rest of my brothers besides Malice.

My brothers and I spent a good two hours going over information Cy had been able to find on the men in this gang. Once we knew it was Avery’s brothers who are the head honcos of their little gang, we knew where to start finding even more info on them. They seem to be trying to put their hands in many pots.

Some of those pots don’t seem to like the way Adam and Aidan are running things. From what we can gather, those two idiots are pivoting between the Cintron Cartel and the Delivers.

Over the past three years, they’ve been stepping into places down in Florida and trying to work their way up after what happened to the Diaz and Alcazar cartels. The leader of the Cintron Cartel stays away from the States, for the most part, preferring to be in Puerto Rico and leaving the rest to his men who work under him.

Shit, the fact that Avery’s brothers would be stupid enough to not only go with one but to try and work with both makes them the dumbest fuckers around. A satanic cult and a Puerto Rican cartel. It’s hilarious if you think about it.

Shaking my head, I go in search of Avery. Not finding her in the kitchen, I look to Tap, who’s handing beers out. “Where’s Avery?” I ask him.

“She went to y’all’s room, Prez. Knuckles decided to go outside and watch over the gate since she went. I haven’t seen her come back out,” he responds.

Nodding, I walk out of the main room and down the hall to my room. Not sure what type of mood she’ll be in when I step into the room, I brace for the argument. Hand on the doorknob, I twist it until the door opens. I don’t even have to step into the room to know she’s not in here.

“What the fuck?” I sneer into the dark entrance to my room.

Where the hell did she go?

Stalking back to the main room, I storm over to Tap and slam my fist on the bar. “You wanna tell me where the fuck my ol’ lady is? ‘Cause she sure as fuck isn’t in our room like you said,” I snarl.

“What? Prez, swear to fuck she was heading into your room last time I saw her,” Tap mutters, his gaze darkening.

“Come on, Prez, let’s see if we can’t find her. There’s no way she’s left the clubhouse,” Bruiser grumbles, sliding off the barstool.

Without another word, I turn on my heel and start looking for my damn woman. Swear to fuck, when I find her, I’m gonna tan her ass.

Or so I thought until I find her sitting on the swing set looking to be deep in thought. I shouldn’t have yelled at her because she’s right I didn’t tell her she couldn’t be out here, but fuck, if it doesn’t scare the shit out of me that I could lose her. Telling her this is like ripping my heart out because of what those thoughts make me think of.

The sob that escapes her lips after I tell her about my brother and sister-in-law is like a sucker punch to the gut. Then to top it off, I told her how much I care for her. I hadn’t intended to fuckin’ do that but not knowing where she’d been scared the hell out of me. When it comes to this woman, I need to be able to know where she’s at, at all times, for my own sanity.

Everyone else can kiss my ass if they want to call me overbearing. You lose family, see their blood soaked into the carpet of their house, you earn the right to be the way I am when it comes to needing to protect those who I hold close.

Lifting a hand, I pinch her chin between my thumb and pointer finger to raise her head to meet my gaze. With my other hand, I wipe the tears from her cheeks that spill over. “Don’t cry, Sunshine,” I murmur.

“But . . . I can’t help it. I didn’t know. I’m sorry for arguing and upsetting you. Please don’t be mad at me,” Avery says, her tears spilling faster down her cheeks.

I release her chin and pull her further into me, wrapping my arms tightly around her. The pain in her voice evident at the effect my words had on her. She’s been through so fuckin’ much. Then I went and dump my shit on her. I’m an ass, that’s for sure.

I need to make it up to her. Show her she’s got nothing to apologize for.

Not knowing if I could with words, I quickly make up my mind on how to do so. I run my hands down her spine, cup her ass, and lift her clear off the ground. Avery makes a squeaking sound as she wraps her arms and legs around me like she was a monkey.

With my mindset on where