COMING TO BLOWS
“How fucking dare you!”Sterling’s voice raised an octave as his fists balled in anger. Without a conscious thought, he’d loosened his tie and then removed it altogether. His shirt was next, littering the floor at his feet. Cole had only been clad in a pair of pajama pants to begin with, and he pulled them up and tightened the string at his waist.
Damian stepped in close to me, putting a hand on my hip to pull me close to him. “Well, there’s no stopping them now,” he whispered. “I suppose I should have expected it to come to this.”
“Oh, no you don’t!” I squealed. “Not in my apartment. You will not fight in here!”
“Get out of the way, Dahlia!” Sterling hissed, putting a hand out to his side to deter me from intervening. “I’m going to beat this motherfucker senseless. Then maybe he will learn to have some fucking respect!” Sterling made a mad grab for Cole, who evaded him with ease.
“Respect for what?” he asked. “A washed-up detective who’s been lying about who he is for years? Someone who has more excuses than anyone I’ve met in my life? You can’t even tell us what you were doing last night. How the fuck are we supposed to believe anything that comes out of your mouth? And don’t give me that shit about you being at work. Being at work covering up evidence is closer to the truth.” Cole swung wide and caught Sterling’s jaw, knocking his head to the side, and causing his body to sway off balance.
“Can’t you guys just talk about this?” I screamed, with Damian pulling me backward.
“Don’t get in the middle of them, Dahlia.”
I struggled to get free of the Incubus’ arms. “Let me go! Damian, I have to stop them from hurting each other!”
“There’s nothing you can do. You have to let them get this out of their system.”
Sterling’s fist connected with the side of Cole’s head with a sickening thud. “You’re weak! You think having all those tattoos makes you some kind of tough guy? They don’t! They just make you look like a wannabe. Honey, I’m the real deal. You don’t want any of this!” Sterling lunged for Cole, catching him around the waist and slamming him into the door behind him.
Cole bludgeoned the back of Sterling’s head with punches, incapacitated from the waist down by the detective’s muscular arms. “Let me go, you fucker!” He kneed the other man in the groin, and Sterling doubled over in pain. Cole took that opportunity to unleash a torrent of punches, knocking his opponent back and forth until Sterling regained his breath.
Both men bled from the mouth. The cheap linoleum was spattered with spots of red being smeared by moving feet. Hot tears rolled down my cheeks as I fought for my freedom. If I could just get between them, I could end this whole thing. They needed to see me. They needed to see what they were doing to me by inflicting pain on each other.
I stomped on Damian’s bare foot as hard as I could and he yelped in pain, releasing me from his bear hug. “Dahlia, don’t!” he screamed as I rushed forward, intent on preventing me from intervening. He was too late, and I was far too fast.
“Don’t!” I yelled as I broke into the space between the two warring men. Someone struck me. I didn’t see who, but I felt the pain instantly. My vision went wishy washy before it went dark completely. There was a cacophony of muffled voices around me, but I couldn’t make them out. Someone was touching me. No. More than one person’s hands were on my body in multiple places. Was I being moved? I wasn’t sure. And I wasn’t sure I cared. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen.
Something was slapping my cheeks. Little bits of light were escaping into my field of vision, pin bursts of white erupting into stars from where my eyes were trying to function. A cold, wet feeling emerged from my forehead. It was a towel. Someone pressed it to my skin. I began slapping the hands away, fighting to be left alone. Strong hands gripped my wrists. Who was touching me?
I opened one eye, and then the other. Three sets of eyes looked back, each set a different shape and color, but all looked scared. What were they scared of? As if hit by a brick, understanding flooded into me. These were my men, and one of them had hit me.
“Dahlia, are you okay?” Damian spoke first. It was his hand on my forehead with the damp cloth. “Say something, honey. Tell me you’re okay.”
“Which one of you did it?” I asked in a raspy voice.
Cole and Sterling looked at each other before turning back to me. “I’m not sure,” Sterling said. “We were trying to get at each other, and then you were just there. Then I saw you fall. It could have been either of us. We should have been paying attention. We shouldn’t have allowed ourselves to get that angry in your home.”
Cole released my left arm, and I wiped the tears from my eyes. The right side of my head was tender to the touch. That must have been where the fist connected with my flesh. “I want you both out. I don’t care where you go, but I don’t want you anywhere near me right now.”
The men looked at each other and back at me as if unsure of what they should do. “Are you breaking up with us?” Cole asked, his voice shaky with fear.
“No, but I need some space. I have to think about this, and what I should do about it. I’ve never been hit by any man before, and I’m not sure how I should handle it.” As a wave of pain shot through me, I bit my lip. Damian placed a hand on my shoulder in support.
“It was an accident,” Sterling proclaimed. “Neither of us would ever intentionally hurt you.”
“I’m glad you finally came to that conclusion, detective,” I said. “But it’s a smidge too late for forgiveness now. Please get your things and leave my apartment. Do not make me ask you again. You can come back after I’ve had time to process all this. I will let you know when that is.”
Cole touched Sterling’s shoulder and gave him a look. Understanding passed through the two men and they headed off to obey my command. I laid there, eyes closed tight, trying to keep the room from spinning around me. I felt nauseous, the pain from my head spinning me in circles even though I was relatively certain the room wasn’t moving at all.
“They’re gone,” Damian said in a soft voice. “I told you not to get between them. They weren’t in the right mind. They didn’t even know you were between them until you got hit.”
“Did you see who did it?” I asked.
He shook his head no. His blond curls fell into his face. “They were moving too fast. It was all a blur.”
Bean jumped onto he bed and began to lick the side of my face. His coarse little tongue felt good against the pain in my flesh. The purr rumbling from his belly calmed me, making it easier to form my thoughts in a coherent manner.
“Is there anything I can do for you, Dahlia?” Damian asked.
I tried to shake my head, but the movement made me feel sick. “I know you didn’t do anything wrong, but I would like it if you left, too. Tonight, I need to be alone. A week ago, I was a single girl with no one to worry about except my cat. Now, I have all of you to contend with, and it’s a little too much for me right now.” I reached my arm up and stroked the side of Bean’s face.
Damian frowned. “But what if you have a concussion?”
I forced a smile. “I don’t. The blow knocked me dizzy, but it’s already dissipating. It’ll be nothing but an annoying headache in less than an hour.”
He didn’t look convinced. “I don’t want to leave you.”
“I’m asking you nicely. Just let me have the evening.” I forced my eyes to stay open to look as strong as I could. I knew he’d never leave if he thought I was injured too badly.
Sighing, I felt his weight lift off the mattress. His fingers drifted down my arm as he left the room. “I’m a phone call away, Dahlia. If you need anything at all, please call me. I will come running. I promise.”
I smiled. “I know you will. Thank you, Damian.”