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Frowning, Cole heard the telltale click of a lock seconds before the basement door was opened and–

“Thank you,” Chloe murmured quietly as she stepped into the kitchen as Cole got to his feet and–

“Damn it!” he snapped when the first egg slammed into him. By the time the second egg hit, he was trying not to gag as the scent of rotten eggs hit him. By the third egg, he was making his way up the stairs, cursing Chloe to hell and back and by the time he made it to the kitchen, he was ready to kill someone.

Chapter 17

“Oh, that can’t be good,” Sebastian said, taking in the empty chair where he’d left Mikey before shifting his attention to the rest of the backyard, noting that none of his brothers or cousins were back here and…

Definitely couldn’t be good.

Trying not to panic, and it was always difficult not to panic when Mikey was involved, Sebastian grabbed her abandoned book and shoved it in his sweatshirt before he headed back inside the house, hoping that he’d somehow missed them when he came out. After a quick search of the kitchen, the living room, and his cousins’ bedrooms, he was biting back a curse as he walked out the front door, praying that he was wrong as he headed toward the park.

When he heard the collective groans a few minutes later, he bit back a curse and moved his ass faster. He cut through the playground and the basketball courts and–

“Damn it!” Braxton gasped in pain as he shoved his baseball glove off so that he could hug his hand, which was already turning an interesting shade of red, against his chest.

“Is something wrong?” Mikey, who looked adorably pissed, asked, blinking innocently at the boy that was glaring in her direction while Sebastian’s brothers and cousins laughed their asses off.

“No,” Braxton bit out, looking like he wanted to throttle Mikey as he leaned over and snatched his glove off the ground and shoved his hand back inside.

“Then let’s see what you got,” Mikey said, gesturing with the baseball glove that one of his cousins must have lent her to throw the ball.

Glaring, Braxton grabbed the ball off the ground, straightened, and with a look that told Sebastian just how pissed the kid was at Mikey, he pulled back his arm and let the ball soar through the air.

With barely a flick of her wrist, Mikey easily caught the ball, further pissing the kid off as Sebastian shot Jonathan a glare as he headed toward Mikey.

“You want to keep going or have you had enough?” Mikey asked, tossing the ball in the air and catching it, looking bored while she waited for an answer.

“Just throw the damn ball,” Braxton bit out, holding up his glove as he struggled not to grimace.

Shrugging, Mikey said, “Okay,” as she pulled back her arm and sent the ball flying. Barely a second later, there was another, “Goddamnit!” as the ball slammed into Braxton’s glove. That was followed by sympathetic groans from their audience, right around the time that Mikey finally noticed him.

“Uh-oh…” she murmured, noticeably swallowing as she shifted, licked her lips nervously, and shifted her feet again as she did her best to discreetly shove her glove off her hand.

“We had a deal,” Sebastian reminded her as he came closer.

“We did,” Mikey said, nodding solemnly as she kicked the glove behind her. “But, umm, I just thought that some fresh air would help clear my head so that I could better focus on the book.”

“You were reading outside,” Sebastian said evenly, watching as she barely managed to catch a wince.

“And now, I’m ready to go back,” Mikey said, smiling brightly as she moved to step past him only to end up gasping in pain as she grabbed her side and fell to the ground.

It took Sebastian a moment to figure out what happened, and when he did, he glanced over to find Braxton watching them, looking shocked as something like regret flashed across his features only to disappear so fast that Sebastian wondered if he’d imagined it. When the little prick said, “She should have been watching,” a second later, Sebastian found himself heading for him, ready to knock that smug look off his face and by the looks of it, so were his brothers and cousins.

He barely managed to take a step in the little bastard’s direction when something went flying past his head. A second later, Braxton released a gasp of pain as he grabbed his stomach and dropped to the ground, hard. Frowning, Sebastian looked back in time to see Mikey walking toward them with her hand pressed against her side, looking like she didn’t have a care in the world.

With a satisfied sigh, she reached down and picked up her ball with a mumbled, “Good game,” as she stepped over Braxton, who was currently in the fetal position, and headed back the way they came. She barely made it two feet before she suddenly stopped with a murmured, “This just won’t do,” and turned around to face him.

When Sebastian opened his mouth to ask her if she was okay, Mikey gestured for him to turn around. Eyes narrowing on the little brat, Sebastian reluctantly turned around and felt his lips twitch when Mikey used Braxton’s battered body as a stepping stool to climb onto his back.

Once she was settled and her arms were wrapped around him, Mikey said, “You may carry me back,” releasing one arm so that she could regally wave for him to get on with it.

“You’re too good to me,” Sebastian drawled as he shot the little bastard curled up on the ground one last glare.

“I know,” Mikey said with a long-suffering sigh that had his lips twitching even as he decided that it might not be in their best interest to return to the party. Decision made, Sebastian turned around and headed home, even as he contemplated throwing the little brat in the closet to keep her out of trouble.

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Tags: R.L. Mathewson Neighbor from Hell (YA) Romance