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He came back for more, giving me a trifecta of knocked out men. My hand throbbed as Nelson hit the floor with a thud.
“How do you do that?” Clay shook his hand.
“I’ll show you later.”
Finally, there were only six people feeling rowdy. Once they saw the people laid out flat on the beer-splattered floor, three of them wisely made tracks for the front door.
“Aww.” Hayes put his hands on his hips and leaned forward to take a deep breath. “I was just getting started.”
Justin slapped his back. “You did pretty good, old man.”
“Fuck you.” Hayes shoved him back. “I’m only eighteen months older than you.”
Justin dabbed at a bit of blood in the corner of his mouth. “Still slower than me.”
Hayes stood up straight. “I’m not the one bleeding, now am I?”
“No, but you’re winded—that’s the old part.” Justin stepped over one of the men on the floor and leaned on the bar. “Heya, Ruby.”
“Send that charm over to the table of ladies watching from over there, baby Manning.”
Justin looked over at the quartet of girls giggling, then he turned back to the bartender, his teeth a slash of white in his scruffy face. “Aww, why won’t you give me a chance, Ruby Rose?”
“You couldn’t handle me.” Ruby set a beer in front of him. “Free beer if you drag John off the floor there and put him outside.”
“Deal.” He bent down and hauled up the man he’d just stepped over.
The man swayed a little before shaking his head. “What happened?”
“Time to go, my man.” Justin gripped him by the upper arm and helped him across the room.
I braced as one of the last of the feisty ones stood in front of me.
He looked around and saw most of his friends were either unconscious or nursing wounds. He held up his hands. “I’m good, man.”
Finally.
I rubbed my aching rib, but when he started to walk away, I hauled him back by the neck of his jacket. “Put something in the tip jar for the trouble your friends caused.”
The man’s eyes went wide, but then he pulled out a crumpled bill and stuck it in the big green jar on the bar. “Right. Sure.” Then he practically ran for the door.
Just like that, the conversations started back up. People sat down and returned to their pub grub and drinks.
I picked up a stool and sat down on it, then I kicked Nelson who was still on the floor in front of me.
“Don’t give him any more brain damage.” Ruby set a draft of beer in front of me.
“Too late.” I lifted my glass and took a long swallow.
Clay sat next to me. He smiled at Ruby, then he winced. “That lumberjack looking one has a hell of a left hook.” He wiggled his jaw.
“Glass jaw.”
“Shut up.” He nodded gratefully at the bartender as she set another draft in front of him. “Thanks.”
Hayes collapsed next to him. “Hey, Clay.”
“Hayes.”
