I stopped laughing, her words hitting me like I was a cartoon character standing at the bottom of the cliff and the anvil fell on my head.
I didn’t get the chance to crawl out from under because, shockingly, Mindy was suddenly yanked violently from the table.
“Hey!” Arlene exclaimed, hopping off her stool and I turned.
A tall, good-looking, dark-haired boy-man with scarily bulging biceps that did not look attractively powerful, just scary, had his fingers wrapped tight around Mindy’s upper arm.
“Big, bad Max moved you out today, did he?” he sneered in Mindy’s face, giving her a shake.
I hopped off my stool too as Arlene rounded on Mindy and the man.
“Damon, leave her be,” Arlene ordered.
“Fuck off, Arlene,” he clipped at Arlene and her upper body drew back in visible affront.
“You eat with that mouth, Damon Matthews?” she demanded to know.
“This ain’t your business.”
“Well,” I got up close to them and declared quietly, “it’s mine.”
He swung to me and gave me a head to toe. “Yeah? Who’re you?”
“I’m Nina Sheridan,” I announced like I was saying, “I’m SuperGirl.”
Damon was not impressed. “So?”
“She’s Max’s woman,” Arlene proclaimed and this wasn’t taken favorably by Damon.
“Fuck,” he muttered low, his eyes narrow and not leaving me. “That asshole gets all the sweet pieces.”
“What’s going on?” Becca arrived before anyone could say word one to his rude comment and Damon swung to her.
“You fuck off too, bitch.”
“Did you call me a bitch?” Becca shrieked, instantly beside herself with fury and I got closer in an effort to defuse the situation.
“Listen, Damon –” I started but he jostled Mindy and began to move away.
“We gotta have words,” he told Mindy, ignoring me.
“Damon, I told you, we’re on a break for a week,” Mindy said softly, planting her feet, twisting her arm in his hold and he stopped and glared at her.
“Funny, you get nailed in Denver and we’re suddenly on a break.”
Mindy went solid, Becca went solid, Arlene went solid.
I, on the other hand, saw red for the third time in my life and moved.
“Take your hand off her,” I insisted, having got right in his face.
“Fuck off,” he bit out, right in mine.
“Take your hand off her!” I yelled.
He leaned into me and clipped, “Fuck… off.”
I got more in his face. “Take it off. Now!”
He took it off and shoved my shoulder, shouting back, “Bitch! Fuck! Off!”
I went back on a foot and, so furious at what he said to Mindy not thinking that, boy-man or not, he was bigger than me and his biceps were scary, I lifted both hands and pushed with all my might against his chest.
He went back two long paces and I shouted, “That’s it, asshole, move along!”
Without delay, he took two steps forward, his arm went across, down and then swung out and around, backhanding me viciously, his knuckles connecting with dazzling accuracy at my cheekbone.
I jerked to the side and bent double, my hand going to my face, my hair flying then settling around me, my eyes blinking away stars.
I was still blinking away stars when I heard Mindy cry, “Max!” and then Max’s gravelly, frighteningly furious voice order, “See to Nina.”
Then I straightened as I felt Arlene’s hands on me and I watched Max do with one hand what I had to do with two. He planted his palm in Damon’s chest and Damon went flying. Max stalked after him and did it again and Damon went flying again.
“This ain’t your business, Maxwell,” Damon snapped, trying to evade Max’s hand but, as if it was a magnet and Damon was steel, Max’s hand hit his chest again and Damon was propelled back, right toward the door.
“You okay?” Arlene asked me and all I could think to say was, “Max.”
“Come on!” Becca shouted, grabbed my hand and Mindy, Becca, Arlene and I rushed to the door Max hustled Damon out of.
We were followed by a slew of people.
I didn’t notice because the minute we hit the parking lot and shuffled between two cars to get to the open area I saw Max’s fist connect with Damon’s face and Damon went down to all fours.
“Enough?” Max asked calmly and Damon’s head twisted up to look at him.
Then he rose to his feet, lifted his fists and said what I was guessing were two of the very few words in his vocabulary, “Fuck you!”
He lunged forward swinging, Max ducked away but righted with a powerful upper cut to Damon’s ribs and Damon went back several paces.
Max followed him and landed two more blows, left then right, both to the ribs again then another one to the face and Damon went back down to his hands and knees.
“Enough?” Max repeated, towering over him.
Damon was coughing and he lifted one hand to his ribs then he pushed to his feet.
“Damon, boy, stay the fuck down,” a man urged.
“Come on, Maxwell,” Damon taunted stupidly, wriggling his fingers at Max.
“Be smart,” Max replied.
“Fuck that,” Damon said and lunged again, lifting a fist too slowly, Max easily deflected it then landed quick blows to Damon’s belly, both of them causing Damon to expel painful-sounding “oofs”. Then Max caught him under the chin and Damon flew back and fell down to his behind.
“Stay down!” another man shouted.
“Enough?” Max asked, standing over him.
Damon kicked at Max’s feet but Max casually stepped away.
“Dick!” Damon spat, saliva flying from his mouth, blood dripping from his lip.
“I asked if you’ve had enough?” Max said to him.
“Enough of that twat, Mindy?” Damon sneered and Max’s body, loose for the fight, got tight.
“You’re the dick!” Becca yelled and I looked to my left to see Arlene and another lady had hold of her and she was straining to get at Damon. I looked to my right to see Mindy, pale and visibly heartbroken, staring at Damon and Max.
I moved to Mindy and put my arms around her, she instantly leaned into my body, wrapped her arms around me and put her head to my shoulder.
“You’ve had enough,” Max decided on a mutter, turned away, dismissing him and his eyes came to Mindy and me and even though I knew he wasn’t mad at me the look on his face still made me shiver. “Jeep,” he clipped.
I nodded. “I’ll run and get our purses.”
“I’ll get them for you,” another lady said and took off.
Damon pushed to his feet behind Max.
“Max, he’s up,” a man informed him and Max, now two feet away from Mindy and me, turned around.
“Come back tomorrow, asshole, get all her shit. Don’t want her back,” Damon said to Max, swiping at his lip with the back of his hand.
Mindy made a funny, sad noise and my arms got tighter.
“Her name’s only one on the lease, Damon, figure you should get your shit out. I’ll be there, you give me the keys,” Max called back.
“I ain’t fuckin’ movin’,” Damon returned.
“Then you get home from work tomorrow, your shit’ll be in the snow,” Max told him.
“Touch my shit, we got problems,” Damon threatened.
“We don’t already got problems?” Max asked the obvious.
Damon glared at him then made another threat, “This ain’t over.”
“Damon, be cool, stand down,” someone advised but Max, apparently, had had enough.
He walked back to Damon and Damon tried not to appear to cower and mostly succeeded since he didn’t retreat but he still looked a bit scared.
“You mistreated what amounts to my sister and backhanded my woman, how is it in that scenario that you’re put out?” Max asked quietly but loud enough for everyone to hear.