Page 70 of Rigid

The knife-wielding man took a quick step toward him.

P-Nut extended his arms and curled his fingertips toward his palms as if inviting the man to come closer. “C’mon, motherfucker. Come cut the Nut.”

With my mouth agape, I stared in disbelief.

What’s wrong with you?

He’s got a knife.

The man lunged forward and swung the knife wildly toward P-Nut’s chest.

P-Nut blocked the swing, gripped the man’s wrist, and then extended his arm straight. While the man’s eyes widened, P-Nut thrust his open hand against the man’s elbow, breaking his arm with a loud crack!

The man screamed in pain and the knife fell to the floor.

A few quick fists to the man’s midsection followed, and then he fell to the floor in a pile. Clutching an arm that now dangled at an awful angle, the man began to blubber.

“You broke…my fucking…you broke my arm!”

P-Nut shrugged and reached for the knife laying at his feet. “Shoulda listened, dumbass.”

He picked up the knife, put it in his pocket, and then looked at me. “Name’s P-Nut.” He reached for my hand. “C’mon. I’ll help you down.”

Still in shock from what I’d seen, I accepted his offer and then glanced toward where Smokey had been standing. Just a few feet from the edge of the platform, and now in an all-out barroom brawl, Smokey was swinging his fists toward anyone who got near him. Most men were running toward the door, but everyone within arm’s reach was being pummeled.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Craig rushing toward him.

“Hey, you Dwayne Johnson looking motherfucker!” P-Nut shouted from beside me. “Stay away from him!”

Craig looked up, and his eyes immediately shot wide. After coming to a complete stop, his hands slowly raised above his shoulders.

I glanced to my left.

P-Nut held a gun in his hand, and it was pointing right at Craig.

Oh, God.

Please don’t...

“Stay the fuck away from him,” P-Nut said, waving the pistol to the side. “Just step to the side, and everything’s gonna be cool. We’re just takin’ her home, and those fellas was bein’ disrespectful to her.”

Craig stood, frozen in place, with his hands raised to shoulder height.

The man on the platform floor continued to cry out in pain, and there were no less than six men on the floor below us doing the same. After walking me to the edge of the platform, P-Nut shouted at Smokey.

“Smoke!” he yelled. “Time to roll.”

Smokey, holding a rather limp man up by his shirt, pounded him once more in the face with his right hand. After dropping him to the floor, he turned toward me.

“You’re done working here.” His voice was stern. “It’s over.”

The thought of having him lose trust in me was crushing. I leaned over the edge of the stage. “I gave notice, I was just--”

His eyes narrowed and his forehead creased. “O-ver.”

I swallowed heavily. My guess was that he just took possession of me, and as weird as it seemed, I loved it.

I fell into his arms as if I didn’t have a care in the world. As he caught me, I looked up. “Okay.”