With a harrumph, NukEncore returned to the kitchen and sat down at the counter. She did not sit easily. Her spine stayed straight, her chin remained high, and her fingers curled around the edge of the counter for a brief second before she forced them to loosen. She looked ready to leave again at the slightest wrong word.
Martin let out a slow breath. "He came at me out of nowhere. I knew he wanted a fight, but not like that. Once he said he wanted my spot, I couldn't back down."
NukEncore's eyes stayed on him. "So that was enough? That alone made it worth dragging me into it?"
His jaw tightened. "I wasn't dragging you into anything. I was making sure no one thought I could be pushed out by him or by anybody else."
Her fingers curled in her lap. "You still let people talk like your place beside me was something you could put on the table."
"No," Martin said, more firmly this time. "They're talking like idiots. That's not what I did."
