The second he entered the hall, he could tell the vibe was wrong. The woman didn’t seem to like how the guy was holding her. Paired with her black eye, he didn’t think this guy was up to anything good.
“Hey, is there a problem back here?” Cy asked.
The man glanced over his shoulder, a sneer curling up his lips. “Go away, dirtbag. We’re busy.”
Though the hallway was darker than the main area of the restaurant, he could see the woman clearly. Fear vibrated from her. He’d seen that kind of fear on faces the world over. People who looked at him like that didn’t feel safe and wanted his help. In his work, he couldn’t always deliver, but with this situation, he wasn’t going to walk away.
“Why don’t you let go of the woman and let her speak for herself?” Cy wouldn’t put up with the jerk bullying this woman. It was obvious she wasn’t comfortable with the way the guy was holding her.
The jerk let go of the waitress and spun to face him. Cy had about four inches in height on the man. Growing up, Cy had been called multiple things. One of the first names he’d received in teasing, and maybe some malicious bullying, was monkey boy because of the length of his arms. He knew his reach was longer than this guy’s, and based on the way the man was balling his fist, Cy would need to rely on his extended reach fairly soon.
The current nickname his buddies used had been given to him because when they did some boxing just for fun, they found out how long his reach was. They said his punches were as deadly as cyanide. He could ring his opponent’s bell, and they would drop without being able to land a punch on him.
Sure enough, the man swung, his fist flying toward Cy’s face. He’d kept his legs loose, his knees bent just enough that he could dodge the punch. The guy grunted and threw another punch, this one glancing off his shoulder.
Cy didn’t want a fistfight, not here at this bar where getting thrown out would put a huge damper on the celebration, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let the guy pester this woman any longer.
2
Willa watched in horror as Robert threw another punch. The last thing she wanted was her ex to hurt this man. She also didn’t want to get fired from this job. But no matter how good she was at her job, or how much she liked it, they wouldn’t keep her around if she caused trouble with patrons.
“Stop it, Robert. Just stop!” The last word had been a little too loud. She would attract unwanted attention if she didn’t calm down. She had to keep her cool.
But Robert wasn’t listening. He threw another punch, but it didn’t land. The man who’d come to potentially save her was just too fast on his feet.
She focused on him, noticing the nearly bored look on his face. Surely he wasn’t underestimating Robert. She needed to warn this guy that Robert was a boxer. He wasn’t a great one, but he’d spent time in the ring and had even made some money.
The words were on the tip of her tongue when Robert threw another punch, and the guy caught his arm and twisted it behind Robert’s back before shoving him against the wall.
“You need to stop throwing your hands unless you want to get hurt.”
Willa saw the shock on Robert’s face. He wasn’t used to losing fights. Then again, she’d only seen one or two of his boxing matches. It had been obvious from the start that he would win those matches.
Since she’d experienced his fists firsthand, she knew he hit hard. Every time he hit her, she had gone down fast. His punches had hurt her very badly, so she knew he was strong.
Watching this guy act like Robert was nothing to worry about, she wondered if she was just a baby and Robert wasn’t that strong. But the bruises on her face and body told a different story, one filled with abuse and tragedy.
Cy didn’t wantto hurt the guy. There were cameras watching everything in this part of the bar, and if he actually hurt the guy, there would be hell to pay.
“Stand down,” Cy ground out through his teeth. The guy bucked against his hold, and Cy applied more pressure. “Just give it up. Seriously, you need to stop.”
“Back off,” the dude said.
Cy thought he’d caught the guy’s name, Robert, maybe Roger. He wasn’t sure, and it didn’t matter. What he really wanted was for this guy just to back off and walk away.
“Robert, leave. Just go away and stop bugging me,” the woman begged.
“You heard the woman. Leave her alone.”
Cy stepped back and let go of the man, moving far enough away that he wouldn’t get hit immediately. Not that the guy was punching hard, but he was out with friends, not doing work stuff, and didn’t want to get into an all-out fight here.
“Hey, are you okay back here?”
Relief flowed through Cy at the sound of Wave’s voice. His buddy backing him up should stop this idiot from attacking again, and it might actually get the guy to leave the bar.
But what about the woman? Would she be safe after this jerk left? He had no clue what would happen to her. He just hoped she had resources to help.
Cy watched as realization dawned on Robert’s face that he was outmanned. He may not have realized that Cy was giving about twenty percent effort, but he did realize there was no way he could win against two of them.
