“That fresh?” he asked. “You get that for him or for us?”
His fingers almost touched her skin, but she moved before I did.
Grace’s hand shot down, grabbed the bat, and swung it up in one clean arc. The Good Night bat cracked against the side of his head with a sound that cut right through the music. Not a dull thud. A sharp, solid hit. His eyes went wide, then unfocused.
The whole bar froze for half a second.
He staggered, hand flying to his temple while bood trickled between his fingers, bright against his skin. Then he dropped to one knee, cursing.
Grace laughed. That same wild and crooked laugh that scraped at my nerves before.
She pulled the bat back, grip tight, chest rising and falling. Her eyes were bright and wild. She stepped forward like she wanted another swing. She was definitely looking for a fight.
“Still want a feel?” she asked him, voice light, breathless. “Come on. Ask nice.”
Jax snapped. “You crazy bitch,” he snarled. He lunged forward, hand going for the knife at his belt.
I was already moving. I stepped in front of Grace, my coat falling back, hand on the pistol at my side. The room erupted, chairs scraped, glasses hit tables, bodies shoved back to make space for violence.
“Y’all don’t wanna do this,” I said, drawl sliding thicker into my words. “Not with me. Not tonight. Not in this bar.”
A third Scorpion came up on my left, hands half raised, not in surrender but in a mock calm.
“She just brained my brother,” he growled. “You think we’re lettin’ that slide?”
“I just tapped him,” Grace said from behind me, almost giddy. “Didn’t even swing that hard. I can do worse if you want. Just like you did to my property,” she slammed the bat on the bar and the men just stared at her.
“Grace,” I snapped.
She laughed again, high and sharp. It did not sound like my girl. It sounded like something sitting just behind her teeth, pushing to get out.
The Scorpions started to circle and I shifted my stance. One hand hovered over the gun, the other ready to grab Grace and shove her behind the nearest pillar. I had no club brothers here.No backup. Just me, my weapons, and a girl who’d swung first and liked it.
A voice cut through the tension from our right.
“Hey! Hey! Chill the fuck out!”
Josh pushed his way through the ring of bodies. The kid had no business being in the middle of three outlaw bikers and a half-pissed exorcist, but he came anyway, thin frame drawn up as tall as he could manage.
He stepped between me and Jax before I could stop him, one hand planted on Jax’s chest, the other flashing in my direction in a quick, warning gesture.
“Jax, man, it’s cool,” Josh said, talking fast. “It’s cool. They’re with me.”
Jax blinked. “The hell you talkin’ about, kid?”
“Hellsing’s a friend,” Josh said. “He helped me when your boys didn’t. He’s kept his nose outta your business, yeah? Tonight’s just bad timing.”
“You keep with friends with Bastards, asshole.” He gripped Josh by the lapels of his jacket and I tensed.
“Just this one. I owe him my life,man. You know how it is on the streets.”
Jax’s gaze narrowed. “Your girl just cracked Skull’s head open in my face.”
Josh didn’t look back at Grace, but I saw his jaw tense. “She’s on somethin’,” he lied.
“Pills. Mustv’ve hit harder than she expected. I told him not to bring her out, but you know how it is. Halloween. Everybody wants to party like they’re invincible.”
He turned his head just enough to catch my eye. There was a flicker there of a warning to keep my mouth shut and play along.
