Page 50 of Heart and Soul
“I know; it’s perfect!”
The crowd scrambles to move away from the brawl. This is no choreographed movie fight where each thug politely waits his turn while the hero knocks them all down like dominoes. This is the chaos of savages, and Jay, the human wrecking ball, is more than a match for them. There’s not a single body part he doesn’t use with lethal force. Headbutts to the face, elbows to the throat, knees to the groin, boots to the kneecaps. With only three guys, they can’t possibly contain all of him.
It takes several trolls to stop the fight. One of them is Terrance. He cuffs Jay’s neck with one arm and jerks him out of the tangle of wolves. “All right, kids, that’s the bell. Recess is over,” Terrance thunders. “You three, I’ve had words with before, so—” He has to stop, because Jay won’t quit thrashing. Gripping him by the neck, Terrance holds him at arm’s length about three feet off the ground. Jay flails his feet and pounds his fist into Terrance’s tree trunk arm. The three wolves, huffing and puffing with fatigue, watch with incredulous eyes.
“You know what,” Terrance says, grimacing with strain, “obviously, my guy here’s got a death wish, so why don’t I just give him back to y’all?” He drops Jay, and the wolves, much to the amusement of the crowd, back away from him.
Jay’s bleeding. Not from any particular spot—just, in general. The wolves are hardly scratched but sucking wind like crazy, about to drop dead of exhaustion. They gape at Jay like he’s some exotic animal. How in the world is he still standing, let alone balling his fists, ready for round two? He glares murderously at them.
“Since it’s three against one, the decision goes in favor of the one,” Terrance decrees. “You three, beat it.” Without complaint, the wolves turn for the exit.
“No way in hell. That’s bullshit,” Jay complains, and he spits blood on the floor, right at Terrance’s feet.
The music stops.
The crowd stops.
My breathing stops.
“Um, Jay. Jay, babe.” I take baby steps to him, while trying to appease Terrance with a smile. “So, um, how about we don’t press our luck—”
He jerks away from my touch. “I got a deal with these jagoffs. I told ’em if they took their best shots, I’d buy us all a round. Now, dammit, I ain’t buying shit-all without seeing their best shots.”
Terrance folds his watermelon biceps across his chest. “Are you telling me they didn’t take their best shots? ’Cause I can have a mirror brought out, if you want to see for yourself.” A chuckle ripples through the crowd.
“You think I’d still be standing if they did? What, you think I can’t tell when somebody’s holding back?” Turning to the wolves, Jay wipes blood from his eyes. “Where I come from, that’s the ultimate insult, so if you’re trying to piss me off, mission accomplished.”
The younger wolves look lost. They’re too stupid to understand what Jay’s doing, but the older wolf steps forward, eager to save face. “Good, ’cause we were just getting started.”
“What’s happening, Shayne? Why’s Brenner want to get killed?” Elle whispers.
“That’s just it,” I hiss. “It’s three against one, and Jay’snotdead. Do you know how humiliating that is for them? They should be laughed out of this place, but Jay’s throwing them a bone.” I steeple my hands at Terrance, mouthing a silentPlease!
He relents with a sigh. “Look, I’m sure there’s a lot of honor at stake here, but this ain’t happening on my brand-new floors, so you’ll have to call it a draw. Take it or leave it.”
“Shit,” Jay says, “in here I stand a chance, but I won’t survive two seconds on the street with these guys. I’ll take the draw.”
All eyes go to the lead wolf. He regards Jay with a complicated look, not entirely comfortable with such an obvious mercy surrender. But something is better than nothing. He says, “Humans can be smart, after all. Live to fight another day.”
“Now, about that round,” Jay says to Terrance.
The troll throws his hands up. “You tell me. Would the four of you like it for here or to go?”
Jay answers by peeling his ripped T-shirt over his head and using it to mop up the blood he spit on the floor. It’s an impressive gesture that not only ingratiates himself with Terrance but shows off Jay’s shirtless hard body at the same time. Granted, his entire torso is covered in blood, bruises, cuts, and burns, but for some in this crowd, that only makes him more mouthwatering. One demon whom I know to be a glutton for punishment literally licks his lips.
The music starts up again. The crowd moves on. Terrance wags a finger at me—a last warning—and leads his bouncers away. The younger wolves are confused. “Wait,” one of them says, “are we really going to drink with this guy?”
“He called us jagoffs,” the other whines.
“Because you are jagoffs. Now shut your faces,” the older wolf growls. He and Jay share a look of mutual respect. Not friends, by any means, but no longer enemies. For tonight, anyway.
I squeeze Elle’s hand. “Oh my gosh!”
“What in the world just happened, Shayne? I don’t speak wolf.”
“Respect. That’s what just happened.”
“But they were bashing each other in the face two seconds ago.”
