Page 49 of Jaxon

On one side, stood a wall of giant men, all dressed in black and wearing shirts to show off their bulk. Some of them had more soft bulk than hard, but that didn't mean they couldn't throw a mean fist. I counted ten in all. The way they stood at attention just waiting for their cue was almost laughable. Especially with the group of opponents on the opposite side.

Trayton locals, at least thirty of them, were bunched up together on one side of the sand. A mix of fear and anger floated amongst them as they seemed to stay circled around each other like elephants facing down a pack of lions.

"Normally, I'd say safety in numbers," Griffin said, "but even in big numbers, the Trayton side is not ready for battle."

Martin Vernon, the owner of the local bait and tackle shop, spotted the three of us coming down the hill. He yelled. "Everyone, look who's coming! The Stone family. I told you they'd be here." He leaned and looked past us. "Just the three of you?" he asked, not trying to hide is disappointment.

"Sorry, Jules and Stella don't like physical fights," I said wryly. Martin nodded as the sarcasm went right past him.

Ernie Johnson, one of Martin's best customers, broke free of the protective circle. "You should have seen what they did to my grandson, Kit. He's going to need a plastic surgeon for his nose. I saw they got Cru, too."

I nodded. "Stella's getting him to the doctor."

"Explain to us what's happening here," Griffin said.

Martin stepped forward to do the talking. "We told them we're going to stand here on this beach for as long as we like because it has always been a local beach. The big one with the tattoo—" Martin motioned in their direction.

"Gonna have to be more specific, Marty," Griffin said. "Actually, never mind. They're just one big blob of shit as far as I'm concerned. What did he say?"

"He said they were going to kick us off the private beach even if it was as one mass of bone and blood." Martin's face lost some color as he said it.

I looked at Griffin and Cormac. They were thinking the same thing as me. The standoff didn't matter. The assholes had just sent Crusoe and Theo to urgent care. They were going to pay. Unfortunately, we were outnumbered, and no one in the Trayton crowd looked able or willing to join in.

Martin put his hand on my arm as we turned to walk across. "You boys can't do this alone. I'll join you." Martin was in his sixties, and he occasionally used a cane to support his bad back.

"It's all right, Martin. We got this."

Griffin, Cormac and I walked toward the group. They stayed in formation, a straight, impenetrable wall. Ivan stepped forward. "I guess you saw what we did to those surfers." A grin crossed his face, and I decided right then it was time to wipe it off.

"Sure as fuck did and now you're going to pay, motherfucker." My fist plowed into his face, before he could remove the grin. I was sure his teeth made a smile imprint on my knuckles. Grunts and the sounds of fists hitting flesh blurred around me. I was focused on Ivan and two others who decided to jump in on the fun.

I was able to shoot off another fist, one that caught Ivan on the chin, before he found his bearings after the first blow. His partners each grabbed an arm. I kicked sideways and landed a good blow to the one guy's knee. He cried out in pain but recuperated faster than I expected. He came back with a kick of his own before I could free myself from his buddy's grasp. His giant black boot left a footprint on my shirt and knocked the wind out of me. I stumbled back and gasped for breath to reenter my lungs. I looked around the sand. Cormac had bloodied someone's mouth, but he was doing plenty of bleeding himself. I couldn't see where it was coming from, but it didn't slow Cormac down. He was fast and reckless, and we liked to joke that he felt no pain. I was sure he was feeling it plenty. I sure as hell was. Air refilled my lungs and let me know, like Crusoe, I had a broken rib.

Griffin had a guy in a chokehold. The man was purple in the face. I saw movement behind Griffin. "Fin, behind you!" I yelled.

The asshole came down hard on Griffin with both fists. Ivan stormed toward me, and I spun around with a kick that landed squarely on his jaw. Blood spurted from his mouth. A fist landed in my back and knocked me to my knees. I saw a menacing shadow loom over me but still hadn't gotten my bearings. Cormac yelled and raced toward me. His fist plowed into the person behind me. A groan and a spray of blood followed.

Cormac came to my rescue, then it was time for me to return the favor. He hadn't seen the guy coming up behind him. I lunged past Cormac and planted a fist in the guy's face. My knuckles were already swollen to double in size. My fist caused the guy, who was meatier than the others, to stumble back a few feet. He shook his head, probably to stop the ringing. The ivory sand was sprayed with red. I took another blow, this time to the back of my head.

"Too fucking many of them," I groaned to Griffin who was holding his gut. He nodded in agreement. Footsteps pounded the sand behind me. I spun around. One of them was charging toward me like a fucking bull. I braced myself and was ready with my defensive fists. Everything was starting to hurt, but I planned to land a good blow when sand suddenly flew into the guy's face. He grabbed at his eyes and fell backward.

Martin was standing with a bucket, looking pleased with himself.

"Thanks, Martin. Now go, quick."

Martin's eyes rounded as the man with sandy eyes got to his feet. "Right. I'm off." Martin got a few steps. I was worried about protecting him and didn't see a fist coming. It landed directly on my chin. I bit my tongue hard. I spit the blood out.

"Look, Jaxon!" Martin called to me. "Look who's here!" The Trayton crowd were cheering as if rock stars had just landed on the beach. I looked through my swollen lids. In the locals' eyes, it was better than rock stars. The dads were marching down the beach path with murder in their eyes. "Like phoenix rising from the ashes seeing those three marching down that path together. Whooee! You boys are in for some ass kicking now!" Martin yelled and ran back toward the others. Mom, Jade and Britton appeared on the trail behind them.

Griffin had taken a tough hit to the gut. He was on his knees puking in the sand. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked up to see what the excitement was about.

"Well, holy shit," Griffin groaned.

Cormac whistled loudly and then threw his elbow back into a nose. You could hear the thing squash. "You assholes are fucked now," Cormac laughed.

There was a lull in fighting as our opponents took stock of the new arrivals. "Looks like a bunch of old men to me," one of them sneered. Low, guarded chuckles followed.

The three of us paused to watch them as the dads hit the sand and headed our direction. The locals clapped and cheered. "You assholes are through now!" someone yelled from the crowd.

---