Chapter Sixteen – The Barbecue Incident #2
I catch the scent before they even step into the yard: cocaine. Unmistakable. I look at Shane and Jay, and both of them have gone still, smelling the drug too.
After the introductions, we pull Jo inside the house.
“Luc — the guy your friend brought,” Shane says. “He’s carrying.”
She glances back toward the yard, then looks at us. “Are you sure? ”
“Yes,” I say.
She bites her lip. “It’s not our problem; it’s Kacy’s. I’ll talk to her about it later, make sure she knows what she’s dealing with.”
We don’t say anything, but she sees it in our faces. She lets out a slow breath. “You’re not cops today. You’re my husbands at our first barbecue. Let it go.”
We do. But the guy is hard to ignore.
Within half an hour, he drinks more than everyone else combined: beer, Jo’s fruity cocktail, even Kate’s juice boxes. We all just watch as he pulls them out of the cooler one by one, stabbing the straws in. Kacy doesn’t seem to mind. She laughs, saying he’s “such a kid.”
By eight, Alice and Jayme say goodbye and take Kate home. Alice hugs Jo tightly and even gives us a wave. It feels like progress.
And it’s a good thing they leave early, because not long after, Luc opens his mouth. “Hey!” he shouts across the yard. “How’s it when she goes in heat, huh? I hear nyras get crazy horny.”
The rage hits like a wave. But we stay still, so does everyone else.
“Oh my god, Luc! What the hell?” Kacy snaps.
He turns to her with glassy eyes. “What? I’m just asking. You said you wouldn’t ask, so I’m asking. Nothing wrong with being curious.”
Mike tries to speak, trying to drag the conversation back to neutral, but it doesn’t matter. Luc keeps going. “I just wanna know what it’s like,” he slurs. “I mean, I’ve fucked plenty of women, but I ain’t never banged a nyra.”
We stand.
Kacy hesitates, glancing between us, Jo, and Luc. But Luc doesn’t stop. “I heard nyra’s pussy juice keeps a man hard for days when they’re in heat. If that’s true, I could use some!”
“Get out,” Shane growls, voice sharp. Then to Kacy: “Both of you. Now.”
They don’t move. My foot hits the grass, jaw clenched, ready to get him out of my yard.
Kacy finally steps forward. “Hey! Hey, it’s okay. We’re going. I’m taking him.”
I wouldn’t have stopped, but Jo rushes in and plants herself in front of me, palms on my chest. “Let her handle it,” she says.
Luc keeps whining that we’re overreacting, that he just wants a taste. It takes a while, but Kacy finally gets him moving toward the front of the house.
Even then, he doesn’t shut up. “If you hadn’t freaked out, they would have given us a little, Kay. They don’t feel shame like we do. They’re more like… like dogs or something. They act angry, but you just gotta make them trust you. Then they’ll give you anything.”
My vision whites out. But I breathe. Lock it down. Force calming pheromones into the air, thick and heavy, to keep Shane still. To keep myself still.
Conversations start to pick up again, loud, with Mike, Hugh and S?nia all trying to pretend nothing happened and drown out Luc’s voice coming from the front of the house.
But I hear footsteps, heavy and off-balance. A second later, Luc stumbles back into the yard, straight toward Jo. Kacy’s behind him, pleading, but he’s not listening.
Jo doesn’t move. She just stands there.
And that’s when the leash snaps. It’s not a decision. It’s instinct, pure and brutal.
I move. But Jay moves faster.
Calm, steady Jay. He steps forward without a word and punches Luc square in the face.
One hit.
The guy drops like a tree and hits the ground hard. Flat on his back. Out cold.
Kacy screams. “Oh my God! What did you do?! What did you do?! You killed him!”
“No, he didn’t,” Jo says, already moving. She drops to her knees beside the guy and presses two fingers to his neck. “Has a pulse.”
“He’s breathing,” Jenna adds as she kneels next to Jo, already checking his face. All business, no hesitation, like her shift just started.
Kacy is still wailing behind them. “He’s not moving! Oh my God—”
“Jesus Christ, Kacy, you’re a nurse too,” Jenna snaps, not even looking up. “You know better than that.”
That shuts her up.
Jo and Jenna roll him onto his side, careful and practiced. Blood is already pouring from his nose. His face is already starting to swell, cheekbone puffed, jaw slack.
“Definitely a broken nose,” Jo says. “Maybe the zygomatic arch too.”
“Could be a concussion,” Jenna adds. “He hit the ground like a sack of bricks.”
“We’re calling an ambulance,” Jo says. She pulls her phone from her back pocket and dials 911.
Off to the side, Hugh stands frozen, arms folded, lips pressed tight. He looks at Kacy with open disgust, shaking his head once. Mike doesn’t say anything, but I catch the subtle way he steps in front of Hugh, shielding him from the mess.
Fontes moves closer to Jay and stands beside him, silent, hands behind his back like he’s on duty again. S?nia stands stiffly near the table, one hand on her chest, eyes are wide. Then, slowly, she walks over to Jo and hands her a clean napkin. There’s blood on Jo’s hands, and now on her phone too.
I look at Jay. He's still. Quiet. His hands at his sides, knuckles red, jaw tight. He hasn’t moved since the punch. I know we’re in deep shit now, but I’m grateful it was him.
If it had been me, the guy would be needing traction.
If it had been Shane, he might’ve collapsed half the guy’s skull.
Jay pulled his punch. Controlled it enough to end it without doing the worst damage.
Shane steps up beside him, arms crossed. “You did good.”
Jay doesn’t answer. Just keeps his eyes on Luc, calm as ever. I feel pride swell in my chest. I couldn’t have held back like that.
Meanwhile, Kacy paces in the grass, hands in her hair, mumbling to herself.
“I brought him. I brought him here. This is my fault. This is—”
“Kacy.” Jo calls her. “Stop. Sit down before you pass out too.”
She sits, right there in the grass, her knees to her chest.
Jo leans over Luc again, shining her phone light into his eyes. “Pupils are reacting. Breathing’s steady. He’s gonna be fine.”
I hear sirens in the distance. The smell of grilled meat still hangs in the air, plates still sit on tables, but it all feels far away now. We’re not just Jo’s husbands at a barbecue anymore. We’re a pack of aegis who just punched a human in the face.
When the ambulance arrives, Jo gives the EMT a quick rundown on Luc’s condition, but I don’t pay attention. My mind’s already drifting toward the mess this fucker drags us into.
The EMTs are going to call the police. Luc’s unconscious. He’s injured. They’ll classify it as an assault, no matter what led to it.
We’ll try to explain that he was drunk, aggressive, and moving toward our mate. That we’ve got witnesses. That he smelled like coke from twenty feet away.
But it won’t matter. They’ll arrest us.
At work, we’ll get pulled into another Use-of-Force Review. Even off duty, we always have to prove it was justified. Administrative leave is automatic. And if Wilsbone or Captain Spilgen feel like making an example out of us, this is their perfect shot. Messy. Human victim.
And that’s the easy part.
We’ll be facing criminal charges too. And that’s when everything gets really fucked.
One of the EMTs speaks into the radio. “Male, mid-thirties, unconscious. Assault victim. Suspect still on scene. Requesting law enforcement.”
Exactly what I expect, down to the damn wording.
When the ambulance pulls away, lights flashing as it takes Luc to the hospital, Kacy follows right behind, driving his car.
Good. I’m glad they’re both gone.
This time, no one tries to talk. No one pretends nothing happened.
My brothers and I head to the front yard to wait for the police. I’m relieved Jo doesn’t follow. I don’t want her seeing us get cuffed. Fontes comes with us and steps up beside Jay.
My legs twitch with the urge to grab my brothers and run until we wear off at least half the tension and the thick scent of aggression around us dissipates. But we can’t, so we stand still and wait.
The cops show up a few minutes later. As soon as one of them steps out and spots us, his eyes narrow. He turns back to the cruiser, speaking into his radio, asking for backup. The second officer steps out, hand hovering near his holster.
“We got a report of an assault,” the first one says. “Where’s the suspect?”
I open my mouth to answer, but Fontes steps forward smoothly, voice calm and even. “Officer Fontes. Great Sky PD, High-Risk Unit. These are Officers Larsen. They’re with me.”
I freeze. So do my brothers.
The officers exchange a look. “What happened?” the second one asks.
Fontes doesn’t hesitate. “Private gathering. One guest, heavily intoxicated and belligerent, verbally threatened the homeowner, Officers Larsen’s wife. The subject was escalating. Jayson Larsen used minimal force. One punch. No weapons. No further action taken. Threat neutralized.”
My brain scrambles to catch up.
Fontes is shielding us.
Not just backing us, but protecting us. Using his human status, his badge, to block the wave of bias that would’ve hit us like a truck.
Because aegis don’t get the benefit of the doubt. Humans like to use our strength when it suits them — law enforcement, the military — but the moment we act without permission, we’re a dangerous liability. We’re not partners. We’re weapons.
The second cop shifts, uncomfortable. “Still a crime if someone ends up unconscious.”
“You’re looking at an off-duty officer who de-escalated a direct threat to his wife,” Fontes replies.
The first officer exhales and nods slowly. “No arrests at this time. But we’ll need statements. The case report’s already open.”
“You’ll have them through Great Sky’s chain of command,” Fontes says calmly. “I’ll file the preliminary myself.”
The officers nod. They scan the yard once more, then head back to their cruisers.
I stand there, stunned.
I think this might be the first time in history an aegis knocks out a human and doesn’t end up in handcuffs.
I look at Fontes. “Thank you,” I say.
He just nods.