Rising (Anderson Special Ops #2) - Melody Anne Page 0,14

and flashed her a smile before grabbing himself.

“Don’t worry, baby doll, I’ll take care of your boyfriend over there, and then I’m going to show you a real good time. My friends might even want to have a taste when I’m done.”

She gasped as she staggered back. Brackish stood, as did the other four men at his table. He didn’t take his eyes away from the drunk leading his ridiculous gang.

“I’ve got this. You take care of the people in here in case in some alternate world, one of these idiots gets around me.”

“Are you showing off for the girl?” Eyes asked. There was a slight grin on his lips, showing he wasn’t at all worried about the losers in the diner, but his humor didn’t negate his readiness for action. Even idiots could get in a lucky shot once in a while.

“Nope, just not going to let anyone talk to my woman that way,” Brackish said. He’d have to think about the fact he was referring to her as his woman later. That wasn’t what he’d been expecting to come out of his mouth.

“Yep. Totally get it,” Eyes said. The joking had ended.

Brackish was the least combat trained of his team since he was the tech guru, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know how to fight. And beyond that, these men before him had zero training. They relied on brute force and intimidation with numbers. Brackish was smart and fast — not Smoke fast, but fast, nonetheless.

“Have you guys been waiting for us to return?” Brackish asked. Who waited a month for a fight? Well, he and his team would, but not for something like this.

“I live in the trailer park across the street over there and we’ve been keeping an eye on things,” the idiot said as if he was proud of his commitment.

This diner was off the freeway about forty miles from Seattle. All that was in this location was a truck stop gas station and an RV park that had seen better days. Of course this man lived nearby. Brackish was grateful he hadn’t returned until now when Brackish was there to protect Erin. The man wanted to think he was getting one up on Brackish who’d humiliated him.

“Please leave this diner. I don’t want any problems,” Erin said as she took a step forward, trying to calm the situation. Brackish was more than impressed with her backbone. He also wanted to throw her over his shoulder and haul her away from danger.

“We’re not going anywhere without you,” the drunk replied. She glared at him as she took another step forward. Brackish gave Smoke a look. That’s all it took for Smoke to step away from the group and move over to her, not touching her but creating a human wall between her and the men. She muttered something to him but didn’t attempt to go around him.

“You have one chance to get the hell out of here while still on your feet,” Brackish said. He made sure to look each of them in the eyes. “I promise you if you come at me, bones will be broken.”

The lead drunk laughed, too stupid to be afraid. Chew-colored spit dripped down his chin, landing on his stained shirt. Brackish was disgusted knowing he was going to have these men’s odor on him. Why couldn’t properly hygienic pieces of shit ever pick a fight? Nope. It was always the smelly ones.

“You’re going to be the one leaving here on a stretcher,” Drunk Number One said. “But I’ll visit you in the hospital and tell ya how good Erin was.”

The man holding the Jack took a large swig before handing it to Drunk Number One. He took a swallow, wiped the back of his hand against his mouth, then handed the bottle back before stepping forward.

Shit! Brackish needed to do this with as little damage as possible to this place Erin loved. But he wasn’t sure that would be possible.

“Okay, if we’re going to do this, can you at least have enough respect to step outside?” Brackish asked.

This made all of their group laugh. “You’re a real comedian, aren’t you?” Drunk Number Three said as he slapped some wire against the palm of his hand. Drunk Number One decided to make his move.

He moved in close and looked away, alerting Brackish he was about to swing. Brackish took an indiscernible half step back, set his foundation, and waited. Sure enough, Drunk Number One came around with a sloppy