Page 38 of Iron Willed Warrior

The kid at the bar had been an obvious mark. Showboating for his friends, leering at every female in the vicinity. I’d made a beeline for him the moment I saw him. But still, I hadn’taskedhim to buy me a drink. Hadn’t done anything overly flirtatious either, aside from a brief touch on his forearm when I complemented his neon ski jacket. The kid had taken it upon himself to throw his money around, insisting he pay for my martini.

When Cole had arrived, the kid had made things turn ugly fast all by himself.

Had I enjoyed seeing Cole get all gruff and protective? More than I should have. It had been a long time since I’d been kissed. In fact, the last man I’d kissed had crushed my heart and ground it into dust.

That had to explain this confused, achy longing I was feeling. But it didn’t help that I had Cole’s warm jacket and his steady hand on my back. The moment we were outside, I sucked in the dry, icy air. It cleared the swirl of messy thoughts in my brain.

Unfortunately the relief only lasted until I saw who was waiting on the sidewalk.

The kid who’d bought me the martini stood by the curb with his four friends. He scowled when he saw me and Cole. “That’s them.”

Crap. I was too tired for this.

Just as I clocked the guy’s presence, Cole muttered, “Green Sunglasses on your three.”

“Yeah, I saw him.”

“Hey,” the kid yelled. “That was bullshit what you pulled in there.” I had no idea if he meant me or Cole.

But Cole stepped out in front of me. “No idea what you’re referring to, son.”

“You and your girl made me look like an idiot.”

“Wasn’t hard,” I said. The kid’s scowl deepened, like atoddler about to have a tantrum. “I didn’t ask you to buy me a drink. I didn’t hit on you.”

“Then why are you going around dressed like that? Huh?”

Cole shook his head. “I suggest you and your buddies go back inside and forget about this. Unless you want your night to get a lot worse.”

The kid sneered, gesturing at his friends. “There’s five of us and one of you, old man.”

Really? I didn’t count?

That would not do. Not atall.

I walked forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Cole. “Dibs on the two on the right,” I murmured. Which included green sunglasses boy.

Cole sighed. “Fine, I’ll take the left two. And whichever of us finishes first takes the one in the middle.”

“Works for me.”

We spread out. Meanwhile, the kid kept yapping. “I don’t hit girls, even slutty ones, so you’d better get out of the way, babe. Unless you wanna come with us right now and we’ll show you a lot more fun than this dude ever will.”

I laughed. “Last chance, sweetie.”

The man on the far left moved first. Lunged at Cole with his fist raised. Cole blocked the punch and returned it with two quick jabs to the man’s torso.

Green Sunglasses turned, about to go after Cole from the other side. I got in his way. Didn’t want to mess up the kid’s dental work unless I truly had to, but then, he made it an easy decision for me. Green Sunglasses grabbed me by the arm, trying to shove me out of the way. So I twisted my body as my fist smashed a hook into his chin. He careened backward, sprawling half on the sidewalk and half in the muddy street. His green sunglasses clattered onto the asphalt.

The other guy I’d called dibs on came in next. Fists flying. No holding back on account of me being female, and Iappreciated it. I stepped out of his path and kicked him at the knee. He toppled next to his friend.

I glanced over to see Cole twisting another guy’s arm at a painful-looking angle. The guy cried for mercy.

And the middle one? That guy was already running down the street. Seemed like he had thought better of engaging, unlike his buddies. But I doubted there were any broken bones. Just bruised egos.

Cole stood, brushing off his hands on his jeans, and walked over to me. “Probably best not to stick around. I don’t want to have to explain this to Sheriff Owen. I can skip the lecture.”

I snorted. The sheriff did have a tendency to be uptight, especially when it came to writing up incidents that caused him a headache. Cole and I were supposed to be keeping a low profile in Silver Ridge.

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