exits if things turned ugly. Fortunately, the men seemed to be content to just curse and complain, rather than take any action.
Moments later, Peggy arrived with their burgers and fresh beers, and she seemed more upbeat for some reason.
“Here’s the burgers, guys,” she announced. “And good job on the music. Nice to hear something else besides George Strait or Brooks and Dunn for a change.”
She departed quickly, leaving Caleb and Gil exchanging surprised expressions. Both shrugged and returned to their burgers and beers. Everything seemed more sedate for a short time until they were almost done eating. That’s when the three guys at the nearby table divvied up money to pay and rose to leave. Each of them made a point to brush up against either Caleb’s or Gil’s chairs while walking past.
“Friggin’ yuppies,” grumbled the man with the dark bushy mustache and crew cut as he banged into the back of Caleb’s chair while passing.
Caleb discreetly rolled his eyes at the comment. It wasn’t as if either he or Gil looked anything like young urban professionals, particularly dressed as they were. Ignorance is definitely bliss with some people.
“Redneck bastard,” Gil muttered under his breath as the guy walked away.
The man turned abruptly to grimace at Gil, demanding, “What was that, punker?”
Gil swallowed his bite of burger and started to say something, but Caleb cut him off with, “He said ’better eat faster,’ that’s all.”
The burly fellow sneered, shook his head, and cursed under his breath while continuing to the door to leave. Caleb relaxed somewhat once the last man walked out and looked over at Gil with barely contained contempt.
“Are you anxious for a bar fight or something?” he chastised. “Those guys are just blowhards. Geez, let’s just eat and get the hell out of here.”
Within minutes, Caleb finished his beer, and both of them declined another refill when the waitress stopped by with their bill.
“I hope you weren’t bothered by those guys who were in here,” Peggy suggested. “They’re just a bunch of complainers who usually shoot off their mouths. Butch, the owner, threatens to ban them from this place, and they usually simmer down.”
Caleb thanked her and took care of the check with cash, making sure to leave a generous tip for Peggy. Barely ten minutes after their biggest fans had left, Caleb and Gil were exiting the bar out to what was a sunny, warmer-than-expected February afternoon.
“Gil, next time, I get to pick the bar,” Caleb remarked absently.
Everything seemed fine, until they spotted the three troublemakers from the bar standing around Katrina’s car at the side of the building where they had parked. Caleb shook his head in near disbelief as he stared at the throng of men, only to realize the guy with the mustache and crew cut was relieving himself onto the Audi’s right rear tire.
A surge of anger ran through him, but he managed to keep himself in check as he walked slowly towards their car. The man zipped up his jeans, and all three men started laughing as they cast incendiary glances towards Caleb and Gil.
“Hey, assholes!” Gil snapped as he walked a little faster than Caleb towards the car.
“Just get in the car, Gil,” Caleb warned, deactivating the alarm with the key remote.
But Gil was already approaching the three men with his fists balled up tightly.
Caleb swore under his breath as the mustached man barreled forward while Gil shifted next to the car. Gil barely had time to lift his fist before the man punched him in the gut, causing him to double over.
“Aw, crap,” Caleb growled as the other two men moved deliberately towards him.
Everything happened so fast after that. Caleb barely realized that one of the two men had swung towards him, but he managed to pivot his body, only catching a glancing blow to the left side of his head.
Something shot through him, like a cross between a flashback and an electrical surge. The memory of Devon Archibald’s attack on him at the wildlife preserve replayed in his head like a lightning flash. Only this time, instead of fear, he felt intense anger and resentment. He was tired of being attacked, and since these guys weren’t vampires, an important notion occurred to him: they were only human, which made them beatable.
Reactions began to flow in his body without the need to think as some of the combat training Katrina had drilled into his head activated. Of the two men approaching him, the second fellow, a red-haired man, aimed