Page 21 of Serial Love

“Oh hell, George, get in there and break it up,” one of the men whined to the burly one.

Bethany swung the broom over her head and brought it down with a whack on the back of the cursing man, seeing blood running from his nose.

“What the hell?” he roared, swinging back with his arm and connecting with Bethany’s shoulder. With his attention focused on her, the other man got another punch in, connecting with his jaw.

She staggered, raising the broom once more, when the burly man stepped in and grabbed her broom handle.

“Now missy, don’t be getting’ in the way of them two working out their disagreement.”

Before she could react further, the sound of gravel crunching had her jerking her gaze to the road. Two large SUVs sped down the lane and skidded to a stop, sending the rocks flying. To her amazement, four men jumped out, immediately descending on the men fighting. Instantly, she recognized the leader.Jack? And some of his men?

Startled, she staggered back again, the broom still raised, as she witnessed them quell the fight with little difficulty. The large Hispanic man,Cam? I think,had one man pinned against the truck, his hand on the man’s throat. The fisherman was attempting to struggle,but Cam seemed to be holding him in place without any effort.

The other two of Jack’s men, whose names she could not remember, also had two of the fishermen on the ground, their knees planted in their backs as they grinned at each other.

Her body shook with adrenaline coursing through her veins and found it was hard to catch her breath.

Jack jerked the instigator to his feet and propelled him to the bottom of the steps. “You got something to say to the lady, asshole?”

The man’s eyes, wide with fear, looked all around as his drunken mind slowly caught up to what had happened. “Huh?” he said. A shake brought the man’s attention back to Jack’s.

“You start a fight on someone else’s property, in full view of families with small children that are trying to vacation. When asked nicely to stop, you get belligerent. And not only belligerent, but you also insult a lady.I don’t give a shit how drunk you are, you’re going to apologize right fuckin’ now.” Jack’s voice was low, but the growl was unmistakable.

The man lifted his eyes toward her and mumbled, “Sorry ma’am.”

Bethany opened her mouth to tell them all to pack up and get out, unsure that the words would come out, but Jack handled it for her.

“You’re all leaving and be assured your credit cards will be charged for the full amount of the weekend.”

Several of the men not involved in the fight protested. “We didn’t do anything,” they whined. Onelook from Jack and they shut their mouths, their expressions changing from whining to fear.

“There're four of you pussies standing around letting these other assholes argue, cause a public disturbance, insult a woman, and get into a fight. That makes you equally culpable. So, take your goddamn friends, pack your shit, and get out. You got thirty minutes to do it.”

Chastised, they grabbed their friends and pushed them into the two trucks before driving toward the cabins. Jack jerked his head toward the fishermen, and the other three Saints nodded toward Bethany before getting in one of their SUVs and following the pick-up trucks.

Jack turned his gaze back to the woman standing like a statue on the second step, the broom still clasped in her hands. Her khaki shorts were mid-thigh, but in his opinion, they were way too short. His eyes moved to her light blue tank top, showcasing her heaving chest as he continued his gaze upwards to her face. Stalking up the stairs he stopped two below her and was still at eye level. His gaze then dropped to her white knuckles clutching her weapon.

“You want to tell me what the fuck you were doing with that broom?” he asked, his hand reaching out, pulling it away from her and tossing it behind her to the porch.

Her embarrassment was masked by her confusion. “How? How did you know to come?”

Not answering her question, he repeated, “You think that broom was going to do shit? You got a problem,you get inside the house, lock the goddamn door, and call the fuckin’ police!”

Her expression changed to irritation. “I wasn’t going to get hurt. I just thought that I’d beat them apart. You know, like dogs fighting.”

At that explanation, he found himself speechless…and furious, but before he could retort, she poked his chest with a finger and repeated, “How did you know something was happening here?”

Their attention was diverted by the sound of two pick-up trucks driving out of Mountville followed by the SUV that had stopped next to the first one that Jack drove in.

Cam lowered the driver’s window, smiling as he asked if they were all right.

She forced a smile on her face and said, “Yes, thank you for your assistance…again.” She saw the three men inside wave and then drive away after giving Jack a head jerk.

He turned back to look at her, this time taking a step upward so that now he was looking down at her. She refused to remove her finger from his chest, then found her hand clasped in his.

Holding her gaze while rubbing her fingers, he repeated much gentler, “You have a problem, you get inside the house, lock the door, and call the police.”

Before she could argue back, the door opened, and Gram walked out onto the porch. “It’s quieter now out here. Oh, hello Charlie. You here courtin’ again?”

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