It also meant they had something up their sleeve.

And last, it meant it was highly unlikely I had five to ten minutes to give to Lee.

I turned to face their way on my stool at the same time I casually ran my hand through my hair from top to back then let my hand fall to the table. I wrapped the fingers of my other hand around the beer bottle which, if broken against the side of the table, could be used as a weapon.

And I didn’t take my eyes off them.

They no sooner got their asses on their stools than I felt a presence at my back, close, and something that couldn’t be mistaken pressed hard to my ribs.

They had a soldier inside, and he wasted no time moving on me and jamming the barrel of a gun into my flesh.

Not.

Good.

I gave no headspace to what this might mean—this soldier free to make his move—if Brian or Tex didn’t clock him or if they did and they had some plan.

I needed to remain clearheaded and calm.

I also needed to remain alive so I could have my red and black Pope-approved nuptials then give Ren babies.

In my head I whittled the length of Ren and my fuck-a-thon down to two years prior to making babies and whispered to the men at my table, “You don’t waste any time.”

“No woman fucks with me,” the big-guy-brains-of-the-crew growled at me.

“Uh, just saying, I didn’t fuck with you. You fucked with me,” I pointed out.

“Okay then, I don’t waste time fuckin’ around with women unless I’m actually fuckin’ them,” he amended.

Well, he’d proved that.

“Now, you’re gonna come easy. Leave your phone,” Whiney Guy ordered.

“And if you’re thinkin’ your backup is gonna see to things,” Brawny Guy added. “The black dude with the tattoo outside is outta commission.”

Fuck.

Fuck!

That was Ike, one of Lee’s men. And I did not like to think with the cold dead I saw in Brawny Guys’ eyes what his definition of “outta commission” could be.

Fuck.

I let go of my beer and slid off my stool.

The presence behind me moved with me.

Calmly, I cleared the table and headed to the door as Whiney Guy and Brawny Guy flanked me.

Suddenly the presence behind me disappeared. I took this as what I hoped it would be, Tex or Brian instigating their plan, and I flew into action.

As Tex pounded a fist in the face of the guy who had been behind me and he went flying into a table, losing purchase on his gun, I turned to the primary threat, Brawny Guy. I got my hand around his package. Once there, I twisted and squeezed and I did this with no mercy.

He made a high-pitched noise that made the backs of my teeth ache before his knees buckled and he went down hard. I bent with him, let him go then came up, at the same time jerking up my knee and catching him hard under his jaw.

He flew back and I roundhouse kicked him in the cheekbone with my boot. It was then he flew to the side, and I knew by the way his face hit floor without him trying to break his fall he was out.

Before I could turn my attention to him, Whiney Guy caught me by my hair. It hurt like a mother but I yanked it loose, turned on him, and aimed a hard punch at his throat.

He also went down on his knees, hands to his throat, wheezing.

By the time I took three steps back, I saw Tex with a knee in the chest of a big guy on his back on the floor. Brian was there, gun out aiming between the three as he pulled his badge out of his back pocket and shoved it into his belt.

“Police. You’re under arrest,” he announced.

We had onlookers and we also had company as Lee, Hank, Eddie, Mace, Luke, Willie, Matt, Bobby and Jimmy Marker joined us.

My eyes went to Lee. “Ike?” I asked.

“Vest,” he answered. “He gets his breath back, he’ll be fine.”

The grip on my insides released.

“Are there more?” Tex asked.

“Only these three,” Lee answered.

“So this is it?” Tex asked, sounding peeved.

Lee just stared at him.

Tex looked at me.

“Told you, woman. Boring.”

Whatever.

I felt fingers wrap around my arm and saw Lee had hold of me. He propelled me to the front door and out of it, Hank following.

We stopped on the sidewalk. He let me go and I looked up at him.

“I’m missing the fun part of cuffing and hearing them get their Mirandas,” I complained.

“How’d you know?” Lee asked bizarrely.

“What?” I asked back confusedly.

Hank got close and reiterated Lee’s question. “How’d you know?”