Page 37 of Hammer and Hops

I feinted left and ducked as he swiped at me again, this time from the right, but I had him off his game by punching instead of wrestling. I kicked at the knee again, hoping to catch him off guard, and just as I did, Alfred managed to stomp on the other guy’s instep. He let out a yelp and let go of Alfred. That provided a better distraction, and I took advantage of it.

I punched the jerk in the face and followed that with yet another kick to the knee. He went down then, grabbing his leg. I kicked him again for good measure. “Leave Everett alone.”

Sheriff Clay and two of his officers barged in. “Everyone, stop. Stay where you are”

I held my hands up and so did Alfred. Everett was on the floor, holding his head. “He had Ever pinned to the floor.”

“Shut up, Cameron.” He grabbed the guy by the shoulder and pulled him up, while one of his uniformed officers, Jesse, cuffed the guy.

Alfred pointed at the guy who had been holding him. “That one too. He assaulted me.”

After both were cuffed and hauled off, Clay looked at my face. “Get that looked at, Cam.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’m going to need all three of you to make statements.”

I helped Everett off the floor. “We have everything on camera.” He pointed at a few spots around the room. “Hidden cameras everywhere. Including one that shows where he touched the sink.”

“Tape this entire area off, Jesse.” Clay waved around the room. “Send your employees home.” He nodded to Everett.

“They’re only a clean-up crew, but yeah. Then we’ll be over.”

He shook Everett’s hand before he left.

“I’m assuming that was the culprit you were talking about?” I asked.

Everett nodded. “It was. Or is.”

“Who is he?” An unfamiliar rage simmered below the surface. I so rarely had feelings that dark or intense, and I almost didn’t recognize them. I hadn’t felt anything strongly since my sister died. Maybe what had happened to her started me on a path of compartmentalizing, shoving shit down and not dealing with it. I didn’t know for sure; had never thought about it. But I understood the intensity now. I wanted to tear that man apart. It was probably a good thing the police arrived when they did, because that fuckwad dared to touch my man, and he was going down.

“A competitor from the city.”

Alfred snorted. “Seems like he wants to blame someone for his failures and lashed out at Everett.”

“Uh, well, I have to admit, I kind of had a fling with him. But then he started talking business, and I wasn’t interested. His brewery is small and the beer is horrible.” He made a face, sticking out his tongue.

“I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of all this. Maybe get some ice on those faces before heading over to the Sheriff’s Office.” Alfred clapped Everett’s shoulder.

“Thanks for your help with all of this,” Everett said.

“I just hope it’s over now,” I added.

Alfred and Everette said, “Me too.”

But his words, “I kind of had a fling with him,” reverberated through my head. Fling? Why hadn’t he mentioned this before? It was probably insignificant, but my jealousy was turning a little irrational. I didn’t want to picture them together. At all.

Chapter thirty-one

In The Office – Everett

About half an hour later, the cleaning crew, the rest of the police officers, and Alfred all left. Now it was my turn to take care of Cameron for a change. I led him into the bathroom, where I gently washed his face. We had a first aid kit there, and I cracked it open. I cleaned him up, spread Neosporin on his cuts, and then went to the break room for ice.

He sat on the counter, with his head back since his nose wanted to bleed again. “Here. Hold this one.” I helped him get the ice where it was most needed. I enjoyed babying him a little, especially after all he’d done for me. I ran my fingers through his hair.

“I could get used to this, you know?” He smiled, then immediately winced.

“I’m sure you could. How about coming to my office where you can get used to a few more things?”