20. Willow
20
WILLOW
All hell breaks loose. The burly biker roars and throws Blitz so hard into the bar that one of the bar stools actually pulls loose from the floor. The metallic shriek of the bolts bending is loud enough to cut through even the heavy music.
But it doesn’t stop the fighters.
Blitz launches himself onto the burly guy's back and is trying to choke him out, but not having much luck.
The fight spreads like wildfire, and I don't know if they're friends or just bystanders who want in on the mess, but they sure are enthusiastic. Most of the girls take off, running as fast as they can from the growing brawl, but I'm stuck right in the middle with no clear exit. Someone bumps into me and I have to catch myself on the bar to keep from falling.
Scared of getting trampled, I hug the bar and I make my way deeper into the crowd. I'd rather head for the exit, but there's a sea of fighting bikers between me and there, and first I need to get out of immediate danger.
An arm catches me in the side, launching me in the wrong direction. Suddenly, I'm in the thick of the melee, getting shoved around like a pinball. I scream, trying to push my way out, but it's like trying to push through a football defensive line. There's no space, everyone's angry, and while no one's attacking me directly, no one's watching out for me either. I look around desperately, but everyone nearby is either in the fight or busy trying to stop it.
Someone barrels right past me, slamming into a table. The loud crack of splintering wood sounds like gunfire, and I feel the cloud of dust and splinters brushing past my face. Then something hits me in the gut, making my breath hitch. I roll to the side, gasping and clutching my stomach as a burst of pain pulses through me. Someone steps on my foot, only briefly, and then I'm pulling myself into a corner, using the remains of the table for cover. It’s not perfect, but if I curl up small maybe I can wait out the fight.
I get my phone out and tap the number Blackout gave me to let him know when his mysterious letter came.
It rings only once before he answers. “Is this a booty call? What kind of man do you think I am?”
“I'm at the Burnout!” I cut him off. “There's a fight, and I'm trapped right in the middle of it and?—”
“Be right there.” The phone goes dead.
A bottle smashes against the wall over my head. I shriek and cover my head with my hands as beer and shards of glass shower over me. My hair is soaked, matted to the sides of my face, and a sudden sharp pain sets my arm on fire. When I look, there's a gash in my forearm, blood seeping from it. God, why did I ever think coming here was a good idea?
If anything, the fight seems to be ramping up. Grunts and swearing are everywhere, furniture crashes, and I can see at least one unconscious person rolled up against the bar. I need to get out, I just?—
Then someone roars, “Willow!” It carries over even the noise of the fighting. Dragon?
I push myself to my feet, pressing my back to the wall and clutching my arm, so I can see better. “Here!” I scream, but I don't know if it carries.
And then I see him, pushing through the crowd in full berserker mode, his black eyes on fire and his mouth bared in a furious grimace as he picks up a big guy and literally throws him aside. Blackout is at his side, blocking some guy's punch, before quickly nailing him in the face with a bloody crunch and sending the guy reeling backwards.
Skyhigh scans the room. He hooks his foot under a combatant in his way, and easily flips him off his feet and into another group of brawlers. “Willow!”
“Here!” I yell again, and wave my arms trying to get their attention through the chaos of wild punches and bodies being thrown around. It gets their attention. Unfortunately, it also gets the attention of Blitz.
He grins and comes my way. “There you are, baby.”
What? “No, I?—”
Dragon yanks him right off his feet from behind before he even gets close to me, and throws him aside with a vicious roar. Blitz blinks slow and sinks to the floor, apparently deciding that it’s time for a little nap. I knew Dragon was strong, but wow. He made it look effortless.
Skyhigh's the first one to reach me, though. “Fuck, you're bleeding.” He crouches in front of me and pulls my arm out gently so he can look at it. “Who the fuck did this?”
“Fate. Doesn't matter. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm okay.”
“This is not fucking okay.” He turns and yells, “Hector!”
The bartender looks our way. He's holding a baseball bat and someone else is clutching their head. “Busy!” he yells back.
I don’t know if it’s the arrival of my boys that shifted the balance, or it's just the natural winding down of the violence, but the fight seems to be petering out. The bouncer is busy tossing people out the open door, while Hector is brandishing his bat and looking around for anyone else who wants a beating. There are no takers. A couple of guys lie still but a lot more are picking themselves up from the floor and pushing for the door, holding whatever body part hurts the most.
“Hector, got a first aid kit?” Blackout calls out.
“Yeah, be right there.” He glowers at the mess, nudges a guy to get moving with the end of his bat, then goes behind the bar to grab a green case with a white cross on it. By the time he picks his way across the room to hand it to Skyhigh, the bar is almost cleared out. “Sorry, I tried to keep an eye on her but when shit went sideways, it went fast. If I’d known she was your girl, I’d’ve been a bit more proactive.” He hefts the bat.
“Hold still,” Blackout says, holding me close to his chest as Skyhigh checks my arm.
Skyhigh gently pulls a glass shard out of the cut that I've been too chicken to touch myself. I wince as it stings, and the blood flow picks up, but he wipes off the cut and gets a bandage over it before I have time to really register the pain. “There you go. I’d offer you a choice of dinosaur or pink hearts, but I don’t think Hector shops in the same place you do.”
I laugh softly.
“All done. Keep it clean. Who knows what the fuck could get into it around here.”
“Hey!” Hector objects, clearly insulted.
“I will. Thanks for coming to get me.” I feel a little dumb now, both for coming here on my own instead of waiting on Grace, and because I’m a grown woman sitting on the floor getting patched up and comforted like a kid.
Dragon turns around, looking pissed. “What the fuck were you thinking, coming here without us?” His growl drips with anger and disappointment. “If you wanted to check it out, we woulda kept you safe. You could have ended up with a lot worse than a cut on your arm.”
I shrink into Blackout's arms. “My friend Grace was supposed to come with me.”
“Oh good, two pretty girls wandering in with no fucking clue. Most guys are alright, sure, but fuckers like him?” He points at Blitz, who's awake but still down on the floor. “This was fucking stupid.”
Blitz raises his hand and waves. “I was just being friendly, man.”
They look at me.
I shrug, sheepishly. “He kinda was. The other guy started it.” The adrenaline is wearing off, and I feel really guilty for causing trouble. “I’m sorry. I didn't think it would be a big deal. I just… I don't know. I was curious.”
“Well, next time you're curious, you call us. We'll take you anywhere you fucking want. When Blackout got that call, we fucking worried about you.” Dragon’s voice goes from pissed to tired in a moment. He crouches in front of me and, careful of my hurt arm, pulls me close and hugs me. “Don't you fucking dare do that again.”
“Take her home?” Blackout asks.
Skyhigh nods. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
Not given a choice in the matter, I'm swept right up into Dragon's arms. “Come on, baby girl,” he growls. “We're taking you home.”