Daniel managed a few good punches, but two guys on one got the better of him. With the last throw, the guy holding him let go and stepped to the side. Falling backward, Daniel barely missed the nearby Dumpster. Despite a nearly swollen shut eye and a bloody lip, he tried to get back on his feet.

One of his attackers started for him again, spitting blood on the grimy ground. Just before he reached Daniel, however, a large hand landed on the man’s shoulder, fingers squeezing hard.

The man let out a howl of pain, twisted, and ran. His companion took off behind him, both of them running like their asses were on fire.

“Hey, man, you okay? Need a doctor?”

Groggily, Daniel got to his feet. As he started to sway, he grabbed the end of the Dumpster, his other fist swinging to connect with anybody nearby.

“Whoa!” That same hand gripped his wrist, gentle despite the sheer size of it. “Take it easy. I’m not gonna hurt you.”

Wheezing in a breath, Daniel wasn’t listening. He let go of the Dumpster and swung around as he jerked back to free himself. “Fucking let go, asshole!”

The man let go of him without argument. Stepping back, he stared down at Daniel, arms crossed over a muscular chest. “The assholes are gone.”

Daniel stumbled backward and landed hard on his ass in the dirt. It took a moment to gather his scrambled thoughts and haul himself up, using the Dumpster for support.

The man sighed, but he didn’t move. Once Daniel was back on his feet, the guy said, “You don’t look too good, man. At least let me get you somewhere so you can clean up.”

His eye already swollen shut and probably turning black and blue, Daniel could only see out of the other eye. “Who are you?” He didn’t remember this guy being one of the two who’d attacked him. When he finally stopped swaying back and forth, he took an experimental step forward.

“Karl Johnson. Whoa, easy there…” The man caught Daniel before he could fall again. “Take it slow. Little bit at a time.” A finger slipped under Daniel’s chin, tilting his head up just a little so he could see Daniel’s face. “You need a doctor.”

Completely alarmed, Daniel wildly shook his head and immediately had to stop. “Shit. It hurts. No doctor. I don’t need a doctor. I’m fine.”

“Oookay…then how about we get you someplace where you can clean up?”

Brushing Karl’s hand away, Daniel took several steps towards the street. Muttering to himself, he looked down one side of the sidewalk towards the bar. “Can’t go home like this. He’ll kill me.”

“What? Who?” Karl stepped up beside him, staying close to Daniel and looking like a personal bodyguard more than a stranger he’d just met.

“My dad sees me like this he’ll go ape shit.” Looking down at his shirt, Daniel noticed the filth and rips for the first time. He wiped at the trickling trail of blood from his lip. “I don’t want to see myself in a mirror, do I?”

“No, you really don’t. Look, why don’t you come to my place? I live about a block down, in Arlington Towers. You can clean up there. I’ll loan you a shirt. Besides, it’s safe.”

“Karl, right?” As they walked down the sidewalk, a few shocked glances came Daniel’s way from passing strangers, but the majority seemed to studiously ignore him.

“Yeah, Karl Johnson.” Karl held out his hand in offering.

“And you?”

“Daniel Scott.” The smile Daniel tried to give him was more of a twisted, pained twitch of his lips as he shook Karl’s hand. “Yeah, I guess I need to clean off.”

“Come on then. I’ll get you some coffee or whatever you want to drink. You can get cleaned up. Doctor that lip and put some ice on your eye.” Karl returned the smile, genuine and warm.

Following behind Karl, Daniel at least remembered enough of his manners to thank the man. “Thanks for helping me back there. You’re the reason those other guys took off, aren’t you?”

Given Karl’s size, Daniel couldn’t say he blamed them. The man towered over him and the massively built body suggested he worked out.

Karl laughed and nodded, stopping to wait for Daniel. “You’re welcome. Yeah. I’ve seen ‘em both around town, but that’s the first trouble I’ve encountered. Any reason why they wanted to pound you into the ground? Or were they just looking for kicks?”

“That one guy thought I came onto him. Didn’t help to tell him if he couldn’t get dates with women, why the hell would he think I was coming onto him?” Shrugging, Daniel shoved his hands in his pockets.

“That…would probably explain a few things. Most guys will freak around here over that sort of thing. And unless you work out, have a lot of body strength to back you up, they won’t hesitate to stomp your ass into the pavement.”

“I was trying to get my drink, not fuck the guy. There was nothing to freak over.”

“Well, if they fuck with you again, or if anyone fucks with you again, just tell ‘em you’ll get me on their asses.”

“Somehow I doubt I’ll ever venture into that place again.” When Karl turned to head up the steps of a red brick building, Daniel followed him.

“Can’t say I blame you,” Karl said as he led Daniel down the walkway between the two halves of the building. Up another set of stairs and Karl stopped, fishing a set of keys out of his jeans pocket. “Ignore the dog, by the way. She loves new people.” He grinned at Daniel and pushed the door open, stepping to the side to let Daniel go in first.

The moment the door opened and Daniel stepped in, the dog came tearing into the room, barking. The Jack Russell terrier didn’t intimidate Daniel that much since its tail wagged like mad.

“Hey, girl.” Daniel went to lean over to pet the dog but stopped abruptly with a wince of pain.

“Easy, baby girl,” Karl said as he closed the door. He set his keys on the bar separating the kitchen from the entryway.

Tapping Daniel’s shoulder, he handed Daniel a small dog biscuit. “She’ll love you forever, man.”

Taking the biscuit, Daniel bent over just enough for the dog to stand on its hind legs and get it from him. “Beautiful dog, man.”

“Thanks. Her name is Cinnamon, Cin for short.” Karl bent to scratch Cin behind her ears before heading into the kitchen. “You want something to drink?”

“Tea or Coke if you got it. Then I better clean up, and if you have any aspirin, I’d be grateful” Still feeling the throbs of having the shit beat out of him, Daniel leaned against the counter, trying not to look like he had trouble standing.

Karl got out two cans of cold Coke and took out a frozen ice pack from the freezer. Setting all three things on the bar, he said, “Come on. I’ll show where the bathroom is. You can get cleaned up and I’ll get you some aspirin and a shirt.”

Opening the soda, Daniel took a quick drink to get rid of the taste of blood. Then he set it back down and grabbed the ice pack. “I really appreciate this. At least I can clean up enough not to be so noticeable.”

Karl gave him a sympathetic, although skeptical, look.

“Don’t count on it, at least not until that black eye goes away.” He went down the hall and flipped on the light switch in the bathroom. “Towels and washcloths are in the linen closet. I’ll get you something for the pain.”

The minute Daniel saw himself in the mirror over the sink, he groaned. Fuck, he didn’t even recognize himself. His lip was busted and blood had crusted over on his chin. And his eye. Oh, fucking shit, he couldn’t hide that. With another groan, he peeled his black t-shirt off and saw the forming bruises on the left of his chest, right beneath his nipple. He looked like hell.

“Oh, damn. They really got you good.” Karl shook his head. “You sure you don’t want to go to the hospital, have that X-rayed?”

He opened up the medicine cabinet and got out a bottle of aspirin.

“Believe me, my dad wouldn’t appreciate the claim on his insurance.” Sighing, Daniel opened the small closet near him and got out a washcloth. After wetting it, he dabbed lightly at his skin to clean off the blood. “And it’s not work-related, so I better just take care of it myself.”

“Ah, gotcha there.” Karl disappeared from the doorway, leaving Daniel to clean up.