The Brawl Read online

  Copyright © 2015 by Davida Lynn. All rights reserved.

  Cover design by Davida Lynn, Photograph by R+M Photography.

  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Also By Davida Lynn:

  The Rising Sons Universe:

  The Rising Sons Motorcycle Club

  Rising Sons - The Virtues Series:

  Book One: Hope

  Book Two: Faith

  Book Three: Charity

  Rising Sons - The Davis Chapter

  Book One - Patience

  Book Two - Temperance

  Book Three - Reverence

  Detroit Heat:

  Book One: Kade’s Rescue

  Book Two: Rico’s Recovery

  Book Three: Jonah’s Rescue

  Standalone Work:

  Outlaw Country

  Brutal

  Visions of Tomorrow

  Acknowledgements

  A big shout out to my writing partner Rayna Bishop, my faithful companion in telling stories. She keeps me honest and true.

  To Donna and Jilly Bean. To all the ladies that push me through the madness day after day. What a wild ride it is beside you wonderful women!

  Colton’s body wavered as he spoke. “Hey man, he insulted me.” He enunciated every word, compensating for the booze flowing through his system. He forced his eyes to remain open wide, so he could watch the men he was about to fight. They could charge him at any moment. It took every bit of concentration to keep his tall frame steady. His heart was thundering, his muscles tensing and relaxing beneath his western shirt.

  Colton’s older brother, Kitt, shook his head. His words were stone sober and even, “He said you were wasted. That’s not an insult, brother, that’s a fact.”

  Staring through glazed eyes for a second, Colton shrugged, “Well, I feel insulted. Plus he was trashin’ on those ladies in there.” Colton Wade’s Southern accent was thicker than the honey bourbon he’d been downing for the last hour. He was celebrating, because it had been one hell of a show. Sell-out crowd of over twenty-five hundred screaming fans.

  He was also celebrating the redhead that had blown him right before he went on stage. That was one for the memoirs. What was her name? Sheila? Fuck it, I’ll call her Sheila in the book. Colton smiled at that thought.

  He could see the four men across from him react to his smile. He didn’t care. Colton had already sized up all four men. The big one might be a threat, but the others were in for a world of hurt. They shouldn’t go callin’ out strangers, especially when those strangers look like me and Kitt.

  “How was he trashing the women?” Kitt turned to Colton, his curiosity getting the better of them.

  Colton was always known for flawless drunk logic. With a shrug, he gave his older brother a wicked smile. He knew the look on Kitt’s face. He was playing with Colton, and Colton indulged.

  “Well, first he called her sweetheart. I can live with that. You know how it is. Tryna get the waitress’s attention and all. So she’s busy helping us, and hear him use the C word.” Colton laughed a drunken laugh that came up like a burp. “Kitt, you know me.” Colton leaned forward, moving a leg out to steady himself. “I am a connoisseur of women. A fine purveyor, if you will. Love ‘em all.”

  Turning from his older brother, Colton smiled at one of the pretty young things that had crowded around the dirt outside the bar. Fights always attracted crowds; dinner and a show. She wore a bandana that held down blonde hair like a waterfall at sunset. Fuck, that’s good. Remember that one in the morning, it’d make a killer lyric. Colton made a mental note. The blonde caught his eye, and he gave her a wink.

  Kitt laughed, “I know you’re drunk, now. Don’t nobody use words like that unless they’re completely soused.”

  Taking in the blonde for one last second, Colton turned back to his brother, a mock hurt look on his face, “Kitt, you tryna hurt my feelings? Cause it’s workin’.”

  Kitt returned the look of bullshit feelings, “Oh no, little brother. Your feelings are hurt? Let me call the whambulance. Let me hop on Twitter and tell the world that outlaw country singer Colton Wade got his feels all banged up. Boo fuckin’ hoo.”

  Colton bent forward with laughter. As he did, he watched the crowd as they tried to take in what was happening in front of them. The four assholes that wanted to fight hadn’t budged an inch. They were already beaten in Colton’s mind. The Wade brothers already had the psychological advantage. Nobody fucks with the Wade Brothers. When Colton forced himself upright, he was smiling at the thought.

  One of the antagonists dropped his hands down. They had been up in his best impression of a boxer. Gerald hadn’t been in a fight since the third grade, and even that was more pushing and shoving than anything else. The only thing he had over the Wade Brothers was the fact that he only had one beer inside of him. He was stone sober compared to the cocky singer.

  His buddies Earl, Billy, and Jimmy Vee kept their hands up but glanced back and forth to each other. Earl was a farmhand, and it showed. Jimmy was a welder, muscular but lean. Earl and Jimmy had seen more action than Gerald, and they were prepared for anything. Earl had a scar down his left calf from a knife fight a few years back. Some immigrant and strolled into town and walked around like he owned the place. The fence-jumper got what was coming to him, but not after giving Earl a scar he’d wear for the rest of his life.

  The three locals stood, confused as the two brothers bantered like they weren’t about to get beat into the dust. “Are we doin’ this or ain’t we?” Gerry was sick of the bullshiting back and forth between the two. His adrenaline was pumping, and he had psyched himself up plenty. The city-slickers were barely standing, and Gerald’s gang had two men up on them.

  “Fuck ‘em up, Ger!” Someone from the crowd called out.

  Gerry felt a surge of pride and an additional boost of adrenaline. They were going to teach the big time rockstars a thing or two about respecting the locals.

  Colton spun in that direction, “Alright, who’s the naysayer? Ain’t we got anyone on our side, here?” He laughed through the last question, resting his hand on his brother’s shoulder. His view turned back to the blonde. He gave her that winning smile, looking for a reaction from her. She was standing next to some jerk-off, but the body language said she’d rather be somewhere else. The hottie had her arms crossed over her flannel shirt chest, and she was holding her weight on the foot opposite the douche.

  When she gave Colton the inkling of a smile, he gave her a nod, despite how heavy his head felt. “Pleased to meet ya, little darlin’. Djou come to the show t’night?” She smiled, but it was sad. Colton cocked his head at that sight. He may have been a womanizer, but he never did nothin’ to hurt a lady, and that beautiful butterfly had hurt in her eyes. That’s when Colton looked to the jag bag standing beside the beauty.

  Her mouth opened, but the jerk-off boyfriend was quicker, “Hey, don’t talk to my fuckin’ girlfriend.” She looked to the ground in a hurry, her mouth shutting. Man, this town fuckin’ blows, Colton thought. He may have been a playboy from top to bottom, but treating a woman like he owned her was one thing Colton never did. Fucked ‘em into submission, sure, but never treated them like an object. Remembering the reason they were outside in the first place, Colt turned back to the three dickheads.

  “Four against two. Now, that don’t seem fair, do it Kitt?” Colton had a grin on his face that made the leader of the group twist his head to the side. The drunk rocker looked downright cocky. Colton could almost read the asshole’s face. It looked like he was itchin’ to say, “You’re outnumbered, off kilter, and cocky to boot? F
uckin’ asshole’s gonna get what was coming to him.” Bring it on, asshole. Bring it on.

  Gerald looked to the older brother, whose eyes were hidden beneath his stetson. The smile on that one’s face scared Gerry. That one was stone sober and built like a brick shithouse. Solid muscle from top to bottom, and he hadn’t flinched once since stepping outside.

  The cool night air made Kitt feel every bit of sweat on the back of his neck as they stood outside the bar. It didn’t matter how many fights he got into, his heart always pounded. It wasn’t nerves, and it wasn’t fear. Even with his younger brother drunk of his ass, the two of them would have no problem dispatching the four local yokels that decided to pick a fight with the Wade brothers.

  Kitt looked up, his stinging eyes making regret begin to surface in Gerry’s mind. A light outside the club seemed to reflect in those eyes, making the older brother seem cat-like and dangerous. “Don’t seem fair at all. I’ve walked away from fights with men twice their size.”

  The older brother turned to the crowd, his pearly whites showing, “Anyone want to join them? Huh? It’d be a real shame to watch your friends get their asses kicked, ‘specially knowing you coulda done your part to help.” The dozen or so outside the bar didn’t say a word. Of the twelve, eight were men, all with adrenaline pumping in their veins like animals on the hunt. They were more than content watching the fight, though.

  Turning back to the men, Kitt shrugged, “I offered. Sorry. Last chance, assholes. Apologize to the waitress, and this ends here and now. Colt and I just got done rockin’ the fuck outta this little berg, and we’d oblige you to let us leave in peace. If not? That’s on you.”

  Colton and Kitt watched the men do their best to think. Their minds worked slow, like ungreased gears struggling to move for the first time in years. The Wade brothers wanted nothing more than to go back inside, finish off the round, and drag themselves to the motel. The hayseeds were the only thing standing in their way. It was up to Gerry, Earl, Billy, and Jimmy Vee

  The men looked at each other, all looking for weakness in the others’ eyes. One chink in the armor was all it took, but they were prideful men, and not one of them wanted to be the one to admit fear. Earl, Billy, and Jimmy Vee all turned their foggy eyes to the man in the middle, Gerry. He, in turn, looked back at Colton and Kitt. The twelve people had turned into something closer to twenty. They were all standing outside the Tipping Cow, the tension swelling. Not one heart rate slowed.

  “Bring it, you good for nothing fucks!” Gerry ran forward, shouting the words like a rallying cry.

  Kitt wanted to shake his head. They were always so eager to try and tackle. Rookie mistake, he thought as he took in the man’s step. The asshole who started this whole mess was light on his feet, and even though he was putting his shoulder down to ram into Kitt, there’d be no real weight behind it. Kitt could easily throw his nearly two hundred pounds into the man and drive him straight into the ground. Rookie mistake.

  Two of the men were coming at him, and the other two were going after Colton. Kitt turned away from his brother the second that the fight began. Colton could handle himself, even when he was far too drunk to drive. There was something instinctual in him that made Kitt’s younger brother a beast. It came out when Colton was singing in front of a crowd of thousands, or when he was fighting in front of a crowd of tens. Kitt smiled, knowing that this crowd was in for a show nearly as good as the one on stage.

  Julia’s body had come alive at those words from Colton Wade. When he spoke to her, the young blonde’s back arched, and she suddenly became very aware of the movement of her breasts with each breath. Chad had cut her off before she could answer. She had been at the show, dragging Chad along like he was a ball and chain. She had been a fan of Colton and the band ever since hearing about the incident where he drunkenly drove a stolen tractor into an in-ground pool.

  Her’s eyes went wide as she watched the four local boys go after Colton Wade and his brother. She wanted to jump in between them all and end it, but after a few drinks, the townies were unstoppable. Besides all of that, Chad had a death grip on her upper arm. She tried to pull away, causing him to only squeeze harder. There’d be bruises in the morning. She watched as Gerry and Earl went after Colton’s brother. Jimmy and Billy headed straight for Colton. Jimmy was tall, but he looked like a tree stump compared to Colton’s six foot eight frame. She silently cheered for the Wade brothers. The country music show had been one thing, but watching Gerry get his ass kicked would be a real kicker.

  The rock star had been swaying like wheat in a field, but when the words ended, he straightened right up. He looked over and gave the cute blonde a smirk, making her think that the drunkenness might have been an act all along. She clenched her fists as Jimmy and Billy came for him.

  Jimmy Vee charged at Colton first, with Billy right behind. The singer was tall, but still managed to duck beneath the long hook. Jimmy cut through the air and nothing else. Colton, on the other hand moved his torso up, bringing a clenched fist with him. Colton sunk deep into Jimmy’s gut, and the skinny kid let out an Ooof as the uppercut connected with his stomach. The shots of tequila threatened to abandon him as Jimmy staggered backwards.

  He remained on his feet for a second, but by dumb luck, doubled over just when Colton brought his left fist around to connect with Jimmy Vee. He felt the wind from Colton’s fist on the back of his neck as it sailed by. Thank the almighty Jesus. Jimmy watched behind him as Colton took a few unsteady steps forward. The booze was affecting the rock star more than Jimmy thought. There was still a great deal of power in his muscles, but his reaction time wasn’t ideal. Hope? Jimmy prayed to that same almighty Jesus. Colton tried to steady himself, but before he could, he took a shot across the jaw from Billy. Jimmy smiled through the pain. Finally, that good for nothing brother-in-law of his was earning his keep. That oughta teach Mr. Fancy Pants Colton Wade a thing or two.

  Jimmy’s elation didn’t last long. Billy went in to drive his knee upwards, but Colton kicked the free foot out from under him. He went down, and Jimmy watched helplessly as his brother-in-law’s head came down hard on the ground. He knew right away that Billy was out cold. Colton turned on Jimmy, who was still clutching at his stomach.

  Kitt had his hands full. When Gerry came at him, Kitt moved to one side and brought both hands down in a hammer motion on the back of the poor man’s neck. Gerry dropped into the red dirt, kicking up a cloud and getting a healthy amount of dust in his eyes. His hands clawed as tears welled and his eyes shut tight against the dirt.

  Earl’s luck was a little better. While Kitt was beating Gerry down, the largest man was able to take Kitt by surprise. Plowing into Kitt, Earl tumbled over the large man. His hand wrapped around Kitt’s neck and pulled the musician backwards. The two large men spun and crumbled to the dirt, down on top of Gerry. A few of the bystanders backed away, one of the women letting out a yelp.

  Julie looked around and didn't see concern on any other face. Everyone there was out for blood, cheers emanating from their souls. She wasn’t cheering. She didn't want to be there. Chad yanked her body back and forth as he hooted and hollered. Julie closed her eyes, trying to picture herself back at the rock show, not at this barbaric show. As much as she hated it, Julie had to watch. Her eyes were glued to Colton.

  As Colton got himself straightened out, Jimmy Vee managed to get in one good shot into Colton’s back. The singer’s face twisted into a cringe as he arched forward. Without turning, Colton threw an elbow backwards, catching Jimmy square in the neck. The skinny local’s eyes went wide, and both his hands shot up to his throat. He threw in the towel. Struggling to breathe, Jimmy pushed his way through the thin crowd. The tequila was on its way out, and every breath was a surging pain.

  Colton stretched, wincing at the stab in his back. He turned to see a pile of men, his brother somewhere in there. Punches and kicks were thrown at random, and in the dim light, Colton couldn’t tell who was who.

 
His heart was chugging at full-steam, and he would have killed for a breather. Regretting the pitcher of beer on top of bourbon sloshing around in Colton’s stomach, he groaned and set out to pull the men from his brother. Two down, two to go.

  He stepped closer, picking out his brother from the mess. The big fucker was straddling Kitt, raining blows down. An ache shot from his lower back, and he cursed the skinny twerp. He’d feel that bruise on stage for the next week. Pushing the pain out of mind, Colton stepped forward, lining up. He glanced to his right, catching the blonde’s eye. She was a sweet girl, the kind he loved to make spicy. He couldn’t help but see the douche next to her, his arm holding her close. Too close.

  Winding back, Colton threw a hard kick right between the legs of the big guy who had apparently taken down Kitt. The cry that came from Earl let Colton know he had connected squarely with the big man’s nuts. Colton’s grinned. He could feel the pain in his own groin, but there was something so satisfying about laying a man out. “God damn, right.”

  Earl went limp. He felt the big musician roll him over, but Earl couldn’t react. White hot, boiling pain erupted from between Earl’s legs. It sucked the air from his lungs, deafened him, and flashed stars in his eyes. He no longer gave a fuck about the rockstars or his pride. All Earl could think about was whether his balls would ever drop from inside his torso.