“Oh f**k,” Hop muttered.
“Cunt!” Naomi screeched, eyes slicing up to me.
The pressure in my head exploded and I stomped down the steps.
“Oh f**k,” Hop said, louder this time.
“That’s it, bitch, in your fancy-ass skirt with your fancy-ass shoes, you think you can take me?” Naomi asked.
She was rolling from foot to foot, hands up, fingers wiggling at me in a “bring it on” gesture even though Hop still had his hand in her chest and kept pushing off on it, shoving her back step by step as I advanced, my high heels clicking loud.
“You just called me the c-word,” I stated.
I heard the quick beat of running motorcycle boots and vaguely sensed mechanics and body shop guys coming out of the garage but I had my target in my sights.
“Yeah, I did. I called you a cunt, you cunt,” Naomi leered. “Tryin’ to take my kids from me. I got the papers,” she snapped.
“I got her, one ‘a you get Cherry,” Hop ordered and I felt a strong arm wrap around my chest from behind.
“Stand down, sweetheart.” I heard Brick say in my ear.
I stood still in his arm but didn’t take my eyes off Naomi. “You have a situation with Tack, you talk to Tack about it. You do not come to my office, shrieking, making a scene and calling me filthy names.”
She stopped and was leaning into Hop’s hand at her chest. “Oh yeah? I do, what’re you gonna do about it?”
What were we? In third grade?
Okay, I’d play.
“You don’t want to find out,” I warned.
“You can’t take me,” she declared derisively.
“You’re probably right,” I agreed. “But I’d sure as hell have fun with the licks I got in.”
She lifted her hands. “Yeah? Bring it on… cunt.”
“Stop calling me that!” I snapped.
“Cunt!” she screeched and that was it.
And what it was it wasn’t Arctic Tyra.
No.
Lady Dragon got poked with a stick and she… was… pissed.
Therefore I tore free from Brick’s arm and ran the five feet to Naomi. Launching myself by Hop and clearly surprising all holy hell out of Naomi, I took a flying leap and tackled her to the tarmac. We landed with a bone-jarring thud, hers worse because she was under me and the breath went out of her which was good for me. I was able to semi-straddle her (my skirt impeded a full straddle) and get in a good solid smack right across her face before Hop yanked me off and pulled me, kicking and hissing, away. Lenny, the body shop guy, got in between a scrambling to her feet Naomi and me as did Brick and Boz.
“You bitch!” she shrieked, barreling toward me but the boys closed ranks and she ran into them.
“I have more where that came from, Naomi!” I shouted my taunt, struggling against Hop’s hold.
“Bitch!” I heard.
“Fuckin’ stop, both ‘a you.”
This came from our sides. I stopped struggling against Hop’s hold and my head turned to see Dog standing there, his arms crossed on his chest but his eyes were aimed in Naomi’s direction.