Page 99 of 10 Things I Hate About Mistletoe

Brodie’s dark expression dissolved into one of malice. “Hey, no worries. I just wanted to see what it was like to fuck a fat girl.”

Delilah reeled back like he’d slapped her. “Sorry to disappoint.”

“As soon as Anthony’s done with you, he’ll share with the class if you were worth the effort.”

Anthony took her shoulders and moved her out of the way, telling Pike, “Take care of her for me, would ya?”

“Anthony, don’t—” Delilah told him, but it was too late. Pike wrapped his arms around her and hauled her backward seconds before Anthony threw the first punch. Brodie recoiled, blood spewing out the side of his mouth, and Trip caught Anthony with a swift uppercut to the stomach.

“Ah, hell, no!” Pike yelled, dropping her out of harm’s way and jumping into the fray. “No tag teams!”

Pike grabbed Trip and flipped him onto his back. Another of Brodie’s crew went after Pike, but Pike cracked him across the jaw, sending him spinning away. Pike grinned at the remaining men and made a come-on motion with both hands. “Step up, kiddies. I’ve got plenty to go around.”

Delilah groaned in disgust as Pike seemed to be having fun with the fight, meanwhile Anthony had Brodie in a headlock, kicking at another goon.

Ryler put her arms around Delilah’s shoulders. “How about we go to urgent care while they sort this out?”

Delilah nodded, letting Ryler lead her away.

“Why are men such idiots?” Delilah asked.

“If I had that kind of information, do you think I’d be an assistant? Girl, I’d be president, saving the idiots of the world from themselves.”

Chapter Twenty-seven

Anthony and Pike stayed in the cell inside Mistletoe police station and waited for Nick to come bail them out. Brodie, Trip, and the rest of their crew sat in the second cell next to them, bitching and moaning every few moments, which made Anthony feel better. Although it had been two to five in the fight, Anthony and Pike had come out better than the others. Pike’s eye was swelled shut and turning an ugly shade of purple and Anthony’s lip and cheek were swollen and bruised, but security at the resort had busted things up before they went too far.

Anthony sat down on the bench next to Pike, thinking about all the crap they’d been through the last few weeks, all the times he’d wanted to take his friend to task for being impulsive and overextending them, and, yet, when Anthony was the one to lose his cool, Pike had jumped in without a single question or thought for himself.

“Hey, man,” Anthony said, clearing his throat. “Thanks for jumping in.”

“Sure, what are friends for but to have your back when you start a fight with six guys?” Pike’s sarcasm with a hefty dose of condemnation wasn’t lost on Anthony and he turned toward his friend. Pike rested the back of his head against the wall with his eyes closed and Anthony gave him a hard nudge with his shoulder.

“Hey. What’s your problem?”

Pike opened his eye to glare at him. “You’re supposed to be the smart, levelheaded guy in this friendship. Instead, you’re betting our equipment and getting into fights that lead to us sitting in a jail cell facing possible charges. It’s like you’ve been replaced by a pod person!”

Fury shot through Anthony and he snapped, “So because you have me to curb your spending, you think volunteering us for everything is fine because I’ll create a budget? News flash, sometimes the budget is too much.”

“Uh oh. I think the lovers next door are fighting,” Trip said, earning a chuckle from a few of their friends.

“Will you shut the fuck up?” Pike hollered.

“Why don’t you make me, Lucky the Leprechaun?”

“I thought I already did,” Pike said, pointing to his mouth. “Nice lip, Trip. Looks like it split open again.”

Trip touched his fat lip, which had started oozing blood. “You’ll pay for that later.”

“Stop your whining, you big boobs!” Officer Wren barked from the other room, the stomp of her boots growing louder before she cleared the hallway and stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at them. Her dark hair was pulled back in that severe bun that reminded Anthony of a woman in a marine movie.

“If you weren’t fighting like a bunch of middle schoolers,” she said, her tone resembling a teacher disappointed in her students’ antics, “you wouldn’t be hurting so damn bad.”

Pike laughed. “You tell them, Wren.”

“I’m talking to you, too, ya idjit,” she snapped, approaching their cell and piercing Anthony with dark eyes. “You are supposed to be leaders in this community. Leaders control their damn tempers.”

Pike shrugged. “We tried to take the high road, but he started talking shit about Anthony’s lady.”