Page 135 of Savior
“I don’t sleep with losers.” She taunts him.
He grins at her. “If I win, will you be mine tonight?”
She lifts a shoulder in a slight shrug. “Maybe.”
I almost feel bad for him. This is like watching my younger self and Lucinda play out like a movie before my eyes. He’s still getting his ass kicked for that cheap shot with the pool stick regardless, so if he wants to play the sucker for her tonight, it’s no sweat off my sack. Some of us learn better the hard way.
His focus shifts back to me. “One on one. You and me. No weapons.”
“Yeah… you say that now.” I sneer at him, poking him a little harder with the sharp end of the broken que stick.
“Just you. I ain’t fighting that big motherfucker.” He persists.
I glance up at Viking with a grin. He’s smiling, shaking his head. They always underestimate me whenever Viking’s around, automatically assuming because he’s bigger than me, he’d be the one to toss a more savage beating.
“Trust and believe, bro, she ain’t going home with you tonight. She’s leaving with my boy, here.” Viking says, cocking his chin towards me. The prick glares back at me.
“For whatever it’s worth, I won’t be fucking her tonight, either.” I say. “But I will be fucking you up.” Dropping the que stick, I grab him by his shirt and yank him up off the table, shoving him towards the front exit of the bar. He must be madly in lust with Giuliana, because she really seems to be his only concern.
These Vettriano sisters, they’re fuckin’ dangerous.
Half the damn bar is outside now, circled around us in the parking lot beneath the flood lights. He takes off his leather jacket and hands it to one of his buddies as they offer him words of encouragement. I don’t remove my cut, but I look at Giuliana, who’s standing beside Viking and Axel, seeming all too eager for this fight go down. I can’t help but be reminded of Lucinda again. I whistle sharply at her to grab her attention, and she shifts her focus back to me.
“You see that bike over there?” I cock my chin towards Serene, parked near the bike shop as I roll up my sleeves. “When this fight is over, your ass better be on her, waiting for me.” She doesn’t speak, but I don’t miss that flicker of excitement in her eyes.
“Alright, let’s do this!” the prick says, coming at me and throwing the first punch. I easily dodge it, and crack him in the ribs with a right hook. Not as hard as I could have, but hard enough to have him second guessing himself as I shove him back. The pain pisses him off though, and I can see he’s trying to focus a little harder on my movements.
He comes at me again, fast, reaching for my head as if he’s going to slam my face into his knee, but I maneuver quickly around his attack, grabbing him and using his weight and momentum against him. I throw him down on the gravel lot. I could jump on him and end this now, but I don’t. He needs a little more humbling. I let him get up, and we go at it in a mostly one-sided exchange of jabs and punches for another few minutes. Entertaining the crowd a little, as far as I’m concerned. I haven’t even broken a sweat, but Romeo here, will be sporting two black eyes, some bruised ribs, and a bloody nose tomorrow. And that’s if he throws in the towel before I hit him again.
“I’m willing to let you walk away without a broken nose if you pay for that que stick.” I grin at him. “Next shot, I’m gonna break it if you keep this up.”
“I ain’t backin’ down.” He pants, then charges me. I let him get his arms around me, but only to shift and grab him in a head lock before I slug him in the face, keeping my promise as I feel that nose crack. I shove him away from me again, knocking him back to the gravel lot before he gets any blood on my boots.
As I circle around him, waiting for him to get up, one of his buddies jumps me from behind, trying to get me in a choke hold.
So much for one on one.
Before Axel or Viking jumps in, I grab the prick and flip him over me easily enough. His body crashes down hard on top of the guy who’s got it bad for Giuliana.
“That was a real dick move.” Kicking him in the ribs for good measure, he jerks from the pain and groans, curling over on his side. I snap my fingers in nose bleed’s face to get his attention. “Give me your fuckin’ wallet, dickhead. You owe me fifty bucks.”
“That wasn’t part of this deal.” He actually gripes back.
“Fifty bucks, or I break your hand next.” I counter offer him. He glances up at me with already blackening eyes, his fingers pinching the top of his nose in an attempt to stop the bleeding. “Maybe I rocked your skull harder than I thought and you can’t tell anymore. But I’m fuckin’ serious.” I warn him one last time. “Fifty bucks, or get used to jerking off, left handed.”
Sucking the blood down the back of his throat with a snort, he spits it out onto the gravel beside him, then digs his wallet out of his back pocket and tosses it up to me. I flip it open, fingering through his cash until I count out fifty bucks and remove it before chucking the wallet into his lap. Extending my arm out to Axel with the cash, he takes it from me.
“Have Cherry put that in the register.”
“Sure thing.” Axel nods.
“I don’t want to see any of you here again.” I look back at the two assholes still down on the gravel. “Take your trash and get out of my lot, or round two is going to be with the big motherfucker.”
They hurry to their feet and head straight for their bikes. I can’t help but chuckle to myself, looking back at Viking. “I’m the one that kicked their asses and they’re still more afraid of you.”
“Go figure.” He shrugs.
I realize Giuliana isn’t among the crowd of spectators any more, and spin back around to make sure she’s not leaving on the back of one of their bikes. They’re riding solo through the gates.
