Page 9 of The Thug And His Doll

“His teddy. It’s in his car seat.”

“Right. I’ll grab that too,” I reply, and with that I turn on my heel and head back out into the bar.

As I step into the heaving crowd, the music from the Princetown Bandits is loud enough to burst an eardrum, and I ask myself why I chose this place to have a serious heart-to-heart with my best mate, but thankful I did given the circumstances.

As I pass by the bar, Ben, my friend, owner of this bar, and Princetown Bandits Manager, motions me over. “You got a minute?” he shouts out over the din, whilst simultaneously pulling a pint.

“Not right now, Ben. Got something I need to do,” I shout back, nudging my way through the crowd and heading out into the carpark. Whatever he needs it’ll have to wait. Lia and Toby come first.

Lia and Toby come first…

Huffing out a breath, I question why this woman and her son are having this affect on me, but here I am, so I’ll just fucking go with it and figure the rest out later.

I spot Lia’s car immediately, the tin rust-bucket looks about as safe as the clapped out old bangers me and Dalton used to drive around his father’s estate when we were teenagers. I stopped racing cars for fun when I realised I wasn’t actually all that good at it. But Dalton? He went from cars to motorbikes, and continues to compete when he’s not fucking women, managing the hotel, or pissing his father off. He’s actually pretty good.

Opening up the door I find the suitcase exactly where Lia had said it would be. Unzipping it, I pull out the Smurf pyjamas and grab a pair of the tiniest underpants I’ve ever seen, figuring if he’s shit himself he’s gonna need them. There are also some baby wipes tucked into the pocket on the back of the driver’s seat, so I grab them too.

Slamming the door shut, I open up the front passenger door, and grab the teddy Toby was desperate for, taking a moment to check out the rest of the items in the car. Even if the kid hadn’t given the game away, there’s no doubt that she’s run. Two suitcases are piled in the boot of the car, as well as a box of what look like cookery books, a couple of woollen throws, and some toys.

“Now what, genius?” I ask myself as I tuck the teddy and Toby’s clothes under my arm, and lock the car.

“You stay the fuck out of my bar!” a familiar voice shouts from behind me.

I turn around to find Ben facing off with a guy who is clearly looking for some trouble tonight. He’s gesticulating aggressively towards my friend who remains unflinching, glaring back at him.

Without hesitation, I place the items I’m holding onto the roof of Lia’s car and jog over to them.

“What’s happening here?” I growl, catching Ben giving me a look I know only too well.

This one’s a wildcard, and whilst I know that my friend is more than capable of dealing with the dickhead, I’m not afraid to step in when the need arises.

“What the fuck has it got to do with you?” the man retorts, whirling on me.

He’s a big bastard, as tall as me, and also under the influence of alcohol, and probably cocaine, given the wild look in his eyes. It’s a dangerous combination.

“You clearly aren’t from around here, because if you were, mate,” I add, my nostrils flaring, “You’d know not to fuck with me or my friends.”

“Fuck you,” he laughs, his glassy eyes narrowing at me.

“Seriously, get out of here,” I warn, losing my patience fast.

“I ain’t going nowhere until that bitch gives me what I want,” he snarls back. “What’s a man gotta do to get a bit of pussy around here?”

I glance at Ben who sneers at the prick. “This arsehole won’t take no for an answer. Tried roughing the woman up when she refused his offer of a dance.”

“I see,” I reply, turning my attention back to the prick, anger boiling in my chest. “So you think you can go around assaulting women?”

“This ain’t got shit all to do with you.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. Now fuck off!”

“Whatcha gonna do, make me?” he asks, pulling a knife from his back pocket and jabbing it towards me.

Before the fucker is even able to get close enough, I’ve grabbed his wrist with both of my hands, pushing his arm out from his body, and land a brutal kick to his groin, kneeing him in the stomach for good measure. He lets out a roar, falling to his knees with a loud crack. I’m no stranger to jerks like this, or men carrying weapons, and I act with confidence, twisting his arm behind his back, bending it painfully. With a cry of pain he releases the knife, and I kick it away from his body in one smooth motion.

“That was fucking stupid,” I snap, more pissed off that he’s tried to assault a woman, and has kept me from Lia and Toby, than the fact he’s just tried to gut me.

“Get the fuck out of here, and don’t come back!” Ben warns.

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