Page 11 of Teach Me Your Ways

5

GRADY

“Apologize,” I said, my voice low and controlled. The kid dangled in my grip like a fish on a hook, his feet barely touching the floor.

“What the hell? Dude, let go⁠—”

“I said apologize.” I gave him a little shake, just enough to rattle his teeth. “You called her a bitch. Tell her you’re sorry.”

The other two idiots were on their feet now, puffing up like roosters. One of them stepped forward. “Hey, man, back off. We were just talking to her.”

“No,” I said without taking my eyes off the kid in my hands. “You were bothering her. She told you to leave. You didn’t listen.”

Felix watched from behind the bar, probably calculating whether he needed to call the cops or just sweep up the pieces when I was done. The redhead—the woman they’d been harassing—sat perfectly still, her beer in her hand, watching the whole thing with interest.

“Look, we don’t want any trouble,” the tall gangly fucker said, his voice cracking slightly.

“Then you should’ve thought of that before you started harassing a woman,” I said coldly.

The moment I heard “bitch,” I was already moving. Didn’t matter how far across the floor I was. That word pissed me off and I would have stood up for any of my patrons who had been called that in anger. It wasn’t just because she was beautiful.

“Who the fuck are you?” asked the third kid that I had almost forgotten about.

“I’m the owner,” I growled, nose to nose with him. “And nobody disrespects women in my bar.”

His eyes bugged out. “Hey, man⁠—”

“You apologize to the lady,” I said, giving him another shake.

He struggled, flailing a little like he thought he had a chance. After a summer spent hacking through brush and digging trenches in jungle heat, I was made of solid granite and the guy might as well have been made of packing peanuts.

“Let me go!”

“Tell her you’re sorry,” I said, shaking him harder. “You can say it or I’m calling the cops and you can learn manners the hard way.”

His mouth opened like he was going to comply, which was almost disappointing. I was spoiling for some action. Not a brawl. Just a little extra excitement. Then he swung at me.

It wasn’t even a good punch. It connected with my jaw in a glancing, messy kind of way. Like a kitten batting at a tiger. It barely turned my head. I was seriously disappointed. He was making not only him look bad, but what kind of man would I be if I beat the shit out of an annoying little gnat like him?

As much as he deserved an ass-whooping, I let go of him and shoved him hard. He landed on the floor like a sack of laundry, groaning and trying to get to his feet. His two little backup dancers advanced at once, all puffed-out chests and bad decisions. They ended up knocking over the woman’s table in the process. Her beer dumped right down the front of her shirt.

She gasped and jumped back, soaked from shoulder to stomach. That ruined shirt was now clinging to her like a second skin. And fuck me, it showed off a black lacy bra that was suddenly visible through the pink shirt that was pretty much transparent now.

And now she was on display and that pissed me off. They didn’t deserve to see her bra or anything else.

“Big mistake, boys,” I said, turning toward them.

They hesitated when they saw the fury on my face. I could practically hear the confidence leaking out of them like a deflating balloon. Lenny, my bouncer, had finally decided to bring his ass out of the bathroom and was now stalking toward us. Poor Lenny. We didn’t get a lot of excitement in The Library. The typical drunk frat kids but nothing too violent. This was his lucky night.

Then came Felix. Five-foot-six, full of attitude, and holding an aluminum bat like he was ready to swing for the fences.

“Apologize,” I said again, pointing at the one still on the floor.

He glared at me but I saw him doing a little mental math. Technically, it was three on three but Lenny counted for three and Felix had a bat. And then there was me. I could have handled all three of these losers on my own.

“Sorry,” he finally muttered.

“Louder,” I snapped. “Like you fucking mean it.”