Moving Forward - 6. Chapter 6

Instant silence filled the room, and no one moved a muscle. Roy held his gun over his head, his steely gaze raking over the crowd until he was sure he had everyone’s attention then he lowered it. “We are not going to do this. If y’all want to fight, then you need to take it outside. But I don’t really see there’s any need for that, do you?” He turned toward Al, who seemed a lot less belligerent than he had before.

Al held one hand over his streaming nose. He pointed the other at Lee. “He had no call to do that!” he protested.

“Be grateful he didn’t do worse, after what you said. ‘Sides, you hit him with a pool cue. I’d say that about makes you even. Other than the damage you owe Partners for the cue. Unless, of course, Marshall wants to press charges for what you did to him. Then that’s another matter entirely.”

“He can’t do that.” Al didn’t sound entirely sure of himself. He narrowed his eyes at Marshall. If his intention was to scare him, it wasn’t working.

Marshall was tempted to do just that, to teach the asshole a lesson about what was and was not acceptable behavior. But he wasn’t sure how closely he and Lee might be investigated as part of the process, and he didn’t want to find out. Still, Al didn’t need to know that.

The crowd began to part as a man pushed through them, excusing himself as he went, until he’d reached the eye of the storm. Marshall recognized Jeff, one of the bouncers. Jeff was familiar with Roy and Lee and their whole crowd. He’d seen them there often enough. Marshall knew Jeff would at least listen to what they had to say, and wouldn’t jump to conclusions. He also knew Jeff recognized Roy was a lawman.

Jeff was big, blond, and brawny, standing over six foot and built like a linebacker. Not many people at Partners were stupid enough to give him trouble. The few who tried found out in a hurry that he was as solidly built as he looked.

Jeff sized up the men who seemed to be in the middle of everything before he nodded to Roy. “Was that your gun I heard?”

“Yep, it was. Just tryin’ to keep the peace before World War III got started.”

“I see.” Jeff didn’t ruffle easily. He’d probably dealt with a lot of such situations in his time. “The rest of y’all—whoever isn’t involved, you can go on about your business.” He folded his arms across his broad chest. His very stance said he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

The crowd began to slowly disperse, with backward looks and low murmurs, but no one argued with the bouncer. Finally, the only ones left were those belonging to the two sides: Marshall and Lee and their supporters, Al and his. Al seemed decidedly nervous, Marshall thought. He kept glancing in the direction of the entrance to the game room, as if maybe he was considering a quick getaway.

“Roy, you want to tell me what’s going on?” Jeff asked.

“Naturally you start with their side,” Al lashed out. “Your buddies.” His voice sounded nasal, the words a little slurred.

“Maybe it’s because I know you, Al.” Jeff arched his eyebrows at the man.

“I can tell you what happened.” Marshall stepped forward. “Since it happened to me.” He wasn’t a child. While he appreciated everyone’s support, this was something he needed to do himself. “That man”—he pointed toward Al—“came into the men’s room when I was in there and started beating on me. I told him I didn’t want any trouble, but he wouldn’t listen.”

“Did he give any reason for hitting you?”

“It was because I didn’t want to dance with him a second time.”

Jeff shifted his focus back to Al. “Is that what happened, Al?”

“It wasn’t quite like that,” Al mumbled. He stared down, as if he saw something very interesting on the floor, never meeting Jeff’s gaze.

“Then tell me what it was like,” Jeff encouraged him. Al maintained a stony silence. “Yep, pretty much what I thought. You didn’t get what you thought you were entitled to, so you used your fists. I’ve warned you about that before, haven’t I? This isn’t the first time we’ve had this conversation.”

“Don’t remember.” Al raised his head just enough to glare daggers at Marshall. “Little prick tease—”

Marshall felt Lee stir beside him, and he knew what his intention was, but before he could act, Roy stepped quickly between Lee and Al. He pulled out his wallet and flipped it open to reveal his badge. “I have the right to arrest you right now, so I suggest you keep that smart mouth of yours shut, if you know what’s good for you.”

“This was your last chance, Al,” Jeff said. “You’re barred from coming in here ever again. The way I see it, you have two choices. You can stand there like a dumbass and get arrested, or you can do the smart thing for once in your life and just get the hell out of here and never come back.”

Marshall noticed Al’s so-called supporters had drifted away. He guessed they knew Al too well to want to get involved in a mess of his own making. Al looked around him, probably drawing the same conclusion.

“He’s not worth it. If you wanna let him whore himself out, it’s no skin off my nose.”

Before anyone else could react, Jeff reached for Al’s shirt, twisting it between his fingers as he lifted him bodily from the floor until his legs dangled in the air. Al struggled, but to no avail. “Apologize,” Jeff told him. “Or I’m gonna let Lee deal with you.”

Lee took a menacing step toward Al.

“You can’t do that,” Al protested. “That’s… that’s illegal.”