Page 75 of Native Hawk
Drew stood his ground, beckoning the man forward with a flip of his fingers.
With a low growl, the man lunged toward Drew.
Catalina’s breath caught. But at the last minute, Drew sidestepped. The man missed him by inches and went crashing into the wall.
When he whipped around in fury, Drew was ready for him.
“Best stay back, ladies,” he murmured.
Miss Hattie grabbed Catalina by the elbow, dragging her back to a safer spot under the balcony. Catalina hid the pistol in the folds of her skirt.
The bully punched one scarred and meaty fist into his palm in threat. To Catalina’s anxious eyes, that fist looked twice the size of her head. If the brute thought what he’d done to Jenny had been love taps, what damage could he inflict upon Drew?
The man hurled himself forward again. This time his fist grazed Drew’s cheek. When Drew dropped abruptly to the ground, Catalina gasped, afraid he’d been felled.
But Drew was clever. He was using the man’s own force against him. The brute had thrown all of his weight into his attack. So when Drew knocked the man’s feet out from under him, his knees hit the floor with a great thud.
He howled in pain and rage.
Drew wiped his scraped cheek with his thumb. It hadn’t even drawn blood.
“That’s for what you did to Jenny,” he bit out.
“Si!”Catalina chimed in.
“It ain’t near what I’m gonna do to you!” the man declared as he staggered to his feet.
“No!” Catalina cried. “Get your dirty hands off of—”
Miss Hattie elbowed her. “Hush.”
Drew shook his head, but prepared for another attack.
Catalina couldn’t bear to watch, but she couldn’t stand to look away. So she peered through squinted eyes.
The man was limping now as he made his way toward Drew. His eyes were full of bloodlust. His fists clenched and unclenched. Spittle hung from his sneering lip.
With his right fist, he threw a hard punch at Drew’s head.
Drew dodged aside and caught the clout in his palm. But he wasn’t ready for the second punch.
The man’s left fist caught his ribs. It was a glancing blow, but it was enough to make Drew grimace and grunt in pain.
Catalina squeaked in fear.
The bully laughed in victory as Drew clutched at his bruised ribs.
“Nobody pushes me around!” the brute roared. “Not you!” He stabbed a finger at Drew. “Not her!” He pointed at Miss Hattie. Then he narrowed his eyes at Catalina. “And not some filthy, foul-mouthed, foreign fu—”
His tirade was interrupted by a gruesome crack as Drew’s fist broke his nose, not for the first time.
“No one…” Drew spat, seizing the brute by the front of his shirt. “…talks like that…” He pummeled the man again, bloodying his lip. “…about the woman…” His next blow sent two teeth flying out of the brute’s mouth. “…I intend to marry!”
His final punch hit the point of the man’s chin. The brute went instantly silent. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he hit the floor like a felled tree, with a thundering thud.
Someone fired a gun.
Beside Catalina’s foot, a great hole had suddenly appeared in the wooden floor.
