Forget Me When the Sun Goes Down (Forged Bloodlines Book 11) by Lisa Olsen Page A

Rob stalked his prey, who darted behind me, using me like a human shield.
    The fire alarm went off with a shrill beep, and I clapped my hands over the sides of my head, my sensitive ears in acute pain.  The chili I’d forgotten all about sat smoking on the stove, filling the room with the stench of burning meat.  Ugh, it stunk to high heaven.
    “What the hell is going on in here?” Bishop thundered, just as Rob caught up to Aubrey and planted his fist smack dab on his jaw. 
    Rob ignored him, his arm pistoning out again and again, hitting Aubrey in the ribs and stomach. 
    “Stop fighting!” I yelled, still huddled in a little ball against the screaming fire alarm. 
    “You won’t put your bloody hands on her again or you’ll be pulling back a stump,” Rob threatened, catching hold of Aubrey’s throat. 
    Bishop turned the stove off and knocked the shrieking alarm down from the ceiling, crushing it under his boot until it chirped and went silent.  “That’s enough.  Break it up,” he ordered, catching hold of Rob in a sleeper hold. 
    “Oh no, brother, I intend to give as good as I’ve gotten,” Aubrey said with an ugly grin, punching Rob’s unprotected middle. 
    “Hey, get out of here, you big bully,” I yelled, shoving Aubrey back as Bishop held Rob tight.  
    “Me?” Aubrey’s widened with incredulity.  “He’s the one who attacked me.  All because I’d sampled your charms in the past.  Who is the real bully here, I ask you?”
    “That’s enough.  You deserve what you got for being an ass about it,” Bishop said, jerking his head toward the door.  “Get out of here before you make it worse.”
    “You’re the one making it worse if you don’t let me go,” Rob glowered, straining against Bishop’s hold, but he had him solid.  
    “Bugger this,” Aubrey muttered, leaving in a huff. 
    “I’m not letting you go until you calm down,” Bishop said in a softer voice, his face full of unyielding resolve, as though he did this sort of thing all the time.  Considering that he remembered being a cop, maybe he did? 
    “This is between me and her.”
    “Nope, not until you get a hold of your temper it’s not,” Bishop insisted.  “I’m not letting you go until you calm down,” he repeated. 
    The tension went out of Rob’s body by degrees.  I took the time to spoon Joe’s chili into a bowl, noting that there was a thick coating of it stuck to the bottom of the pot.  That was going to be fun to clean.  By the time I had it ready to go, Rob had lost the intensity to his gaze and looked mostly annoyed. 
    The first thing Rob said when Bishop finally let him go was, “I want to talk to you alone.”
    Before I could reply, Bishop crossed his arms over his chest.  “I think I’ll stay if you don’t mind.”
    “I do mind,” Rob spat back at him. 
    “Do you want me to leave?”  Bishop looked to me, and I wasn’t sure what to say.
    “Like I said, this is between me and her.  I ain’t about to hurt Anja, I love her.”
    “Do you seriously think you’re showing her someone she wants to be with right now?  Have you actually considered how this is making her feel?”
    I braced myself for Rob to blow his stack, but he didn’t look angry, just annoyed.  “Sod off, Bishop, this ain’t got nothing to do with you.  You’re always sticking your smeller in where it ain’t wanted.  Stay out of it for once.”
    Bishop’s head canted to one side.  “What do you mean always sticking my nose in?”
    Rob shook his head as if to clear it.  “Nothing.  I misspoke.  Just... Anja... I ain’t pleased to hear you shared a kiss with Aubrey, but I ain’t about to take it out on you.”
    “That’s mighty thoughtful of you considering I only kissed him because I caught you cheating on me,” I tossed back at him, my guilt making me push back.
    “You did?”  He stared down at me, stricken, and my heart twisted for him.
    “I don’t know, that’s what Aubrey said.