Page 13 of Forever Endeavor

Their heads swiveled. “Not anymore, pal,” one of them called out, his lips curled into a snarl. “You want to party with us, don’cha Red?”

Sonny’s nostrils flared. He unloaded the case and prepared for battle. Adrenaline raged through his veins as his muscles flexed and chest inflated. “I’m not gonna say it again. Back the fuck off.”

The biggest of the pair turned around and lumbered toward Sonny. “And just who the fuck do you think you are?”

Sonny’s fingers curled into a fist. “Your worst nightmare if you lay one finger on her, ya sonofabitch.”

“Sonny! Look out!” Billie squealed as the guy came at him with a hard shove to the chest. It knocked Sonny back, but he quickly shook it off and threw an upper cut that caught the jerk square in the jaw, sending him flying to the pavement.

The shorter, stockier one took a run at Sonny next, managing to land a solid gut blow. Sonny blocked his next punch with a right hook of his own, hitting the guy so hard that bones audibly cracked. He wasn’t sure if it was his knuckles or the howling guy’s nose until he saw blood gushing from his nostrils.

Before Sonny could catch his breath, the first asshat was staggering back for more. Crouched low and ready to grapple, he was coming straight for Sonny when Billie ran up from behind and jumped on his back, unleashing a hailstorm of non-stop pummeling on his head.He tried bucking her off, but she was relentless, pounding with her fists until he sank to his knees and begged for mercy.Holy shit, woman.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here!” shouted the stocky one with the bloodied beak.

His battered buddy scraped himself off the sidewalk. “Fucking bitch,” he hissed, limping away. The cowards escaped into their pick-up and peeled off into the night.

Sonny surveyed the damage to his throbbing knuckles. Billie cradled his hand, inspecting the reddening skin before tenderly erasing the pain with her fingertips. “Ooh, are you all right?”

“I’ll live.” He winced. “You okay?”

“Oh, I’m fine.” She gazed up at him with big doe eyes the color of green apples. No, no, not apple. Jade. Yep, definitely jade. They shone like gemstones under the light of the lamppost. She’d probably heard her entire life how stunning her eyes were. Surely, he wasn’t the first to be captivated by them. He wondered if her author name came from those beautiful peepers or if it was merely a coin—

“Sonny, you’re staring.”

“Huh…?” He gulped. “Am I?”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, sorry.” He shook off his mental fog. “Say, you’re a real badass you know.”

She smiled. “You’re pretty badass yourself. Thanks for coming to my rescue.”

“Aw, you don’t need rescuing, Billie. You just proved how well you can handle yourself.”

“Maybe, but I can’t deny you have great timing,” she said, “because for the second time today, you came along exactly when I needed you most.”

As if on cue, he heard the distant wail of “Waiting For a Girl Like You” starting to play inside The Pell again. Or maybe this time, it was all in his head.

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