Page 35 of Serving my Dragon
Odd instructions that made sense a second later as a smell hit me.
Smoke.
They’d set fire to the house!
Chapter Eleven
With my family in peril, the time had come to stop being a silent listener. I eased myself from the hammock, my bare feet quiet on the grass my uncle proudly maintained. The two guys talking so callously stood waiting, armed with tasers, according to their own words.
While usually a guy who fought fair, I couldn’t take any chances. My stealthy movement brought me behind the bigger man without him noticing and I sucker-punched him in the back of the head. He went reeling and I pivoted with my hands linked as a club and swung at his partner. I felt a satisfying crunch as his nose broke, followed by his yelp of pain.
A shame I didn’t knock either of them unconscious, but at least they focused on me and not those inside the fiery trap. As I dropped into a fighting stance, I yelled a warning, “Wake up! Fire!”
Did it wake those sleeping inside? I could only hope. I had my hands full as both men turned on me.
“You should have run while you had the chance,” snarled the bigger guy, aiming his taser.
Fast reflexes honed by my uncles who’d sparred with me in my youth had me ducking and also diving at the man’s knees. The wire probe went zipping past my head just as I hit him hard in the legs. Down he went with me on top. A flurry of punches to his face made his eyes roll back before he passed out.
Zap.
The tasing shock stole my breath, but I managed to remain conscious.
Barely.
In my daze, I couldn’t stop the body that bowled into me, knocking me over. The guy grabbed me by the shirt and began slamming me against the ground which did much to help me recover from the jittery feeling in all my muscles. Hands went around my neck and squeezed, but I brought my legs up and latched them around his head in a wrestling move I’d learned as a kid. The force of it yanked the grip from my neck, and despite the throbbing, I could breathe.
I threw myself on my assailant before he could recover. We tussled in the grass, equally matched in strength. He proved slippery as a greased pig and managed to evade my attempts to lock him into place. But I knew how to fight dirty courtesy of my tíos, who’d always said better to win dishonorably than end up dead in an alley, or in this case, a house fire.
Wham. The knee to my opponent’s balls sucked the breath from him, and then a few hard punches to his face finally left him limp.
Panting slightly, I rose to my feet just as Tío Juan drawled, “Took you long enough to handle them. Thought I was going to have to step in.”
I glared at my uncle. “A little help would have been appreciated.”
“And emasculate you in front of your woman?”
“What woman…” I trailed off as I spotted Kayleigh in the shadows by the back door, holding a bundle that the casual observer would guess was a baby, though I saw Polly’s snout protruding.
“Matias, are you okay?” she exclaimed, rushing to me.
“Yeah, but we’re not done. There’s more of them out front.”
“No there’s not,” Juan smugly stated.
“What of the fire?” A glance at the house showed no terrifying glow and the scent of smoke hadn’t gotten any stronger.
“Carmelita and Lola doused it while me and Santiago handled the bastardos out front.”
A relief. “So everyone’s okay?”
“I am fine, mijo.” Mama emerged, bundled in a robe over her borrowed nightdress. “The nerve of those escorias,” she snarled, kicking one of the prone bodies with her slippered foot.
“Easy, Mama,” I muttered as I noticed Kayleigh’s wide eyes.
“Come, Lola. Let’s go check on Carmelita and Santiago.” Juan led Mama around to the front of the house and I rubbed a hand over my face. What a mess.
“Who were they?” Kayleigh asked.
