All Horns & Rattles: A Baxter Boys Novel

by Jane Charles

  “Ricky and Tim,” I answer

  “What did those two idiots do now?” He takes off his coat and gloves.

  I open my mouth and Ian holds up a hand, leveling a look at me, then tells Miguel everything he heard and what happened.

  By the time he’s finished the color is high in Miguel’s cheeks and he marches back to the boxing area.

  Tim and Ricky are just coming out with their stuff.

  “You two are gone for good.”

  I want to laugh at the look of shock on their faces but I don’t. Miguel is pretty pissed. The old man doesn’t get angry that often but when he does, it’s best to hide.

  “What, did Nina go crying to you on account of a little teasing?” Ricky asks.

  That is the very reason I wanted to take care of this myself. I don’t need someone else to fight my fights.

  “Nina, Ben, Malik and everyone else you insult whenever you open your mouths.” He points to the door. “Get the hell out of my gym and never come back.”

  They saunter past Miguel, shaking their heads. “Too many bitches running this world,” Ricky says as he steps out.

  “They’ll all get theirs one day.” They do a fist bump as the door closes behind them.

  I’m not sure what they mean or what they think will happen, but it doesn’t sit well with me. Of course. They had better not mess with Miguel or the gym, or any of the members.

  Miguel watches until they can’t be seen anymore and then marches back to where the boxers are. “What is wrong with the rest of you?”

  They just look at each other, not sure why they are in trouble.

  “A young lady was being harassed in here and nobody does anything?”

  “I can take care of myself,” I remind Miguel.

  He wheels on me and wags his finger in my face. “That is not the point! You are a young lady and the men in this club had better treat you with respect. They should have stepped in and said something.”

  “They did,” I argue. “It was my problem.”

  Miguel narrows his eyes on me like I’m in trouble or something, then he looks at his boxers again. “All women and not just Nina, should be treated with honor and respect. This world may be changing, and you may be tough boxers, but if you don’t carry respect for yourself and women, then I don’t want you here.”

  He turns and marches out.

  “Sorry, Horns,” Jake says.

  “Don’t worry about it.” I roll my eyes. “It’s not like it’s 1950 anymore. I’m not a dainty lady in need of a big strong man to protect me.”

  “As far as you are concerned, it is 1950 and you will be treated like it is,” Miguel yells back and then slams the door to his office.

  “I’m glad it’s 1950 only for you,” Bull snorts.

  “I hear ya,” Ben laughs as they both get back to work.

  Miguel, the biggest conundrum of us all. As liberal in his views of anyone I’ve ever met, but old fashioned when it comes to how a female should be treated. To him, anyone with boobs and a vagina should be treated like a delicate lady, like she’s made of glass, doors held open and given help to put on her coat, even if she was just on the bottle of a tackle holding a rugby ball.

  “He really said all that shit?” I ask Ian.

  “Fucking idiots. Good riddance to them.” He heads into the gym as Nina comes out of the boxing area shaking her head.

  “I had it handled. I didn’t need Ian to hold me back and Miguel didn’t need to lecture the guys.”

  I think she’s just as pissed at the interference as she was at Ricky and Tim. She’s a hellcat in rugby--tough--and I’ve seen her take down some players to get to a ball, but I’ve never seen her physically go after anyone. I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t have held back and Ricky would be in a world of hurt if she’d gotten some licks in. “He’s just watching out for you.”

  Horns blows out a sigh. “I don’t need anyone to take care of or worry about me.”

  “Maybe we do anyway.”

  She blinks at me. “You don’t worry about me.”

  “When you didn’t come back by the time we thought you should have, hell yes I worried.”

  Her head tilts to the side and she stares at me, the corner of her mouth tilted. “Really?”

  “I know you think you’re invincible, but even a dead snake can still bite.”

  “What the hell does that mean?” She laughs.

  Horns almost always laughs at my sayings, not that I stop using them. They’ve been a part of me since I started talking. “Just be careful, okay? I worry about you.”

  “Oh, aren’t you sweet?” she teases. “Someone might accuse you of caring about me.”

  It’s what she does when people get serious and caring around her. Throwing up her defenses to keep anyone from getting close. Well, except Malik. Apparently she’s letting him get all kinds of close.

  I don’t know how serious she and Malik are but I can’t let her slip away if there’s even a chance, and I won’t know if there is one unless I go for it. I look into those beautiful sage eyes. “I do care, Nina.”

  The smile slowly slips from her lips. I’m not sure if she’s stunned because this is the first time I’ve called her by her actual name in two years, or by the seriousness of my tone.

  “I know,” she finally says. “We’re friends and I’d worry about you too if you were late getting back from somewhere.”

  Friends isn’t exactly what I have in mind, but I’ll take the baby steps. At least she isn’t shutting me down the first time I’ve expressed an honest feeling and not just teasing.

  “Let us take care of you. Not because you can’t take care of yourself, but because we want to.” I keep it to we, as in me and Miguel, until I am more comfortable with making it just me.

  Her shoulders relax and she lets a little of her armor slip. That’s a really good sign. “I know and you guys do, it’s just hard for me to let go of. I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time now.”

  “You don’t have to though. Not with me and Miguel. Give us a chance to be a family.”

  She looks into my eyes and they flood with sadness. Did I say the wrong thing? Is it because she doesn’t know what family is?

  “That would be nice. Family and all. I had one once.”

  All I know is that she entered the system when she was six. I know nothing else about her parents or if she even had siblings. She’s never talked about it and I don’t pry.

  “I’m pretty sure they’ve forgotten me, so you can be my replacement.” She winks and heads out.

  Horns may be making light of her words, but there is a world of hurt in her soul. How the hell could a family forget about her? Did they mean parents, siblings, grandparents, or all of them?

  What I wouldn’t do to help take that pain away, but I think she’s still got a lot of healing to do and I’m not sure if being forgotten by your family is something a person can actually get over.

  10

  As soon as I step outside into the cold January morning, I almost duck back in. Damn it’s cold. My breath is white in the air and I pull my hat down over my ears and shove my hands deep into the pockets of my running jacket.

  I didn’t get much sleep last night. Tex telling me that he cared shook me. Shook up something deep down inside. I wish he could care for me other than a sisterly thing, but that’s never going to happen. And then he mentioned family. It was like a knife to the gut. Here is a great guy wanting to be my family, when I wished he’d want to be something else. It also reminded me that my own family has forgotten that I exist.

  I’ve often succeeded in pushing them away from my memories. Telling myself I don’t need them, or even want them, and that I have a life without them and have had for twelve years, but the pain is still there. The six-year-old little girl still wants her big brothers and little sister and I hate it because it makes me weak and vulnerable. Letting something slip in that close to my heart is just dangerous. As long as I don’t love someone like tha
t again, I won’t add to the pain that won’t go away. So, maybe it’s best that I am Tex’s friend or little sister because in less than two years he’ll be back in Texas and I’ll still be here. If I let him get close, he’ll just be another name to add to the ones who have left me.

  Virgil and Barry are curled up near each other under an air duct and out of the wind. I should run the dryer all night so they have at least some heat on them, but then Miguel would get on me about the gas and electric bills. At least they’re using the heavy blankets I brought down before I went to bed. It’s not much, but hopefully they helped a little.

  I don’t normally run on the street, but today I’m rethinking that. It’s too cold to walk and maybe the quicker movements will warm me up.

  Shoving my hands in my pocket and lifting my shoulders so I can sink down into my coat like a turtle, I head down the back concrete stairs. It’s better to get this over with. The quicker I get moving, the sooner I’ll warm up.

  As I reach the street from the side of the building, two shadows emerge and I take a step back.

  “Out for your morning run?” Ricky asks as he steps out so I can see him.

  “There are better ways to keep warm,” Tim says as he comes to stand by him.

  Where the hell did they come from and why are they out this early in the morning? The sun is just coming up. “What the hell do you two want?”

  “We think a certain uppity girl needs to be taught a lesson.”

  The blood freezes in my veins and it has nothing to do with the temperature.

  I’m not really afraid of them. Well, not in the safety of the gym, but we are alone and it’s too early for anyone to really be out.

  “It wasn’t right that you humiliated us yesterday,” Ricky says as he saunters forward.

  I know self-defense, but these guys have trained to be boxers. If they both come after me, I won’t stand a chance. Not against their strength. “Listen, let’s just forget about it, okay,” I say as I start walking backward to the door to the building.

  “We’re not forgetting about anything,” Tim says. “Not when a girl, homo, Mexican and a black’s got the upper hand.””

  “Miguel is Cuban.”

  Ricky rolls his eyes. “Like it makes a difference.”

  “Are you a card-carrying member of the white supremacy too?” I keep backing up, but afraid to look to see how close I am to the door because I’m afraid to take my eyes off them.

  Ricky thrusts forward and grabs my arm. “We’ll teach you a lesson that needed to be taught a long time ago, sweetheart.”

  His fingers bite into my arm through my thick jacket.

  “Respect for your betters and to know your place,” Tim adds.

  Ricky’s got my arm and Tim is closing in. They are both bigger and stronger, but I’m not going down without a fight.

  Ricky yanks me close. “Not so tough now, are you?”

  The idiot just gave me an opening and I thrust my knee up into his balls as hard as I can.

  He grunts as his hold on me loosens and the rancid beer breath smacks me in the face.

  They’re drunk!

  I should have figured as much.

  My head is yanked back when Tim grabs my hair. “That wasn’t nice, Horns.” He licks my neck. My stomach revolts as bile rises, burning my throat. I’d probably puke if my stomach wasn’t empty. “But Ricky will be recovered enough to do you by the time I’m done.”

  “Like hell.” I swing my head back as hard as I can, aiming for his nose, and miss. Tim laughs.

  “Time to tame a hellcat.” He grabs me, much like Ian did yesterday and lifts me off the ground. I try and kick backwards, clawing at his hands and then his neck behind me, but I’m not doing any damage. For the first time in a really long time, I am scared.

  “Grab her feet, Ricky, and let’s get out of here.”

  Except Ricky can barely stand and tries to struggle to his feet. One hand is holding his balls and the other reaches out for my foot. I push him back with my other foot and start clawing at Tim’s arm again, but my gloves keep slipping. Yanking them off, I toss them down and dig my nails in.

  “Kitty’s got claws,” Tim laughs.

  How did I not realize how truly cold and evil they were?

  “That’s enough, Nina,” he yells. “You can’t win and we’ll have you.”

  “Like hell,” I say right before I scream at the top of my lungs and keep screaming. A second later his hold loosens and I’m falling before I can catch myself and even though I put my hands out to catch myself, it’s not quick enough.

  I think I’ve been awake most of the night and finally get up to start the coffee when I hear Nina leave. I hate that she goes out so early, but she’s been running at this time since before I even met her.

  Maybe I should see if she wants to run together.

  I hate cold, dark mornings and usually run at a more reasonable hour, but I’d suffer if it meant spending more time with her. It would just be another baby step in getting closer to her. I can’t just go up and tell her that I think I’m falling in love and why don’t we go out sometime. No, I’ve got to approach her all gentle and calm, like taming a wild horse, until she trusts that I won’t hurt her.

  As I’m grabbing a cup there’s a loud scream from outside and I know it’s her. Dashing across the back, I head out the door, my foot catching a patch of ice and I’m falling over the side of the steps before I can catch myself. I land on my ass and look up. Nina is on the ground beside the dumpster and Barry is holding a baseball bat and standing over a guy who is curled up on the pavement holding his balls while Virgil is holding an iron bar and standing over another guy on the ground. What the hell happened out here?

  Why isn’t Nina moving? I rush over to where she’s on the ground. She’s out cold.

  “What’s going on?” Miguel hollers from the door of his room.

  “Get an ambulance. Nina’s been hurt. Bad!” I yell back. “Nina.” I tap her face again. “Horns.”

  Nothing.

  I press my fingers against her neck. Her pulse is strong so that’s good. Then I reach inside her coat. This isn’t exactly proper but I need to check her heartbeat.

  It’s strong and regular.

  “Do you guys know what happened?”

  “Those two,” Virgil points to each of them, “had plans on…” He looks at Barry.

  “They were going to hurt her,” the old vet says.

  My stomach tightens as rage boils. I knew it was dangerous for her to go out so early. This isn’t the best area for a girl to be walking around alone, even if it is Horns. “What did they do to her?”

  Virgil looks down. “That was my fault. When I hit this one, he dropped her. Nina hit her head. I’m sorry.”

  “Not your fault,” I tell him. “These two are at fault.”

  I tap her face again, trying to get her to wake up. The longer she’s out, the more serious this is. Head injuries are nothing to mess around with and I hope to hell that ambulance gets here soon. I’d take her to the hospital myself but neither Miguel nor I have a car.

  My throat starts to close with panic. “Nina, wake up,” I whisper close to her ear. “Don’t leave me. Stay here. I need you. I love you.”

  Nothing. No reaction. It’s as if she’s already gone.

  I can’t lose her. I won’t!

  11

  I blink open my eyes and jerk only to find I’m restrained. The panic rears up as I fight against what is holding my legs.

  “Nina, relax.”

  Miguel? I turn my head to find the old man leaning toward me, but have to close my eyes. What the hell? My head feels like it ran into Bull’s fist. Or what I imagine it would feel like.

  “What…?” God, it hurts to even move my jaw. What the hell did I hit? I blink and look around, moving my head very slowly. It’s lighter out than when I left this morning but I’m still by the gym and there are flashing lights bouncing off the walls.

  Ricky and Tim. They wer
e here. They were going to…Oh, God, I can’t even finish the sentence. “Where are they?”

  “Who?”

  “Ricky and Tim?” I whisper their names, afraid they’ll jump out at me again.

  “In the back of a squad car.”

  Thank God. I know what they were going to do, or wanted to do, I just don’t know if they did. Bile rises to my throat. “Did they…”

  “No, Nina.”

  I blow out a sigh with relief. “What happened?”

  “Virgil and Barry,” he nods to the two homeless guys. “They stepped in and took them down. Unfortunately, you hit your head when you fell.”

  The dumpster. I’m remembering bits and pieces.

  “Thank them.”

  “I did and I will continue thanking them. If they hadn’t been here…”

  I know exactly what would have happened. This is the first time in years that I haven’t been able to protect myself. I hate being this vulnerable. Hate it more than I can put into words.

  “Tex got you covered and kept you warm until the ambulance got here.”

  “Tex?” Why would he be out here? He hates cold mornings, being from Texas and all. “Can I go to my room?” I just want to go to bed and sleep. I try to push up again and then realize I’m strapped to a gurney. An EMT comes around the other side of me and flashes a little light in my eyes, making me squint away from him.

  “You are going to the hospital,” he says.

  “What?” I don’t need a hospital. “I’m fine.”

  “You were knocked out cold. I was afraid you weren’t coming back,” Miguel says, concern filling his grey eyes.

  I hate it when he worries about me. “I’m okay, Miguel,” I assure him.

  “You are okay when the doctor says you’re okay.” He gives me that look. His brown eyes go hard as he sets his jaw.

  “Better give up now, Horns.”

  Tex comes over and stands next to Miguel and I am stunned by the amount of concern and worry in his green, but red-rimmed eyes, like he didn’t get much sleep.

  “Arguing with Miguel is like whistling up the wind.”