I got three feet back and pointed the gun in his face.
The music stopped and the lights went up. There was some clapping, but everyone around Gibbons and me had seen the dance change and were shuffling away, seeing as there was a stripper with a gun.
Gibbons stared into my eyes, and I knew he was about to go for me right when he was out of his chair and being slammed face first into the floor by Mace.
Luke came to me and took the gun out of my hand.
“I need to find a way to erase the last three minutes,” he muttered, sounding aggrieved.
“Why?” I asked.
“I just watched my boy’s sister strip. There’s laws against that,” he replied, not taking his eyes off Mace who was cuffing a non-struggling Gibbons, but I had a feeling what Luke was doing was studiously avoiding seeing me in sequined undies and stripper shoes.
“No there’s not,” I said to Luke and he finally looked at me.
“Babe, there are. Trust me,” he stated.
At his tone, I trusted him. Then again, he was a guy. What did I know what rules guys lived by?
Luke moved in to help Mace jerk Gibbons to his feet. They didn’t go cautiously and his head snapped around, and not a little.
A lot.
I fought a smirk.
“What’s goin’ on? What the fuck is goin’ on?” Smithie shouted, elbowing his way in.
“Don’t know how I took him down, seein’ as I’ve gone blind,” Mace stated, ignoring Smithie.
“I hear you, man,” Luke agreed.
“What the fuck is goin’ on?” Smithie yelled.
That was when Lee appeared.
My brother. He didn’t let me know, but he was also taking my back.
I was feeling slightly gushy and very jazzed when Lee said, “Cruiser’s outside. Haul him out. Smithie, you come with me.”
“You gonna tell me what he fuck is goin’ on?” Smithie asked.
“Yes,” Lee answered.
Smithie glared at him. Then he glared at me.
I tipped my head to the side and gave him a scrunchy face.
Lee either didn’t see Smithie’s glare or didn’t care. His eyes went beyond Smithie and he ordered, “Clear this place out.”
I looked that way just in time to see Lenny saying, “Gotcha.”
Lenny moved out and I looked at Gibbons.
He didn’t look upset.
He looked smug.
“Uh… just so you know, asshole dickhead of huge proportions,” I called. His eyes came to me, and I noted when they did, “Good you know your name. Your crew?” I asked and shook my head. “Right now, they’re taking rides in cruisers, too.”
Gibbons stopped looking smug.
“Funny, thinking with your dick brought you to this pass, seeing as you are a dick,” I noted.
“Smithie,” Lee cut into my fun. “Your office.”
On a lingering glare at all of us, Smithie moved toward his office.
Lee moved, too.
He moved into Gibbons space and he got nose to nose with the asshole (or kind of; Lee was three inches taller).
“After your stay at the penitentiary, you get out, you get the fuck out of town,” he ordered. “Denver’s mine, and I don’t like your kind here. Now you think on that. You ask around. Name’s Lee Nightingale, but I suspect you know that. And I suspect you know to get your ass out of my town. You don’t and we meet again, there won’t be a cruiser.”
“Fuck you,” Gibbons spat.
“Good,” Lee whispered, getting closer. “I hope you’re not smart, because I’m lookin’ forward to meetin’ you again.”
Gibbons held Lee’s eyes.
