Connor could see words exchanged. A shoving match ensued but Jessa was still fighting. Still struggling to get away, to talk her way out of it, anything but to let them continue with what they obviously intended to do.
“Bust!” Alex shouted from the other end of the bar. “Everybody get the fuck out!”
The regulars didn’t wait. They knew he meant the cops were coming. Alex and Connor always warned their clientele when the police were on their way. It only ever happened when things got totally out of hand.
“Don’t touch her!” Connor roared as he burst into the confrontation.
There’d already been blows exchanged and Tommy lay on the floor. Connor caught a fist in his gut and knew instantly that these strangers had something extra special in their bloodstream. The punch had the power of a cement truck. He grunted and took the hit before lashing out at the attacker.
Nobody touched what belonged to him.
* * *
Connor was quick, and he was brutal, but these guys weren’t right. Some strange substance coursed through their veins and kept them on their feet long after normal men would’ve crumpled beneath Connor’s onslaught.
Bone and cartilage crunched beneath Connor’s big fist, and one man went down with his nose smashed flat to his face. Another immediately took his place. There always seemed to be another.
A man jumped behind Connor and grabbed his arms while another attacked from the front with inhuman speed. Connor grunted as he took several punches to the gut. Tears streamed down Jessa’s face as she desperately looked around for help.
“Connor!” Alex shouted from somewhere to their left.
Wrenching his arms free, Connor reached out with one hand and caught a wood baseball bat thrown from outside the circle. A feral grin split his features and the blood began to flow in earnest.
Jessa had never seen anything like it. The sheer brutality should’ve frightened her, especially knowing what she did about Connor’s checkered past. But Jessa clearly understood the purpose behind his violence. Every crushed windpipe, cracked jaw, and broken bone was just retribution for the bruises and lacerations covering her arms and legs. Though it might not have been enough to pay for the crime they’d intended to commit.
In what seemed simultaneously like seconds and hours, it was over. Jessa found herself sitting alone in a chair, trembling like a leaf. The only thing that mattered then was Connor. His massive frame standing tall before her with his shirt covered in a mixture of sweat and blood. Jessa didn’t care. He opened his arms and she managed to rise and stumble forward to lean on his strength.
“It’s okay,” he murmured, folding his heavily muscled arms around her shaking frame. “It’s over.”
“The cops will be here in another minute,” Alex said as he shoved his way through.
“Where were you?” Jessa asked in a small voice. “They were trying to kill him!”
Alex leaned down and offered a small smile before reaching out to brush away a stray lock of her brown hair. “I can only do so much, love. Besides, the big guy had you covered as soon as he saw what was going on.”
Jessa shuddered. “What was wrong with them?”
Connor eyed the six bodies lying around them like marionette dolls with their strings cut. All were either out cold or too preoccupied with their injuries to cause any more trouble. “I would guess it to be an upper of some kind. Ice, meth, cocaine maybe, wouldn’t be able to tell until they’re booked and someone runs a blood test.”
Wade and his friends were still hovering. They were trying to revive Tommy.
“Thank you, Wade,” Jessa told him when she could trust her voice.
Wade smiled. “Honey, this is our bar. Nobody messes with our bar.”
Connor grimaced and wiped blood from his face with the tail of his shirt. It streamed out of a deep gash above his left eye. His lower lip oozed from a split and one cheekbone sported a nasty laceration.
“God, I thought they were going to kill you,” Jessa choked on another sob.
“Nah, honey, Connor’s tougher than he looks,” Wade teased before placing a hand on Connor’s shoulder. “We’re going to head out before the cops get here. Take care.”
“Thanks, Wade.”
“No problem.”
* * *
Connor’s entire body throbbed in pain. Jessa was huddled in his arms as if the whole world was ending. He could stand a few cuts and bruises if it meant he got the chance to feel her heart beat in time with his. She was a perfect weight against his chest.
He never wanted to let go.
Red and blue lights streamed into view, flashing through the dingy front windows like strobe lights. Connor stiffened before he could force himself to relax. No matter how long it had been, he still had an inherent distrust of police in general.