Let’s just say that I didn’t have the best relationship with authority.
He didn’t tug when he took my arm; he just held me steady while I focused on breathing and working out the mechanics of putting one foot in front of the other. The man who’d been with him waved from a corner booth. He had to have been lucky or fast to snag it, so I headed that way with a lot of support from the man who walked beside me.
“Does it, umm, drain your energy when you poison someone that way?” my rescuer’s companion asked as I eased onto the bench seat across from him.
“No, but the impending encounter with the cops kind of dropped the floor out from under me.”
“In all fairness,” my rescuer declared as he slid in next to his friend, “he poisoned himself.”
“Thanks for that. I hope the cops agree,” I muttered as the bartender who’d served me earlier suddenly appeared beside the booth with a glass of water.
“You don’t have to worry about the authorities giving you grief over Nuno Bourassa,” the bartender said. “He makes trouble every time he comes in. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve begged the owner to ban his ass for life, but for some reason he won’t do it. I saw him grab you. Everyone did. When they get here, I’ll tell the cops exactly what happened, including the part about him badgering you into playing a game of pool with him in the first place. They’ll probably laugh their asses off when they see what’s happened to him.”
“He’s not wrong,” my rescuer said, grinning across the table at me. “It’s nice seeing karma smack a little reality into people. Him going out on a gurney is a rather befitting state for that asshole.”
“Have you had run-ins with him too?” I asked after a few slow, careful sips.
Hearing about Nuno’s reputation wasn’t shocking, and it did ease my concerns some, but nothing would erase them completely besides the cops telling me there would be no charges against me.
“Just about everyone here has,” my rescuer’s companion said. “Even the ones acting like his friends right now. I’m Lani, by the way, and this is Nyx.”
“Nice to meet you both, and thanks for letting me join you while I wait to see if I’ve earned a trip to the gallows.”
“Pretty sure those haven’t been used since 1947,” Lani said.
We were chuckling when the EMTs arrived, flanked by two stern-looking policewomen with their hair wrapped in intricately braided buns at the napes of their necks. They took one look at Nuno and locked gazes, the one on the left raising an eyebrow.
“Did anyone see what happened here?” the one on the right asked.
“Yeah,” the bartender said. “Nuno grabbed a jellyfish and got stung in the process.”
“Dropped like a ton of bricks,” another man said.
“Shit himself too,” a woman called from across the room. “Can you guys get him out of here? He’s stinking up the place.”
I could see the officers having to fight to maintain their composure as they gazed around the room.
“He got upset after I beat him in a game of pool,” I explained, leaning out of my seat and waving sheepishly so we could just get this over with. “He wanted a rematch and grabbed my arm when I declined. It’s warm in here, so I was a little sweaty when he touched me.”
“And poisoned himself in the process,” the one on the left said. “People really do need to learn how to keep their hands to themselves.”
“Thank you!” A lady in a red crop top called from the bar.
With Nuno still groaning, writhing, and clutching his belly, the EMTs were having a difficult time getting him loaded, especially with the mess he’d made in his pants. I felt bad for whoever had to clean that gurney once they’d dropped him off. It would probably take them awhile to get the stench out of the ambulance too. Still, I doubted he’d think twice about grabbing someone else the way he had me. Dickheads like that rarely learned. Was it wrong to hope he wouldn’t be at the jobsite on Monday?
“So, you haven’t given us your name,” Lani pointed out.
“Shit, sorry, it’s Kekoa.”
“Good to meet you, Kekoa,” Nyx said. “We overheard you say your folks were military. Which branch did they serve in?”
“Navy. Mom was at NAVCAMS, and Dad was at VQ-1.”
“My old man was at VQ-1, too,” Nyx said.
“Was this his last duty station?” I asked.
“No, second to last,” Nyx explained. “But my folks loved it so much here that as soon as my old man retired, they came back and bought a home. Been here ever since.”
