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

way. Didn’t like it at the coffee shop when she’d stared up at me in fear, and I don’t like it now.

Avery shakes her head while closing her eyes.

“You don’t open it. I’ll open it for you, and you won’t like how I do it,” I warn her.

She continues to shake her head in denial.

Fuck.

Women just can’t seem to listen and do as they’re fuckin’ told.

“Prez,” Axe says with caution.

“I got this. Y’all go see what the fuck had her run out of her house,” I order. I pull my bandanna out of my back pocket and wrap it around my fist. I look into the driver’s side window to take note of Avery still sitting there in the midst of a panic attack.

Pulling my fist back, I slam through the glass in the back driver’s side window. I carefully reach through and unlock her door. Once I pull the little lever piece up, I wrench the door open and grab hold of Avery’s arm. I drag the woman out of the car and hold her to me. Ignoring the feeling of how good she feels in my arms, I hold her tight to keep her from escaping my grip when she starts to fight.

“Enough,” I bark at her to stop thrashing around in my arms.

“Let me go,” she cries. “Please let me go.” Tears well down her cheeks, and I can’t help myself. I slide one of my hands up to cup the back of her head and pull her into my chest.

“Calm down, baby, you’re okay,” I murmur soothingly.

Shit, I don’t know what is up with me being gentle with this woman when I’ve never done it with anyone else besides my brother’s wife and my niece. One of those is dead, and the other she’ll always receive tenderness from me because she’s my blood and has been through hell for the majority of her life.

“You have to let me go. I need to go. I need . . . I . . . please just let go so I can leave,” she prattles, her tears soaking into my chest.

“Not happenin’, Sunshine,” I mutter, taking in just how small she is compared to me. Avery’s dainty and barely comes up to my chest. And my cock likes it. “You’re staying right here with me until we know what the hell is going on with you.

“Yo, Prez, you gotta see this shit,” Malice snarls from the front porch, getting my attention.

Nodding, I keep Avery pressed close to me while I escort her up to the porch.

“I’ll keep her out here, Prez,” Malice says through clenched teeth.

Fuck, it must be bad if he’s saying he’ll watch over Avery. Neither of us wants anything to do with women, and for him to offer this, it’s not something she should see. Or at least not see again.

Slowly, I release her into his hold, he cradles her to him the way I’d held her, and something about it pisses me off. I meet Malice’s gaze and find them filled with a fiery rage. One that tells me he’s ready for blood.

Fuck.

Turning away, I step into the house. Soon as I close the door behind me, I’m met with the debris.

“Motherfucker,” I growl.

“Prez, back here,” Gunner yells out from the back of the house, the tone in his voice harsh.

Stepping over broken glass and destroyed furniture, I make my way toward my brothers and find them all standing in what I’m assuming is Avery’s bedroom. Scanning the room, fury grows inside me for this woman I don’t even know. Clothes ripped out of the drawers. Some even torn apart. The mattress is flipped on its side, completely slashed up with the inside material hanging out of it. The mirror on her dresser is shattered, and on the wall are the words ‘filthy whore’ written in what looks to be blood. This is confirmed when I get around my brothers and find a mutilated animal lying on the floor of her room.

Fuck me. What else is going to happen that we’ll have to handle? Because I know in my gut, I’m not about to leave this woman hangin’. Someone is after her, and until I know what this is that I’m feeling for her, she’s mine, and no one fucks with what’s mine.

Clenching my fists at my sides, I turn and head back to Malice to claim what I’m taking for myself. Avery’s mine, and until I know what’s happenin’, that’s how it’s gonna stay.

Chapter Five

Avery

I didn’t mean to; I really didn’t. I thought I’d embarrassed myself enough the other day in front of this man and to break down and cry in his arms is definitely the icing on the cake.

Why would someone come in and trash my house?

I know it has to be bad because as soon as all the men came out of my house, they all had grim looks on their faces. The one who I’ve thought to look like a Viking is actually the President of whatever they are. I’m so confused by it all. Doesn’t help that I’m running on barely any sleep and need to find a way to catch up as well as also get work done that I need to do.

My Viking man, as I’m claiming him to be, comes straight to me and pulls me out of the other man’s grasp. He pulls me with enough strength that I literally fall into him due to the bit of distance between the two men.

“Shit. Sorry, Sunshine,” he mutters. Pulling back, I look up at his dark gaze and then trail my eyes down and finally catch sight of his vest thingy. I don’t know what you’d call it. On the one side where it says President, it also has the name, Hammer. I’m guessing that’s his name.

“Hammer?” I utter in question wanting to confirm.

“Yeah, baby, that’s who I am,” Hammer says, confirming this for me.

I nod and lean back into him,