I thread my fingers through the hair at the base of Lily’s skull and take a moment to drink her in before I kiss her. “I want you to stay here until we’ve cleared out, okay? Let me handle him while he’s all riled up?”
“I’m coming with you.” She stares at me with all that sassy attitude I adore. There’s determination and stubbornness in the way she holds her mouth.
“No, you’re not.” I open the door and step out of the office. Close the door behind me. I’m as ready as I ever will be to face the 90s style music.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Vale
“Outside.” Hud snarls, and spins on his heel, heading back toward the bar.
I follow behind him. Smart to take this out of the bar. Away from Lily and our colleagues. Pez glances up as we burst through the double doors. Arrow brings up the rear, his phone in his hand. Probably texting Cal to warn him shit’s about to go down.
“Hud,” Lily yells. The double doors hit the wall with a bang.
“I told you to stay out of this,” I tell her. I don’t want the two of them at loggerheads over me. I can deal with whatever punishment Hud needs to dole out. A thrashing or the silent treatment. I’ve been through worse and had much less of a reason to come out the other side. If this is what it takes to call Lily my girlfriend, I’ll handle it.
“Don’t talk to my sister like that,” Hud roars at me before turning to her. Pointing a finger at her, he uses his dad voice, “Lily, stay the fuck out of this.”
The half dozen patrons that have taken up residence at bar and table around the room all stare at the three of us. A couple of them get up and makes a beeline for the exit.
“Don’t tell me what to do.” She folds her arms over her chest as she snaps back at him. “Vale and I are together.”
“No, you’re not.” He storms across the room to tower over her. “And since you can’t make smart decisions, let me put this one in a way you’ll understand. “You’re not wasting your time with this guy.”
“This guy?” She glares at him as she asks in a nauseatingly sweet tone, “You mean the same guy who has been your best friend since college?”
“Not anymore,” he spits back.
I wince. I figured as much, but hearing it hurts.
“He’s no longer part of our life, Lily. You’re not seeing him. I mean it. I—”
“Back up, man.” He can come at me all he wants. I can handle myself. But he’s going to regret it if he says the wrong thing to Lily.
He turns on me. “Are you fucking with me?”
“No. I’m not. I’m telling you that you don’t want to take this out on Lily.”
“You’re right,” he says.
“Oh shit,” Pez says from somewhere behind me as Hud lunges for me.
“Don’t hurt him,” Lily screams.
I have no clue who she’s worried about. Her brother or me. Because I’m not going to let him pummel me without getting a word in edgewise. If that means I have to defend myself I damn well will.
I vault over the bar as he rushes the spot where I was. It might be the first time I am truly thankful that Hud has pushed us all into our weekly bar acrobatics.
He palms the glossy wood and feints left to mirror me. Dodges right when I do. Growls with frustration. “You prick, come here, so I can punch you in your good-looking face.”
“You need to calm down.” My heart races and that déjà vu prickle crawls up my neck. The image of Hud blurs and I can almost see myself staring at my brother all those years ago. Only back then I couldn’t say a damn thing in my defense. Even if I’d wanted to. “We need to talk.”
“The only thing you’ll be saying is where’s my straw?”
“What?” Pez asks to my right.
“He’s saying he’s going to break my jaw.”
“Hudson Eugene Kelly, I will kick your ass!” Lily screams like a banshee as she whips off her heels and hurls them at him.
“Ow.” He scowls at me as he rubs his arm where her shoe hit him. “What the fuck, Lily?”
“Oh Christ.” Arrow claps his hands. “That’s it. Everyone out. We’re closing temporarily.”
Chairs and stools scrape on the floor as the rest of the customers abandon their spots and rush the exit. Arrow moves over to the doors. Locks them behind the last patron.
Hudson uses the metal frame above the bar to Tarzan himself over it. “That’s it. You’re dead.”
“Let me explain.” I put my hands up in surrender as I back up.
“What’s to explain? You’ve been fucking around with my sister.”
“It’s not like that.”
“It’s always like that with you.” He grabs a fistful of my shirt and pushes me into the shelves. Bottles rattle, clink, and clatter. Jack Daniels and Grey Goose and Patron crash on the wooden floor and splatter us.
“Cal’s going to be pissed,” Pez says.
“I’ll replace it.” I grab Hud by his collar. “Listen up, you giant tween. I didn’t want this to happen. I didn’t want to develop feelings for your sister. I sure as hell didn’t want to act on them. Or hurt you. I tried to stay away from her.”
“You didn’t fucking try hard enough,” he bellows. “Everyone else knows she’s off-limits, but you’re the only one who couldn’t keep his dick to himself.”
I duck as his fist crashes into the shelf next to my head. The slab of wood explodes into pieces. The Sambuca and a bottle of crème de menthe tumble to the floor. The accompanying smash makes me blink. More alcohol soaks into my pants. The pungent aroma of alcohol and mint is suffocating.
“I adore Lily,” I say. “And I’m sorry that I didn’t come to you and tell you that we’ve been seeing each other—”
“You’ve been seeing each other? How long has this been going on?” His chest heaves and his eyes bulge. “How long have you been running around with my sister behind my back?”
“A few months.”
“Hud,” she says approaching us.
“Don’t come any closer, Lil,” I warn. “The glass. It’s everywhere.”
“You’re not going to hurt him, Hud.” She climbs onto the bar and tries to reach for him.
“Damn right, I’m going to hurt him,” he yells and swings again.
His fist glances off my jaw. The impact rattles me.
He hauls back to throw another punch, but this time I duck and tackle the bastard, bringing us both down on the sodden floor. We scuffle, each trying to get the upper hand. Glass sticks in my back as he shoves me to the ground.
“Stop. Stop it. Please.” Lily is screaming. There’s another crash, this time against the bar.
Liquid waterfalls over the counter. Spatters the ground. Splashes my face.
“Fuck,” Pez hollers.
“Holy shit, Lil.” Cal’s voice breaks into my singular focus as he enters the bar. He must have been close by to make it here so quickly. “Don’t move, okay?”
She’s a wild-eyed Amazonian warrior. Her violet strands swing about her face as she crouches on the counter with a broken, empty spirit bottle in her hand. The jagged edge is pointed our way. “They’re the ones who need to stop.”