Chapter One
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.