rolled to the side. Coop had another guy down, and Jake tackled a third. We weren’t alone out here. Some of the guys from the party poured out. Some teammates.
How many were on our side, I wasn’t sure.
But I caught sight of Mitch, and launched after him. I made it the three strides through the broken railing and onto the porch before I landed on him as he tried to stagger away. He managed to land another punch, but I ate the blow before gripping his arm and twisting it back and up. That shoulder I’d popped earlier had to be screaming now, because he was.
I hauled him backward and threw his ass off the porch.
Anger boiled inside of me as I glared at him. My right eye was already swelling shut, and I couldn’t breathe through one nostril. My ribs ached, my lungs burned, and my fists felt like I’d put them through a cheese grater.
All I wanted was to completely rearrange his face.
Mitch stared up at me, our gazes locked.
Fear flickered in his eyes.
Even in the half-light cast by the pair of bulbs on the porch, I could read the pain and terror in the other guy’s expression.
“Not so fucking tough now, are you, asshole?” Good.
I wanted him afraid.
I wanted him to beg, too.
I wanted him to feel helpless.
I’d seen her when I got in that room. I’d seen her flailing, even as she lost the battle against the drugs in her system.
I’d listened to her whimpering in her sleep.
And I’d seen the absolute agony in her eyes.
But the worst of it all—when she’d cried at the hospital. Those terrible, gut-wrenching sobs.
Fuck this asshole.
Then a girl’s cry ripped through my fury.
Frankie?
Archie
Were they fucking kidding me? What was with all these assholes? The night had been going well. Now there were what, a dozen jocks here to deliver a beat down? Hope they weren’t planning on winning. I’d dropped the bottles of water I’d been carrying the minute Jake launched forward. He’d gone after the guy who’d had a hold of Frankie, and Coop cut toward Bubba, even as he told me to get her.
No problem.
Getting Frankie the fuck out of here was at the top of my list. I cut across the yard, heading to where she struggled to pull the bag off her head. I had to narrowly avoid a couple of the fights. Jake wasn’t holding back, and the sound of fists pounding flesh was a lot louder than the techno beat carrying from inside the house.
I just caught sight of her blonde hair as she tugged the bag off when a body slammed into mine. We went down, and I hit the grass with a painful explosion of air. I wasn’t a football player. Didn’t pretend any interest in sports beyond the casual. But I was no fucking lightweight. I twisted with the guy, rolling him over. Rising up, I slammed one fist into his face. One. Two. Three.
With a grunt, the guy went still and his eyes rolled back.
Pussy.
Snapping my head up, I stared at where Frankie was supposed to be.
She wasn’t there.
I scanned the fighting. The only blonds I saw in motion were Bubba and Coop. Where the fuck…
There.
Oh.
I was already on my feet and striding in her direction as she caught a handful of Sharon’s hair and yanked the other girl’s head back. Any other time, a chick fight sounded like fun. Rumor had it that Frankie was no slouch in the fighting department. Coop and Jake were forever telling stories about it.
Then again, I hadn’t really seen her in any fights, and I didn’t want to see her in one right now. I could just toss Sharon on her ass and get Frankie the hell out of here.
The last thing I expected was Frankie cracking Sharon right across the face with her cast or Sharon’s shriek of pain as she went down, blood spurting from her nose.
Another shadow loomed up behind her, and I was on the move. I yanked Frankie to me and away, just in time for the latest assailant to take a face full of pepper spray.
His shrieks were even louder and more high-pitched than Sharon’s had been.
Rachel prowled forward, a can outstretched in her hand, and she scowled.
Arms around Frankie, I swept her from head to toe. “Are you all right?” I demanded.
“I’m fine,” she muttered, more anger in her voice than fear. She glared to where Sharon rocked on the ground, clutching at her face. “Bitch