"It's a figure of speech," he assured me. "From what Kindle here says, she needs to worry more about what he's doing with you than what I'm doing to her."
I looked back over at Kindle. "Is this really what you thought would get me back?"
"No, I came back when you kicked me off the property," he said, pushing out of the chair and standing right up in my face. "I gave you a chance, Cy."
"You cheated on me," I told him. "Tell me, did you suck Jonathan's dick when you two realized I'd already left, or did you bend over for him the moment you saw I'd moved?"
"Fuck you, Cyan," Kindle growled, stepping into me.
I grabbed the front of his shirt in both hands. "No, you don't get to come down here and think I'm going to ignore this." Then I shoved him back. "Get the fuck out of Texas, Kindle, because I'll make it real uncomfortable for you to stay."
"Yeah? You can't make me leave, Cy. I have as much right to be here - "
So I whistled as loudly as I could, the shrill sound splitting the air. "Hey, this one's a fag too," I yelled, pointing at Kindle. "I fucked his ass and he sucked my dick like he was trying to get a golf ball through a garden hose. Loves eating ass. Complete fag, boys, and no one knows he's here."
"Take it outside," Simmons grumbled.
But I was smiling - or more like snarling. "They don't like guys like us around here, Kindle. Know what they do? They make us disappear. So you go ahead and make plans to stay. Let's see if you'll live through it."
"You fucking asshole," Kindle snarled, shoving at me. "Fucking out me? Fucking out me as a goddamned threat?"
I just lifted my hands and stepped back. "Welcome to the country, pretty boy. Shit gets real out here."
And then Kindle did the last thing I ever would've expected. The man swung, his fist connecting with my jaw hard. I staggered, moving back, but when he came at me again, I was ready. Catching him wasn't hard. My ex was an accountant, not a fighter. He still heaved me back a few more steps, and everyone in the grill was starting to move.
Someone shoved. Someone else tried to yank me back. Those guys I'd noticed earlier were still sitting at their booth, laughing at us. I recognized one of their faces, but Kindle was on me again, and this time he hit a little better. Stars flared in my left eye as his fist crashed into it.
For a split second, I thought about fighting back, but I couldn't. I did not hit my lovers - past or present. Instead, I just pushed him off, tried to grab his arms, and eventually I managed to shove his chest to the floor, holding him there with his arm bent behind his back.
And that was when I realized where I knew those three men from. One had been there when I made the report about Brody. The other had come to Southwind to make sure Faith was supposed to be with Luke. The last one I'd seen in uniform. They were cops, and clearly off duty, yet not a single one of them had tried to stop this.
At the same time, someone started yelling, "Get out! No fighting in here. If you boys want to throw fists, take it outside."
"Just tell Bev this is what happens when she lets those freaks from Southwind in here," one of the cops joked.
"Aren't you going to do something about this?" the woman, who seemed to be a manager or something, asked.
The cop scoffed. "Nope. Let the fags kill each other for all we care. I'm off duty."
So I leaned into Kindle's ear. "You hear that? This isn't Denver. Go home, Kindle, and I suggest you do it fast."
"Get off me," he snarled.
"You hit me again and I will hit back," I warned.
Then I eased myself off him. For a moment, Kindle did nothing. Slowly, he moved his arm back into place so he could push off the floor. Only the heels of his hands touched it, as if he was disgusted at the idea, but eventually he pushed to his feet. I did the same before pointing at the door again.
"Leave. Leave the grill, the town, and even the state. If I see you again, this will look like a real good day," I told him. "Now I get to clean up the fucking mess you made."
"Told him all about your cowboy," Kindle taunted. "Paul seemed very interested in that."
"And you know damned well he was just trying to give you a reason to leave before Ash found out you were dumb enough to show up." I pointed again. "I also don't really care. I'm home. We aren't leaving, and unlike you, I'm willing to fight for this. No one messes with my family, Kindle. Not even you."
"Fuck you, Cy," he huffed, dusting his hands off before marching back to Paul Simmons' table. "You owe me."
"Get the hell out of here, queer," Simmons said. "Did you hear the man? We don't tolerate fags in Cats Peak."
The look on Kindle's face would've been amusing in any other situation. Shock came first, then confusion, but anger was right on the heels of it. Right after that came resignation, because he knew as well as I did that there was nothing he could do.
