Page 18 of Bartender Daddy's Girl
Time for Daddy to get to work.
I look over my shoulder just in time to see two men approaching us. They’re both wearing grey suits with earpieces dangling from the side of their heads. One’s wearing shades and walks with a cockiness I’d love to slap clean off of him. The other is bald as a cue ball, and his head sparkles in the sunlight.
“That’s him,” Carrie whispers so quietly, I almost miss it. “That’s the guy who followed me around.”
“Shades or baldy?” I ask. I want to know which one of them is getting more of my attention.
“Baldy,” she repeats my name for him. I like to think that if it were under different circumstances, that would’ve made her laugh.
“Sit tight. Don’t pay them any attention.” It comes out as an order. “Look over that way, pretend they’re not here.”
“What are you?—”
“Mr. Aimos is very upset, Carrie.” Baldy cuts her off. “He would like you to come with us. He wants to have a word with you in private.”
As soon as they arrive at our table, Carrie looks away. When he speaks, she doesn’t give him any attention at all.
“Nah, pal, she’s not going anywhere with you.” I drop my half-eaten waffle onto the plate.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “Who are you?”
I ignore him. It’s prudent to remember that this doesn’t have to end in blood. Then I realize I always tell myself that right before things get messy.
“He asked you a question, big man,” Shades jumps in.
I stand up out of my chair to show them how big I really am. To my surprise, Baldy is nearly as tall as me, but he’s got a much leaner cut. Shades is short, softer-bellied, and has pencil-thin arms.
I like my odds.
“Listen, boys, we’re not doing this dance here.” Years in the military, followed by years as a thief and a short stint in prison, have taught me how to keep my temper in check. Where, beneath the surface, my blood is boiling against my skin. I don’t show it. Calm on the outside, ready for war on the inside. The best way to survive. “This is a nice place. We’re having a nice meal. These folks don’t need any of your trouble.”
“Thesefolkscan go fuck themselves,” Baldy says. “We’re here for her, and we’re not leaving until we have her.”
“Fine, I understand.”
“Yeah, so get out of my way,” Shades steps forward and tries to push past me.
When he’s in arm’s reach, I shoot a hand out and grab him around the throat. I hold him there a moment before lifting his stubby legs off the ground while staring deep into Baldy’s eyes. Shades latches onto my wrist, clawing at the skin to be let go, but I don’t budge until Baldy makes a move.
He comes at me with a right hand that I slap away. Dropping Shades, he crumbles to the floor, gasping for air and rubbing his hands against his throat.
One on one. I like those odds even better.
Baldy throws a few more jabs in my direction. One of them connects with my chest, but they’re just testing punches. Not toohard that he might hurt himself, but not soft enough that I won’t get bruised.
Realizing it’s going to take more than a single punch to drop me, he puts more weight into the next one. I catch him by the wrist before it connects, and stop his momentum immediately.
“Sure you want to do this?” I ask. As much as I want to hurt him for tormenting Carrie, I don’t want the other patrons of the restaurant to walk away traumatized.
“Fuck you.” He yanks his arm out of my grip and adopts a poor impression of a boxer’s stance.
Well, I warned him.
Baldy comes at me again with the intention of delivering a flurry of blows I won’t be able to stop. Expecting me to back away from the wild jabs, I do the opposite and step in closer. With less distance to prep his punches, they don’t have much weight on impact.
Catching him off guard with my movement, I drive my head forward and connect with the bridge of his nose. The blow rattles him, and he stumbles back a few steps. Blood appears.
See, I don’t often use my hands in a fight. They’re weaker than you might think. Sure, I could’ve cracked his skull with a harrowing right hook, but I’d probably break my hand in the process. Using your forehead is the way to go when you want to inflict heavy damage while sustaining very little. It’s a solid, heavy block. No brittle bones that can rupture or break from impact.
