He brought his hand to his face and traced the tattoos on the back of his hand with his eyes. It was almost too dark to see anything, and the only light was coming from the overhead light in the parking lot and the light at the entrance of the restaurant. Dixon’s had decent food, and it was a good pit stop to make. Even if she’d traipsed up and freaked him out, it’s not like he wouldn’t eat there in the morning. She had plans at the bed and breakfast already, so he was in the clear.
He leaned his head back against the driver’s seat and rolled down his window. He could hear the voices of a number of guys laughing amongst each other and walking with a swerve in their step as they left the bar. There was the jingling of keys, and he couldn’t help but shake his head to himself. Those idiots were looking to get killed. If they were in the middle of New York City they wouldn’t have survived a couple blocks being as drunk as they were. At least out in the countryside, it was likely that they’d make it home, hopefully by not taking the highway.
Jace never understood the stupidity of people that led average lives. Being out in the field, he had to learn to watch his back, take care of others, and try not to get killed. Now that he was back home, he always noticed people were asking to get killed by making dumbass decisions based on what their friends thought of them. It was ridiculous.
The door to the restaurant opened again and he saw the group of men turn around. He heard them holler and whistle. Jace leaned forward and peered over his steering wheel to get a better look. Seriously? It was that girl again. Yvette. She didn’t look drunk, but that summer dress wasn’t doing any favors when it came to those creeps.
He laid low so no one would see him. If anything, she’d just walk down the street to the bed and breakfast, and it'll all get figured out on it’s own. There was no reason for him to get involved. None at all.
“Hey, darlin’, where are you heading tonight?”
Jace gripped his steering wheel tighter and clenched his teeth. He really didn’t need to get involved. That was, until he watched them nearing her. Yvette pushed her dark hair back behind her shoulder and gave them a wide berth, trying to avoid them. It wasn’t working.
“Haven’t seen you around here before,” a guy with a trucker hat said, swerving as he walked towards her. “You should join us.”
Yvette was silent as she passed him, her shoulders slumped, as though she was caving into herself. Jace knew it was best to hold himself back until he knew she was in trouble. He’d been the type to jump the gun before, and it always ended up with him in a jail cell for the night. He was luckier than most, as his parents were always there to cushion the blow.
“C’mon,” another one of the guy’s said, this time a much shorter one with a pair of muddied workboots on, “join us.”
Yvette was almost past them when the man with the trucker hat put his hand out and grabbed her arm, nearly causing her to fall back. That was all Jace needed. That was his red flag. Yvette scrambled to pull herself away from him as Jace opened the car to his Mustang and slammed it behind himself, catching all of them off guard.
The guy removed his hand from Yvette’s arm and squared Jace, a sick grin on his face. “We got a problem here, buddy? Is she your girl or something?”
Jace formed his hand into a fist and turned to Yvette, who was stepping away from the situation. Just as she should. “Would it matter if she was my girl?”
“Well, if not, then I’d tell you to mind your own business,” he said, adjusting his trucker hat. “Especially when there’re things here that don’t concern you, buddy.”
“C’mon, Rick. This guy isn’t worth your time.”
Jace raised his eyebrows. “You should listen to your friend and walk away.”
Rick began to laugh and pointed at Jace. “You kidding me? You come up here into my town and think you can intimidate me? If you’re looking for a fight, buddy, I have no problem with taking you right here, right now.”
Jace kept silent, clenching his fist tighter. He’d been in these kinds of situations before. Big men at bars who thought taking on Marines would be a good time, as though they needed to show the world that they were real men. Most of the time they ended up on the ground, crying like toddlers.
Rick took another step forward and jerked his thumb towards Jace's car. “You should get back in your shitbox and get lost, while you still can.”
Jace just needed him to lift one finger his way, and his fist would introduce itself to the guy’s ugly face. He waited silently, like a predator waiting on its prey. Rick might’ve thought that he had the upper hand by moving closer, but in those moments he was walking towards Jace, he was actually letting down his guard.
Slowly, Jace got into a stance. Rick wasn’t backing off and neither was Jace. He knew exactly what to do the moment this drunk piece of shit took a swing. It was only a matter of time. Drunk people always did dumb shit, and this guy was no exception.
Rick stood up tall and shook his head. “Un-fucking-believable. You guys see this? We got a big man. I wonder just how good you are, huh?”
There it was. Jace dodged Rick’s punch, and as his fist blew by his face, Jace brought his fist to Rick’s right kidney, which the guy had left completely open. He heard Rick cough and, as he began to fall, Jace brought his other fist down across his face. There was the sick sound of crunching bones as Jace stepped back, barely breaking a sweat. Rick fell to the ground and Jace knew before he even looked down that Rick was knocked out and not getting up anytime soon.
Rick’s friends rushed to his side, but neither of the four said a word to Jace as they mumbled between each other. They knew their friend was in the wrong, and that Jace wasn’t to be messed with. It seemed they knew before Rick had thrown the first punch.
Jace left him on the ground and turned to Yvette, who had her hand over her mouth. He likely just scared the shit out of her. It didn’t matter. She was safe and she would get back in one piece, without having to deal with anyone else bothering her.
“You all right?”
She looked at him with an expression he hadn’t seen before. It was a mixture of shock and awe. He could only assume that she’d never seen a fight before. “Seriously? I wouldn’t say that I’m all right. A little freaked out? Yeah.”
He rubbed his knuckles, which were sure to swell and bruise throughout the night. “Come on. I’ll walk you home.”
She brought her arms across her chest and looked back to where Rick’s friends were helping him to his feet. Jace could see that his face was covered in blood, which was likely coming from his nose. The bone had jut into his knuckle as it had broken.
The sound of their footsteps as they walked towards the bed and breakfast was the only noise made between them. Jace could almost hear his own heartbeat, which was a little heightened after the fight. Yvette was dragging her feet, her head and eyes still lowered towards the ground. She’d caved into herself completely since she’d experienced the altercation with Rick.
“I hope you’re not mad.”
Jace turned to Yvette, whose eyes looked as though they were filling with tears. “Why the hell would I be mad? It’s not like you asked that guy to do that to you.”
“I don’t know. I just feel bad,” she said, and brushed her hair back behind her ear. “That guy went down pretty hard. I don’t want you to get into trouble, I guess.”