Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother novel Chapter 179

Chapter 179: Penny

Tyler’s hand over my mouth is making everything worse.

I can’t breathe. I just threw up, my chest already tight, throat raw and stinging, and now he’s pressing against me like I’m some kind of secret he needs to hide. My pulse thunders in my ears. My lungs are screaming for air, but I can only take shallow, frantic breaths through my nose.

It feels like drowning. Like I’m gasping underwater with no way up.

I try to jerk away, but his arm wraps tighter around my torso, dragging me against his side as he crouches lower. “Shhh,” he whispers, like I’m just being hysterical, like this isn’t the most terrifying moment of my life. “Just… just wait. He’ll leave.”

He doesn’t even see me unraveling.

Minutes stretch.

Agonizing, breathless, trèmbling minutes. The kind where time goes strange and everything feels like it’s spinning. I don’t hear Asher’s voice anymore. Not his footsteps. Not the sound of his car. Nothing.

What if he left?

What if he thinks Tyler just left his phone behind?

What if he thinks we’re somewhere else entirely?

I try to scream again, but Tyler’s hand doesn’t budge. My arms feel heavy, my vision blurry. I press a hand to my chest. My heartbeat is crashing all over the place, and my body’s shaking so violently I can’t stop it. My fingers are ice–cold.

Is this what a panic attack feels like?

I’m going to pass out. I can feel it coming, like a wave rising too high-

And then-

Thud.

Something drops between the cracks above us.

There’s barely a sound, just the quietest impact of weight hitting ground–solid, practiced, silent.

Tyler flinches. “Fuck!”

And then I see him.

Asher.

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Chapter 179: Penny

He doesn’t look like himself.

Not the quiet older brother figure. Not the man who kissed me gently on his bedroom floor or made dinner like it was his love language.

No. Right now he looks like death itself.

He’s tall and solid and terrifying, crouched low like a panther in the half–dark, moonlight catching the sharp edges of his jaw and the narrowed burn of his eyes. He doesn’t blink. Doesn’t speak. He just stares.

And for the first time tonight, Tyler looks scared.

“Where the hell did you come from?” Tyler blurts, stumbling back, dragging me with him.

Asher steps forward. He doesn’t say a word.

“How did you do that?” Tyler asks, more shrill now. “How the fuck did you find us?!”

“Let her go,” Asher says, calm but lethal.

“No!” Tyler yells. “You don’t get to play the protective big brother. You’re my brother, not hers!”

That makes Asher hesitate. Just a second. A flicker of something behind his eyes. A twitch of confusion.

And I feel it, too.

My brother?

Does Tyler seriously think that Asher acts this way because he feels like a big brother to me?

Asher doesn’t answer. Instead, his voice drops lower. “You’re hurting her. She’s about to pass out.”

“No, she’s not,” Tyler snaps.

But I am. He can’t see it, but I am.

My head feels like it’s filled with cotton. My legs won’t hold me. I can’t draw a real breath and it’s like I’m falling, even though I’m standing still.

“You’re going to kill her,” Asher says, stepping forward again. “Let her go.”

Tyler’s voice cracks. “Why do you even care?!”

There’s a flash in Asher’s eyes. A/subtle loss of control.

“You’re not just my brother anymore, are you?” Tyler’s voice climbs higher. “You’ve got this savior complex

now, huh? You couldn’t just stay in your fucking uniform and mind your business?”

2/

Chapter 179: Penny

Asher shakes his head once. A dry, empty laugh escapes his throat. “You want to talk about union, Tyler? You kidnapped her. You kidnapped her, in Zoe’s car, after cheating on her with her. There is an bone here. No saving this.”

“Stop saying that!” Tyler screams.

I can’t take it anymore. My legs buckle,

Tyler doesn’t even notice. But Asher does.

“Now,” Asher says, and his voice is ice. “Let. Her, Go.”

For one moment, it’s like Tyler might still fight him.

But something in Asher’s face must make it clear–he’s seconds from making him regret it.

Tyler lets go.

I collapse forward–straight into Asher’s arms.

He catches me, strong and solid, easing me down onto the gravel. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you,” he murmurs, crouching beside me, brushing my hair from my face, checking my pulse. His hands are rough but so gentle. “You okay? Are you hurt?”

I shake my head weakly, though I can’t really talk yet. I lean back against the wall of concrete, eyes fluttering shut just for a second.

Then I hear Tyler again.

“Wait.”

Asher turns to him, rising slowly, like a storm cloud taking shape.

“Don’t–don’t tell me you like her.”

Asher’s jaw ticks.

“Do you?!” Tyler shouts. “Do you fucking like her?!”

“Yes,” Asher says simply.

And I forget how to breathe again.

Tyler spins to look at me, wild–eyed. “Are you serious? You–You like him too?!”

Asher steps between us before I can even sit up. “You’re done talking to her.”

He grabs Tyler by the collar.

3/5

Chapter 179: Penny

“You talk to me now.”

Tyler tries to shove him. Big mistake.

Asher moves like lightning, catching Tyler’s wrist, twisting just enough to throw him off balance and slam him against the metal support beam of the bleachers. “I like her,” he says, eyes burning. “And I’ve had enough of you treating her like trash. She deserves better than this. Better than you.”

“Back the fuck off!” Tyler roars. “You don’t get to–You–How long have you liked her?!”

“That doesn’t matter,” Asher says, voice like steel. “Because unlike you, she’s not a cheater. I didn’t kiss her. I didn’t touch her until you were already out of the picture. I respected her. I waited.”

Tyler shoves him again–tries to, at least.

Asher sidesteps, and then-

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