Page 34 of Wolf Cursed
“It was either Vinny or Silas, and they’re both pissing me off,” Idrissa said, looking back toward the bar again.
Her warning had created a somber, weighted mood that had already shifted with the change in conversation. I couldn’t stop thinking about her words:it only gets worse from here.
“Why does it matter?” I asked. “A free drink is a nice thing, right?”
“No one in this town is nice,” she said. “Remember what I said, Ash. No one in this town is selfless. If they do a nice thing, it’s because they want something from you.”
Did she mean like carrying my groceries?
Before I could point out the hypocrisy, someone yelled from across the bar, and by the time I turned to look, two men at a small table in the corner had shoved their chairs aside and jumped up, rushing at one another. They each wore a leather vest with the image of a wolf stamped in white on the back. Before I could make out the words printed around it, the two men collided, chest, fists, even foreheads, all crashing together in an all-out brawl.
Chairs and tables were upended. Glass fell, shattering as their beers and pitchers hit the floor. The card game went flying, and the players all yelled as they jumped back.
I froze, watching it all unfold and feeling a little surreal.
The other customers jumped up too, crowding around them, yelling, cheering. Most of them also wore vests with the wolf printed on the back. I waited for them to wade in and pull apart the drunken brawlers, but no one did. Some cash was waved around, exchanging hands as bets were called out about the predicted winner and loser.
A couple of others even joined the fight, making it two on two. Then four on four. The rest of the patrons yelled their encouragement to whatever side they’d decided to root for.
Neither one of the twins moved a muscle.
If anything, they looked annoyed. Maybe even bored.
“Gordon’s such a dumbass,” Idrissa said between sips of her drink.
“Silas has been waiting for an excuse to shove his fist into Gordon’s mouth,” Isaac said. “It was only a matter of when and where.”
“You mean when.” Idrissa rolled her eyes. “The where is easy when it comes to Gordon.”
Isaac snorted his agreement.
“Isn’t anyone going to stop them?” I asked, my anxiety spiking as one of the men picked up a chair and smashed it over another’s head. The man stumbled, careening toward us before he went sprawling across the dirty floor where his body stopped beside our table. I looked down and spotted the logo printed on the back of his leather vest.
A white wolf’s head was tipped up in a howl. Underneath were the words “Lone Wolf MC.” I stared at the image, feeling a slow sort of dread working its way into my skin. I’d seen it in one other place in my life, and finding it here, now, was not something I’d been prepared for.
I swallowed hard, heart hammering, and looked over to find Isaac giving me a strange look. “It’s okay,” he said. “We won’t let anything happen to you.”
I nodded, blinking the fear from my eyes and the wolf’s image from my mind. Later. This wasn’t the place to lose my shit.
Forcing my attention back to the scene unfolding, I scanned the room.
Beyond where the unconscious man had fallen, Teddy was hopping around, scooping up glasses and trying to save what serving ware he could. It would have been comical if not for the actual blood flowing from the fighters’ various busted noses and lips.
The guy with the chair walked over to where the unconscious biker lay. He looked from the guy on the floor to us, his expression a little glassy and a lot unhinged.
“Vinny, back off,” Isaac warned.
“Make me,” the guy slurred.
Isaac groaned. “Paper, rock, scissors?” he asked his twin.
Idrissa sighed, sliding toward the edge of the booth. “Nah, I got this one.”
She stood up and walked over to the guy who held the chair by its leg. He straightened when he saw her coming, his eyes blazing with a fury that didn’t dim at the sight of the gorgeous redhead stalking his way.
“Vinny, I swear to God, how many times do I have to explain the chairs are off-limits?” she said.
“Don’t start with me, woman,” he growled and barely had time to finish his words before Idrissa’s fist slammed into his face, sending him to his knees.
