"Let's get you inside," Terry said to Dean, who had slumped against the building with his eyes partially closed. One hand between his legs.
Dean shook his head, pressing his bloodied lips together. "I'm fine here," he said through gritted teeth.
"Don't be stupid." Terry stepped forward, gripped Dean under one arm, and carefully pulled him to his feet. I took a step back to give them space.
"Wait," Dean groaned, bending over and pressing his hands to his knees. He curled his fingers into fists against his jeans while blood dripped from his lips. "Fuck me.”
"Lily, mind getting the door?" Terry asked as Dean carefully straightened again. Holding his stomach, his face pale, he started walking uncomfortably towards the door, using the building as support.
I moved quickly and pushed myself against the door, wedging it open wide enough for them to get inside.
With my Uber a little while away, I decided to help where I could. As Terry walked Dean over to the closest booth, I made my way across the club, using the light of my phone to find my way behind the bar. I went straight to the switches in the staff room and flicked on the ones for the booths before heading to the freezer to grab a bag of ice. On my way back through the bar, I grabbed a dish towel and a box of tissues. Wrapping the dish towel around the bag of ice before bringing everything over to the booth they were in.
Terry was standing outside the booth, his arms folded and shaking his head as he looked down at Dean. "They really got you, huh? What set them off?"
Dean was sitting low in the booth to avoid sitting directly on where he was kicked. His head was reclined, and his legs were spread out under the table with his knees pressed into the maroon leather cushioning of the opposite seat.
"I dunno. I was walkin' out to my car and the mother fucker jumped me," he ground out. Then his eyes flicked to me as I quietly placed the things on the table. He sighed. "Sorry."
"It's okay..." It’s not like I hadn’t heard people swear before.
Did I really look that fragile?
He picked up the ice pack and placed it between his legs, wincing slightly as he reached for the tissue box and tugged several tissues from it to wipe his chin.
“Why didn’t you fight back, despite the rule?” I asked a little hesitantly, looking between Dean and Terry.
Dean shifted as he frowned down at where the ice pack was. “Not allowed.”
“Fighting outside the pit could bring unwanted attention from the cops,” Terry explained. “And Tony likes his fighters to have a little decorum when they aren’t fighting for him.”
“So, you just don’t defend yourself at all?” It was strange to me these men who could fight weren’t allowed to do something so simple as saving themselves.
“Unless it’s a life-or-death situation, no we don’t,” Dean said, looking side-on at me. He was still breathing heavily, nostrils flared.
Terry shook his head in disbelief, his body rumbling with a deep chuckle as he folded his arms and leaned against one of the oak pillars framing the booth. "I will say, I don't know what I was expecting when I went outside, but it definitely wasn't Lily standing between you and Murphy.”
I shrugged one shoulder. "Yeah, well, my plan didn’t work.”
"You distracted him long enough for Terry to come out. You did alright," Dean smiled faintly through the subtle pain lingering on his face. The color was slowly returning to his cheeks. His eyes lingered on me just a second longer before he looked at the tissue box.
To hide the subtle heat rising beneath my skin, I glanced down at my phone. The Uber was just arriving, the little marker on the map showed it pulling up outside.
“My rides here...” I tucked my phone into my bag. “I hope you feel better soon—”
I just looked straight at his crotch.
One side of Dean's mouth turned up slightly. “I’m sure I will.”
“Ha.” I didn’t even know what kind of response that was. Somewhere between an awkward laugh and a breath. “I’m gonna go.”
My face was burning as I left for the door, clutching the strap of my bag like my life depended on it as I rolled my eyes at myself.
"See you 'round, Lily," Terry chuckled. He had noticed too.
I threw a quick smile over my shoulder as I heaved the front door open, giving them the smallest of awkward waves as they watched me go. Terry returned the gesture with a casual wave of his own, still smiling, while Dean gave me a lazy, two-fingered salute.
Chapter 15
