“Don’t you fucking talk to her,” Logan growls angrily, colliding another fist to his face. “You! You’re everyone’s fucking problem.” Blood is dripping from Jackson’s nose and down his face, pooling in a puddle on the ground beneath them.
Jackson bucks and twists his body, laughing manically, as he lands a couple of blows to Logan’s ribs.
“Logan!” I scream running down the steps. “Don’t do this. Stop,pleasestop!”
Before I can get any closer, large arms wrap around my waist and pulls me away from the violence. Squirming to free myself I hear Riot’s calm, steady voice in my ear. “You need to stay back. He will never forgive himself if you get hurt.” Turning, he places me on the ground. “Go on.” He pushes me gently towards the house where our friends are standing in shock. Once he knows I’m out of harm’s way, he turns back to the brawl.
“Logan! That’s enough!” he shouts as he walks with long strides across the front yard towards the two men wrestling on the ground.
“Come on, get off him, man!” Carson yells. Both men grab Logan by his arms and drag him away from his brother. He struggles to break free, but they continue to hold him back. The fight lasted less than five minutes, but it felt like an eternity.
Jackson groans as he rolls onto his hands and knees before standing up on unsteady feet. Blood covers his teeth and drips from his bottom lip. Darkness covers his eyes, as his hands drop to his sides and form into clenched fists.
“Is that all you got, asshole?” he goads his brother angrily.
“Let me go!” Logan growls at his friends as he battles to get free from their hold.
“For fuck’s sake stop, we will let you go, but you are going to sit the fuck down and stay there,” Riot barks, leaving zero room for argument.
Acquiescing Logan lowers himself to the step. Bracing his elbows on his knees, he hangs his head as he works to regulate his breathing. I know I should go to him, I want to, but every cell in my body is screaming at me to stay back.
“Okay, that’s enough both of you,” Mason says firmly, stepping towards Jackson. “This fight was long overdue, I hope you got it out of your system. Jackson, you need to come with me now.” He touches his arm to get his attention and that wasa mistake. Without warning, he swings around and punches Mason square in the jaw.
My eyes widen with shock, and I cover my mouth with both hands as we all collectively gasp.
“Oh fuck!” Carson grimaces as he drops down beside Logan. “That’s gonna’ hurt.”
“Fucking idiot.” Logan drops his head as adrenalin begins to leave his body.
Mason shakes his head as he staggers back a couple of feet, hitting his SUV. Cupping his jaw, he opens and closes his mouth a couple of times checking for damage. “Fuck, that smarts.”
“Jackson, look at me,” Ryan commands in a low firm voice. I’ve been so focused on Logan that I never even noticed Ryan had left the veranda. He stands at an angle a few feet away from Jackson with his hands at his side, his face remains relaxed and non-threatening.
The younger man slowly scans the group of us and lands on Ryan. He glares, his chest heaving.
“Good, ignore them, they don’t matter.” He shakes his head, slightly gesturing towards us. “Just keep your eyes on me.” I understand enough about de-escalation techniques to know that Ryan would really like us to go back in the house, but I’m not going anywhere.
“My name is Ryan, we have met before, when you were younger. Do you remember?”
“I know who you are.” He spits blood on the ground towards Ryan’s feet.
Unfazed, he continues, “Good. I know you are angry; you have every right to feel that way. Is there anything I can do to help you?”
“How the fuck can you help me?” Jackson squints his eyes with confusion.
“Well, let’s start with this.” Ryan motions with two fingers for Beck to come to him with a beige towel that she must have grabbed from the bathroom downstairs. He offers her a soft smile of thanks as he takes it from her outstretched hand and passes it to Jackson.
Cautiously, he watches Beck return to the veranda as he takes the towel and brings it to his face. Wincing, he tries to wipe up some of the blood. His nose is obviously broken but at least the bleeding has slowed down some.
Ryan nods his approval as he says, “Officer Kent has said that you missed a mandatory meeting with your probation officer, and he needs you to go with him.”
“I don’t give a fuck what Kent wants,” he grumbles. His eyes are already starting to blacken as they swell.
“That’s fair,” Ryan nods with understanding, “but he’s just doing his job; you know that. Refusing to go doesn’t hurt him, it only hurts you. You have breached the conditions of your parole. I’m sure you already know the consequences.”
Jackson doesn’t speak as he bows his head with defeat, the blood-soaked towel still clutched in his hand.
“I can come to the station with you if you want. I’m not sure what the next steps are, but I can hang out until you speak to your lawyer or probation officer – whoever comes first. Probably should see about that as well.” He waves a couple of fingers up and down in the direction of Jackson’s face.
