by Andria Large
After a nice ride around the city, I make my way over to O’Reilly’s Pub. With any luck, I’ll be able to find a parking spot right out front, but I’m not counting on it. As I turn the corner onto the street O’Reilly’s is on, I see a large crowd on the sidewalk in front of the pub. I do get lucky and find a space just big enough for my bike. I quickly use the heel of my boot to put the kickstand down, then turn off the bike. I pull off my helmet as I move toward the rowdy crowd. I can’t hear them, but I can see they’re yelling and screaming in their semicircle in front of the door.
A ton of people have their phones out and are recording the action going on inside the half circle. I can only assume it’s a fight. And with Dennis being the bouncer, he’s got to be involved. My heart kicks up a notch as I shove my way through the crowd.
Once I get to the center, I see I was correct. Dennis is fighting not one, but two assholes. I look around at the crowd in disbelief. Why has no one jumped in to help him? They’re just going to let him fight two guys by himself? Where the hell is the owner? Didn’t anyone call the cops? And it’s not like these two guys are small. They’re both at least six feet tall, and one guy is thin but muscular while the other one is like a friggin’ linebacker. Dennis has a bloody nose and mouth, but he’s still somewhat holding his own. That is, until the heavier guy lands an uppercut to Dennis’s chin. Dennis’s head snaps back, and he lands on his back on the pavement.
I can’t let this go on any longer. Dennis slowly rolls onto his side, and the two guys gear up to start kicking him. I rush forward and slam my helmet into the side of the heavier guy’s head. He collapses to the ground in an unconscious heap. The thinner guy gapes down at him in confusion before snapping his head up to look at me.
“Touch him again and you’re gonna end up like your friend,” I growl at him.
The guy hesitantly backs away from Dennis. I move toward Dennis, who has gotten to his hands and knees. I intentionally turn my back on the asshole because I know he’s going to try to jump me; I just need an excuse to take him out too.
I crouch next to Denny and lay my hand on his back. He turns his head to look at me. He nods, knowing my intention. Neither of us is stupid; we’re trained for shit like this. A second later, his gaze flicks over my shoulder, giving me the signal I need. I twist, catching the guy—who is trying to sneak up behind me—around the waist and take him to the ground. Letting my helmet go, I ball my fist and smash him in the face. He brings his arms up to try to cover his face, but he does a shitty job of it, and I’m able to land a few more good punches, the last one knocking him out when his head smacks against the ground.
I shove to my feet and glare at the crowd still screaming and recording with their phones. “What the fuck is wrong with you people? Were you all just going to stand by and let this guy get the shit kicked out of him and possibly put in the hospital?” I shout, motioning toward Dennis. “You’d rather all just stand around and record it on your phones than step up and help? You’re fucking pathetic! Every one of you!”
The crowd seems to quiet down as they look around at each other. Some people at least have the decency to turn away, ashamed. Other people are too drunk to care. I turn to find Dennis on his knees, his ass sitting back on his heels, his hands resting on the tops of his thighs. He’s panting so heavily that the blood running down over his mouth is getting sprayed onto the sidewalk in front of him.
The owner of the pub, Dennis’s boss, Jim, throws open the door and storms out. “What the hell is going on out here? I was in the back office for five minutes….” His anger quickly dissipates when he sees Dennis’s condition. “Jesus Christ! What the fuck happened?” he squawks in concern, whipping the towel from over his shoulder and pressing it against Dennis’s bleeding nose. Dennis winces but holds it in place.
Dennis removes the towel and gazes down at the blood soaking into it before looking up at his boss. “These two assholes were getting overly handsy with a girl inside. I stepped in and asked them to leave. I walked them out with no problem. Once I turned to go back inside, one of them sucker punched me. If Tucker hadn’t shown up when he did, I’d probably be fighting for my life in the hospital, because no one else stepped in to help me.”
Fury over that last statement tightens my chest. I can’t believe people just stood around doing nothing. They caught it all on video, though. I’m sure it’s already on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Fucking asswipes. Dennis presses the towel back to his nose, wincing again when he does. Damn, I wonder if it’s broken.
Jim pulls out his cell phone, hits a few things, then puts it to his ear. The crowd starts to dissipate, either walking away or going back inside the pub. I move to help Dennis to his feet. After squatting down, I throw his arm over my shoulder, then hang on to his wrist with one hand and put my other arm around his waist.
“Ready?” I ask.
Dennis gives me a small nod.
“One, two… three.”
On three, I lift while Dennis struggles to get his feet under him. Once he’s standing, he leans heavily on me as we head for one of the benches under the front windows of the building. Dennis drops to sit, and I may not be able to hear him, but the grimace on his face tells me he’s in pain. He leans forward, resting his elbow on his knee while he holds the towel to his face. I walk over and scoop up my helmet before going to sit next to him.
DENNIS
MY WHOLE body hurts. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been in a fistfight like that. And I don’t think I’ve ever got into one where I was outnumbered. My face is throbbing, and all of the blood in my mouth and in my throat is making me nauseous. The insides of my cheeks and lips are all cut up and bleeding from my teeth grinding against them when I got hit. Then the blood from my nose is both coming out of my nose and running down the back of my throat. Disgusting.
Jim is on the phone with a 9-1-1 operator. The two fuckers who jumped me are still out cold, thanks to Tucker. Shit, when he whacked the first guy with his helmet, and the whole crowd went “Ooooh!” and winced, I might have creamed in my pants a little bit. Tucker looks like a complete badass in his leathers, and then he kicks some douchebags’ asses while in said leathers… yeah, total wet dream right there.
I still can’t believe no one came to my aid. They all stood around yelling and screaming and recording every move on their cell phones. If Tucker hadn’t shown up when he did, I would for sure have had my face stomped. I mean, the one guy alone is practically twice my size, and I’m no shrimp. That uppercut he got on me left me seriously dazed.
I hear the sirens as Jim hangs up his phone and shoves it back into his pocket. The police roll up at least four deep, an ambulance hot on their heels. The two jerkoffs are rousing, which is fine because the police are on them in seconds, placing them in cuffs after Jim demands they be arrested and charged with assault. An EMT heads in my direction with her bag, her latex gloves already in place.
She squats in front of me and gives me a soft smile. “Hey, big guy, how we doin’?”
Tucker snorts next to me, then is pulled away by one of the cops to be questioned. I hear him tell the cop he’s deaf but can read lips. Hopefully, very soon, he won’t have to tell people that anymore. Fingers crossed.
I remove the towel from my face, and the EMT gives me a sympathetic look.
“Is it that bad?” I tease.
“You’re starting to swell.” She grimaces before reaching into her shirt pocket for her penlight.
She does a bunch of tests, checking for a concussion. I seem okay in that department, which I’m thankful for. She takes a look inside my mouth and comes to the conclusion I won’t need stitches. Then she moves on to my nose. As soon as she touches it, I yelp.
“Crap, I’m sorry. I know it’s tender,” she apologizes but continues her exam. “I can’t tell with all of the swelling if it’s broken or not. You should probably get an X-ray. So how about I take you to the hospital?”
I groan. “Dammit, I was really hoping to av
oid that.”
“I don’t know the extent of the damage to your nose, and you’re still having some seepage. I’d feel better if you went, just to be safe. You don’t want to hemorrhage and die,” she says with innocent eyes.
I fight back a smile. One, because it friggin’ hurts, and two, because she’s trying to guilt me into it and it’s fucking working. Tucker appears at my side, obviously done giving his statement. He places his hand on my shoulder.
“What’s the verdict?” he asks. I glance up at him, and he cringes. “Goddamn,” he breathes.
The EMT snickers, and I shoot her a dirty look.
“She wants me to go to the hospital to get my nose X-rayed,” I sign to him.
Tucker nods vehemently. “Yes, hospital. You’re going to the hospital,” he states, his tone holding no room for questions.
I roll my eyes before turning back at the EMT. “You heard the man.”
I can feel that my top lip is twice the normal size, which is making it difficult to talk. The EMT nods in satisfaction and stands. She motions for her partner to bring the gurney. As much as I hate being put on one of those things and wheeled around like I’m on display, I just don’t have it in me to argue.
They strap me in, put me in the ambulance, and give me one of those instant cold packs to put on my face. I sigh, closing my eyes and laying my head back, the cold feeling good against my throbbing nose and mouth. A hand smooths over my shoulder. I’m about to tease the EMT, thinking it’s her, but when I open my eyes, I see Tucker has taken a seat next to me on the bench.
“What are you doing?” I ask with a frown.
“Riding with you,” he says incredulously.
“What about your bike?”
“I’ll get it later. Jim said he’ll keep an eye on it for me.”
I give him a small nod, my heart warming. “Thank you.”
He gives me a tender smile and squeezes my shoulder. The EMT climbs into the back of the ambulance and shuts the doors. Her partner climbs into the driver’s side, and she gives him the all clear to get moving. I close my eyes again, taking comfort in knowing Tucker is with me.
We spend basically the whole night in the hospital with the doctors taking X-rays of my face, hands, and ribs, just to be safe. Turns out, my nose has a small break and keeping a splint on it for a couple of weeks should help it heal fine. Other than some bruises, everything is okay.
Tucker and I make our way out of the emergency room, where Beau is leaning against the side of his car, arms crossed over his chest, a smile curling his lips. I smile as best as I can in return. He shakes his head and pushes off the car.
“Shit, man, you look like you got beat up by a bear.” He smirks as he makes his way over to me.
“Basically,” I huff. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m playing chauffeur.” He grins, giving me a hug. “Tucker texted me and asked if I could pick you guys up.” He shrugs.
“Thanks, man.” I nod and clap him on the shoulder.
“Not a problem,” Beau replies as we all pile into the car.
Tucker sits in the back while I take the front seat.
“Can you drop me off at O’Reilly’s? I want to get my bike,” Tucker says.
Beau gives him a thumbs-up and pulls away from the curb. This early in the morning, it only takes fifteen minutes to get to the pub. Tucker thanks Beau before patting my shoulder and telling me he’ll see me back at the condo. I nod.
I watch him as he walks over to his bike and pulls on his helmet, which he’s been carrying around the entire time at the hospital. I try not to leer at him as he shoves his hand into his front pocket and pulls out his keys. Holy shit, he looks smoking hot in his leather pants and jacket. Beau waits until he starts the bike and gives us a wave before taking off in front of us. Goddamn, he’s sexy on that bike.
“So how are you doing?” Beau asks cautiously as he drives.
I glance over at him to find him studying me for a second before he has to look back at the road. I don’t think he’s talking about what happened tonight.
“I’m doing much better now,” I assure him.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were having an issue?” He frowns.
I shake my head. “I wasn’t going to rain on all of your happiness with my depressing problems.”
His brows furrow deeper. “Hey, we’re family. You can call me no matter what if you need help, or just to vent. I’m always here for you, Denny.”
I blink at him in shock. “I know we’re family, but I never thought…. I guess I’ve always assumed people wouldn’t want to deal with my problems. I’m not used to having friends outside the Marines.”
He sighs. “Well, that’s not true. I know you have Tucker and Lizette, but I want you to know you have me too.”
First Duke and now Beau. Wow, I’m stunned by all the support and love.
I nod solemnly. “Thank you, Beau. I really appreciate that.”
He pats my knee and gives me a small smile. “And I’d appreciate you not trying to kill yourself ever again.”
I chuckle. “I don’t plan on it. I’m actually pretty happy right now.”
His smile widens. “Great. I’m glad to hear that.”
We chat for the rest of the ride about how Lizette has been feeling and what sex he thinks the baby is. I promise Beau I’ll stop by and see Lizette when my face is back to normal so I don’t scare the shit out of her. That makes him laugh. He drops me off outside the condo building, where Tucker is waiting for me on the sidewalk. We both wave to Beau as he drives off. I turn to face Tucker.
“Thank you for texting him,” I say.
Tucker shakes his head. “I can’t understand you with your lip so swollen.” He snickers.
I roll my eyes and sign to him what I said. He nods. “You’re welcome. I didn’t want to bother your pregnant sister, so I bothered your brother-in-law instead.”
“Good thinking. By the way, you look so fucking hot in that outfit,” I sign.
A slow, seductive grin creeps across Tucker’s face. He winks and blows me a kiss. “Thanks, babe.”
I huff out a laugh, then wince and groan as my swollen lip pulls tight. I lift my hand to my lip; I need to put more ice on it. Tucker’s smile fades, and he slips his arm around my shoulders.
“Come on, let’s go inside and get you some more ice.”
Chapter Eleven
DENNIS
IT’S BEEN a few days since I got my ass kicked. The swelling has gone way down, but the bruising remains. My face looks like an ugly, purple-yellow-green-and-reddish-brown rainbow. Under my eyes are deep purple smudges from my nose being broken. Bruises scatter across my cheekbones and jaw. My knuckles are bruised pretty good too. Plus I have the splint on my nose.
Jim has given me paid time off to heal, which I am extremely grateful for. He’s been a great guy and understanding boss. It’s hard to find employers who actually care about their employees anymore. I’m just lucky mine does. It makes the job a little less shitty than I originally thought.
Tucker is at work, and I’m waiting for Lizette to stop by. I told her not to, that it will only upset her to see my face, but she was insistent, as usual. When I hear the knock on the door, I take a deep breath before opening it.
Lizette gasps loudly, her hands flying up to cover her mouth and nose. “Dennis!” she cries. “Oh my God!”
I usher her into the condo and shut the door. “I told you it was bad, Lizzie.”
“I thought you were exaggerating!”
I roll my eyes at her. “When do I ever exaggerate?”
Her eyes well up and tears spill over onto her pretty cheeks. I hang my head.
“Dammit, Lizzie, don’t cry.” I sigh. I hate seeing her cry.
“Sorry, it’s the hormones, I swear.” She sniffs, hastily brushing away the tears. “Are you in pain?”
“I’m sore, but it’s not that bad,” I assure her, rubbing her arm.
We make our way over to the co
uch and sit down.
“I can’t imagine what would have happened if Tucker hadn’t shown up,” she murmurs, shaking her head.
“Yeah, it would have been pretty bad.”
“Does Tucker stop by the bar often, or was that just fate?”
“He’ll come by probably once or twice a month, so I think it was luck that he decided to come by that night.”
Lizette shifts a little to face me better. She tucks her long hair behind her ear and pats my leg excitedly.
“Speaking of Tucker, when are we going to meet this serious girlfriend of his?” she asks, her eyes lighting up with curiosity, my busted face all but forgotten.
Shit.
How did I not know this line of questioning would be coming? What should I say? Should I just tell her the truth? This relationship with Tucker seems to be working well, and I’m pretty damn sure I’m in love with him. What the hell, she’s my sister. I know she’s going to be happy that I’m happy.
I rub the back of my neck. “About that….”
“Don’t tell me they broke up already!”
“No, it’s not that.”
She cocks her head at me, eyeing me curiously. “Then what is it?”
“That girlfriend he mentioned at dinner…,” I start.
“Yeah?”
Jesus, why is this so hard? Spit it out already!
“He was actually talking about me,” I say in a rush.
Lizette’s brow furrows in confusion. “What does that mean?”
“Tucker and I… we’ve… we’re together… like a couple.”
Lizette stares at me for a moment before her green eyes well up again and a watery grin splits across her face. Her hands come up to cover her heart. “Really?”