toward the truck in the nearly empty parking lot, he noticed a group of guys near his truck. His guard was raised instantly. “Wait here,” he said sternly. “Do not come closer until I tell you it’s okay.” He peeled her off his arm and looked her in the eyes. What he saw there surprised him. Instead of seeing fear in her eyes, he saw determination. “Is that your game face?” He asked.
Nodding, Marti said, “Don’t worry. I’ve got your back.”
He sighed. “Just stay here. I won’t be able to concentrate if I have to worry about you getting hurt.”
He walked over to the vehicle. The guys finally noticed him and froze. They were in the process of breaking into his truck. And now he was in the uncomfortable position of interrupting them. When he glanced at the tool box on the driver side, Joe discovered that it had been opened. Luckily, that was the side with the nails and caulk and screws. All of the hand power tools were stored on the other side.
“What are you doing?” He asked. His voice was stern, serious. Many times guys like these would simply run away. Other times, the guys would buck, try to fight their way out of the situation. Now it was just going to take a moment for him to figure out which case this was. He had Marti to worry about. He crossed his arms over his chest and planted himself as a barrier in between them and her.
“Get out of here,” one of the guys said menacingly.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” he said calmly.
One of the larger guys stepped forward. “And why is that?” He sneered.
“Well, for starters, it’s my truck.” And he stepped forward, too.
Apparently he was dealing with the fighters. Great. And he was only outnumbered by three to one. He stepped forward one more time. It was on. The biggest guy lunged at him, but Joey was ready. He went low and hefted the guy up and slammed him on his back on the grassy median. In seconds, he had straddled him and was punching him in the face. The guy’s friends reacted immediately. Instead of trying to pull Joey off, one guy started kicking him and another jumped on his back.
That was all Marti needed to see. Without thinking, without considering what Joey had told her to do, she rushed into the fray. She grabbed the shoulders of the guy who was kicking Joey and yanked him back and away. He reacted by pulling his fist back and preparing to hit until he realized it was a woman who had pulled him away. “Fair fight!” She yelled. “Stay out of it.”
Then she went to the guy who was on Joey’s back and pushed him off. He reared back to hit but she just stood her ground, convinced no one would hit her because of her gender. Last time she was right. This time…she was wrong. She took a hard fist to the jaw before he realized the error of his ways. Joey had reared up to get the guy off his back just as Marti pushed him off. And then the fist connected with her face. It happened so suddenly.
She stood there as her head whipped around. She didn’t have time to block or react. She was too proud to cry or fall. She stood there with her face burning. The inside of her cheek felt like ground beef, the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth, and Joey was instantly enraged. He had grabbed the guy who hit her and threw him to the ground. Something about the look in his eyes told her he was in a blind rage, completely unaware of what he was doing. Two of the three thieves were bleeding. It might have been all three, but the one guy came to his senses and ran away.
Finally he stopped hitting. He stood and moved away from the guys rolling around moaning. And he walked over to Marti with his hands outstretched, palms cupped. She knew he wanted to examine her face.
“Dammit,” he grumbled. “I told you to stay out of it. Why can’t you ever listen to me? Now you’re hurt!” He felt her cheek bone, her jaw. “I don’t think anything is broken. We’ll see how you look in the morning before we decide whether or not to go to the hospital.” He sighed and drew her close to his chest. “Okay, let’s get you home.