“I’m heading to the bar for more beer. What are you drinking, Andi?” Kellan asked.
“Just a glass of wine. My shift starts at six tomorrow.”
Kellan left to order drinks.
“I heard you’re working in the emergency room,” I said. “That must be hard. And stressful. And damn courageous, I might add.”
Andi unzipped her sweatshirt and took it off. “Too much body heat in here. E.R. is definitely a learning experience. I’m going to try and stick it out there as long as I can, but from what I hear, the burnout rate is pretty fast.” She glanced in Kellan’s direction. “Looks like you two picked up right where you left off. I’m glad for Kellan. After what happened that night—”
“What happened? Do you mean grad night?”
Her eyes rounded, and I seemed to have caught her completely off guard. “Uh, I mean after you left—once you left town.” She was stumbling over her words. “It was just really hard on Kellan, that’s all.”
“Hey, sis, you made it.” Dawson came up behind. Andi nearly crumpled with relief that our conversation had ended.
Dawson picked up his glass of beer, and Andi reached for it. “I’m parched. Give me a sip.”
Kellan was on his way back to the table with the drinks.
Dawson glanced around. “Where did Huck go?”
“Think he’s over talking to Lowe about next Saturday’s fights.” Kellan handed Andi her wine.
“He’s avoiding me.” Andi took a drink and crinkled her nose at the taste. “I think I’m going to go over and ask him why he has a bug up his butt whenever he sees me.”
“Probably not a good idea,” Dawson interjected quickly. “You know how he gets. Just leave him alone, Andi.”
She huffed. “Fine. See if I ever tend to that man’s cuts and bruises again. He can find himself a new first aid nurse.”
I looked over at Kellan to see if I could gleam any information from his face. I was usually really good at reading his thoughts, but he and Dawson were keeping stiff upper lips on this one. It was impossible to tell what was going on, but I was nearly certain that Tommy’s high school crush had never actually melted.
A new song started up. Kellan offered me his hand. I placed my palm in his and he walked me to the floor. “Don’t know about you, darlin’, but I’m thinking two dances and we blow this joint.” He pulled me around and wrapped his arm around my waist. His blue eyes were pale under the dim lights hanging over the dance floor. “We can make some of our own music at my place.”
“I like your way of thinking, mister.”
Chapter 22
Kellan
After my chat with Meade, I’d badly needed a beer and some good music. But the second I saw Rylan walking across the barroom floor all I could think about was being alone with her. Not just because I needed her naked and in my bed but because I needed to remind myself that Rylan was with me and there wasn’t a damn thing anyone could do to change that.
The band was taking a break. Tommy had been acting like a first class asshole toward Andi, and she looked plenty distraught about it. Dawson was busy sharing a beer with the band’s singer.
“Hey, Andi, Rylan and I are leaving.”
“Are you? I don’t know why I came here in the first place. I don’t hang out with any of these people anymore. With Dawson acting like a lovesick band groupie and Tommy acting as if we were enemies, or at the very least, strangers, I think I’ll leave too. That way you can walk me to my car, if you don’t mind.”
“Absolutely.”
I took hold of Rylan’s hand and caught Dawson’s attention just long enough to point out that his sister was leaving too. We headed out the door. The cloud cover of late afternoon had turned into a late night cold drizzle. Not great weather for a motorcycle ride. I was glad we were only a few short miles from the cabin.
We stepped out of the shadow of the building. Four more motorcycles had joined mine in the parking lot. Red cigarette butts glowed through white puffs of breath as the four riders hovered around their bikes. It was easy to recognize the Grunge Devils’ cuts, even with only one working light in the parking lot. It was also easy to recognize Jigsaw’s oversized head through the mist.
I squeezed Rylan’s hand tighter and took hold of Andi’s as well. “Where’s your car?”
“Across the way,” Andi answered, without pulling her worried gaze from the men standing at the motorcycles. “Didn’t realize those guys came this way. Why the heck don’t they stay in their own town?”
“Uh, have you seen Browning?” I smiled to assure her everything was fine, and it was no big deal. But then the bikers turned to look at us. Both girls squeezed my hands tighter.
We reached Andi’s car. “Hey, Andi, can I ask you a favor? Can you drive Rylan over to my house? I’ll be right behind on my bike.”
Rylan took hold of my arm. “I knew it. Those guys are waiting for you, aren’t they? I’m not leaving here without you.”
I kissed her quickly. “Hmm, why the heck does the beer always taste better on your lips.” I held out my hand. “I’m just having Andi drive you because it’s cold and wet out.”
Rylan knew me too well. She shook her head. “Not believing that excuse.”
I looked at her. “I don’t really know what the hell they want, Lanie. But if they are looking for trouble, then I’ve got a lot better chance if I don’t have to worry about you. Let Andi drive you to my place, and I’ll be right behind.”
Reluctantly, Rylan climbed into the passenger seat. Andi opened the window. “If you don’t mind, Lone Ranger, we’re going to wait until you actually climb on that horse and ride off. If not, this little baby”—she patted the dash—“can take out at least one of those thick-necked oafs.”
“Just stay in the car. I’ll be right behind,” I said again. I turned and headed toward my motorcycle. One of the assholes had decided to straddle it.
“Braddock!” Jigsaw barked at me. “We need to talk.”
I kept walking toward him. The jerk on my bike finally threw his big leg over and got off. Jigsaw and two of his buddies stood shoulder to shoulder, like a trio of potato-faced asshats.
“Already told Lowe I’m willing to step into the ring with you again.” I stopped a few feet from him. “That doesn’t mean I didn’t win the last one. I did. Fair and square.”
His doughy face tightened with anger. “Yeah? Well, this time I plan to put you into a fucking coma. Then there’s no way Lowe can rig it.”
I grinned. “We’ll see.”
“And what about Lilly?”
“What about her?” I peeked back over my shoulder. The girls were out of earshot but watching the whole confrontation.
Mickey, the Grunge Devil who I’d cleaned up in poker a few months back, laughed, showing off his black front tooth. “Got your girlfriends keeping an eye on you? That’s sweet.”
“Which one of those sweeties is your favorite? Doesn’t matter. I think I’ll give them both a go.” Jigsaw made a show of grabbing his crotch. “Seems only fair since you’ve been going after Lilly.”
“Going after Lilly?” I laughed, and badly wanted to add ‘if you only knew’. But I knew the bastard would take it out on Lilly. Someday she’d get smart enough to leave the creep. “Well, it’s been fun, as always, Jigsaw.” I looked at the others. “Jigsaw’s buddies.” I nodded politely and moved toward my bike.
They formed a wall in front of it. I sighed loudly and looked at Jigsaw. “What the fuck do you want? Didn’t realize what a sore loser you were going to be.”
The cold weather and his overblown muscles made Jigsaw move just slow enough for me to easily duck out of the path of his fist. I, on the other hand, spent most of my time under the Earth’s surface where you went from bitter cold to a hundred plus as you got closer to the
molten core. Temperature change in either direction never bothered me. I returned a right hook, clipping him on his square, iron jaw. It didn’t blow him off his feet, but he stumbled back with a groan.
The other guys moved in. As I spun around to block a fist, a leg shot out and kicked my legs out from under me. I slammed hard, shoulder first against the pavement. Shadows fell over me as I moved my feet to stand. An elbow came down hard between my shoulder blades.
I was outnumbered. I groaned as sharp pain shot down my back. In the distance, I heard a car’s tires chirp across the parking lot. I stared at the wet pavement, trying to catch my breath and figure my next move. A steel toed boot came up toward my chin. I grabbed the boot and gave it a violent twist, sending the owner reeling backward. But before I could even let go of the foot, another boot came in from behind, nailing me hard on the back. The pain and loss of breath knocked me senseless for a second.
A voice inside my spinning head told me to get up or end up in the fucking hospital. Hot searing pain shot through my back as I pushed to my knees with a grunt. I lifted my face. The massive silhouette in front of me was fuzzy and unfocused. Jigsaw’s laugh helped clear my head fast.
I shot to my feet and drew back my arm, but before I could shoot it toward his face, his head snapped to the side. Blood and spit spurted from his mouth, and he fell to the ground. Dawson’s face appeared through the rainy mist. As he shook out his hand, an arm went around Dawson’s neck. He jammed his elbow back, but I couldn’t stick around to see how it ended. The fourth guy, with snow white hair and a twisted looking scar on his face, lumbered toward me with a chain dangling from his hand. My back was on fire, but adrenaline had pumped plenty of rage into my muscles. From the corner of my eye, I saw Tommy, with a bloody shirt, in a full fist fight with one of the Grunge Devils. No one had a stronger right hook than Tommy. I had no doubt he would leave the asshole with fewer teeth and even fewer brain cells.
“Kellan!” I heard Rylan’s scream but had no time to look around and find her.
The chain was swinging toward me like a deadly whip. I raised up my hand to defend my head. I sucked in a sharp breath as the heavy links smacked my knuckles. The chain twisted around my forearm like a metal snake. I got a grip on it and yanked it so hard, the guy wielding it fell to his knees. With the chain wrapped tightly around my fist, I hit him right in the middle of his face. It was like wearing a heavy duty set of brass knuckles. Bone cracked, blood flowed and his nose looked a little less centered on his face.
I held the chain up in front of him. “I think I’ll hold onto this.”
Voices floated to us through the cold drizzle, a drizzle that had now soaked me to the bone. In the midst of the melee, the main douche bag had disappeared. A crowd had gathered outside the bar to watch. Scott Lowe, the owner, had so much illegal gambling and so many safety violations going on inside his place, there was no way he’d call the police.
Dawson and his opponent were still throwing punches, but Tommy was done with his. The guy was on his knees, puking his guts out.
“Hey, Braddock,” I heard Jigsaw’s voice come from between two cars. That’s when I heard a tiny whimper. It was a sound that went straight through me.
Jigsaw came out of the shadows. His fat fingers were wrapped tightly around Rylan’s arms. “A little more payback for you sniffing around Lilly,” Jigsaw sneered. Before Rylan could turn her face, Jigsaw pressed his mouth against hers and kissed her. He shoved her as he let go, and she fell back hard on her bottom.
I was on him so fast, the fucker didn’t have time to react. I grabbed his shirt and slammed my fist into his face. His head snapped back and came forward, and just like a punching bag I hit him again. And again.
It was Rylan’s plea to stop that finally made me let go of the shirt. Jigsaw crumpled into a bloody mess at my feet. Rylan ran to me. I hauled her against me.
Scott Lowe and a couple of the big dudes he employed to tamp down bar fights were standing nearby. “Guess you boys have had enough.” Scott had carried a baseball bat out. He rested it up against his shoulder. “Jigsaw, I think I’ve had about enough of you. You and your friends find somewhere else to hang out from now on.” Scott looked over at the Grunge Devils. They all looked way worse off than when they’d first started the evening of fun. “You’re no longer welcome here.”
“You’re siding with these assholes?” The guy with white hair growled through a fat lip.
“Just like you, we take care of our own in Bluefield,” Scott told him.
“Then they need to keep their cocks out of our Browning women.” He scowled at me as he said it. I felt a twinge of tension in Rylan’s body as he spit out the words. I was going to have plenty of explaining to do after this. But I had nothing to hide. I hadn’t so much as glanced in another girl’s direction since Rylan had walked back into my life.
“Agreed,” Scott said. “We’ve got trucks here if any of you need a ride home. We can put the motorcycles in the back.”
Jigsaw pushed to his feet. The blood might have made it look worse than it was, but my knuckles were telling me I’d hit him hard. He stumbled toward the bikes.
“Jigsaw, you want a lift home?” Scott called.
“Fuck off,” he grunted and threw his leg over his bike. His friends followed. They started their motorcycles and rolled out of the lot.
It seemed the entire bar had cleared out to come watch the fight. Scott wasn’t favoring us with any friendlier of a face than he’d given the pathetic assholes who’d just ridden off with their tails between their legs. “Kellan, I’m not completely sure what all that was about. I know Jigsaw was pissed about losing the fight, but I get the feeling there’s more to the story. Next time a fight breaks out here that isn’t inside the ring, I’m banning you from this place for good. And that goes for your two sidekicks as well.”
I looked at my friends. They’d had my back as usual. Dawson had a fat lip and black eye, but it was Tommy who was inexplicably covered in blood.
“Huck, where the hell’s all that blood coming from?” I asked.
Tommy looked down at his shirt as if he was just noticing the blood for the first time. “Don’t know.” He slid up his shirt and discovered a mean looking cut on his side. “Shit, that fucker must have had a blade in his hand. It’s so damn cold out here, I didn’t even feel him slice me.”
Andi stepped forward from the crowd of onlookers. Her car was parked in front of the bar. It seemed the girls had driven back up to the entrance and raced in to let Dawson and Tommy know I needed them.
Andi headed toward Tommy. His jaw tightened as she neared.
“I’m fine,” he growled.
It seemed Andi had had it. She stuck her fists on her hips. “Oh really? Because the pint of blood on your shirt tells me otherwise. I’m going to swing home and get some first aid supplies and then I’m coming back to look at that. Either that, or my brother is going to take you straight to the emergency room and you can explain to the police how you got cut with a knife.”
“Yeah, fine,” Tommy said begrudgingly.
Show over and rain falling faster, most of the patrons headed back into the dry warmth of the bar. Without another word to me, Rylan climbed back into Andi’s car. Tommy and Dawson headed home in the truck, and I got on my bike.
Rain fell out of a black sky in heavy, cold drops. My back ached as I leaned forward and gripped the handlebars. Scott had told them to leave and not come back, but I wondered just what kind of payback Dawson, Tommy and I could expect. Jigsaw wasn’t exactly the forgive and forget type. Neither were the Grunge Devils. And now I had to explain some things to Rylan. If she wanted to listen. There was really no damn reason why she should. In her mind, I was the asshole who’d left her alone on the rooftop of the gym, cold and brokenhearted. If I were her, I sure as hell wouldn’t give me a chance to explain.
The night had started out just fine, but the whole damn thing had turned to shit fast.
Chapter 23
Rylan
I waited in the car, watching the windshield grow hazy from my breath, while Andi ran in to get her first aid supplies. While she was inside, I changed my mind back and forth a dozen times. I considered just going home and giving myself a night to sleep it off. Maybe it was better not to know everything. After all, I’d been gone a long time, and I hadn’t exactly been sitting around with my knees glued together and my chastity belt firmly locked in place. But a spark of curiosity edged with just enough anger told me I needed to find out if Kellan had been with other girls since my return. I just didn’t need to be sideswiped again like I had been with Chase. And this would be far worse. This would wake up all the old wounds and heartbreak that Kellan had left me with years before.
Andi hadn’t been gone long, but by the time she returned to the car with her green duffle bag, I’d made a firm decision. I was going to ride back to Kellan’s house. I’d left town never talking to him and never knowing what had happened. I wasn’t going to let lack of communication, fear of a broken heart or my wild and slightly jealous imagination ruin things again.
Andi climbed inside, looking excited about the prospect of cleaning up a bloody mess.
I couldn’t hold back a grin. “I must say, your enthusiasm for this upcoming first aid experience is admirable. Just thinking about the blood on Tommy’s shirt has my stomach doing all kinds of stuff that isn’t natural.”
Andi twisted around and dropped the green bag on the backseat. She turned back to the steering wheel. “I guess I do have a sort of macabre obsession with it. I’ve been filling that bag back there for about ten years. That’s how long I’ve been patching up Dawson and his friends. Aside from their usual scuttles, which were not quite as severe as tonight’s brawl, there was the terrible and bloody downhill skateboarding period. Must have gone through a dozen boxes of sterile gauze.” She turned the car around and headed back to the end of town. “I’m pretty sure that like reptiles, all three of them have shed their entire skin at least twice. Although, I guess shed isn’t the right term. More like exfoliated.”