Body Shots by Amber Skyze Page A

regretted walking away from him, disappearing without so much as a goodbye. But that didn’t seem the case. Just the opposite.
    He did notice from their brief conversation that she wasn’t wearing a wedding band on her left hand. That was a promising sign. At least there wasn’t a husband for him to contend with. Because Reed was determined to get his answers and get this woman out of his every waking thought once and for all.
    “Come on, bitch. Stop teasing us and show us those boobs.” One of the drunks shouted as he moved closer to the stage. He threw his drink at the singer, splashing the cold liquid all over her.
    Reed pushed off the wall and rushed through the crowded tables to where he stood.
    The singer continued with her song, ignoring him, adding fuel to the fire. He tried getting up on stage when Reed lunged forward, tackling him.
    “Get the fuck off me, asshole,” he cried. His arms attempted to lash out, punching Reed.
    Reed pinned him down and looked him square in the eyes. “I’ll let you go if you agree to keep your hands to yourself. You and your buddies pack it up and call it a night. You hear.”
    “Fuck you. Who died and made you boss?” He spat at Reed.
    Reed wiped the remnants of saliva off his face, before punching the jerk in the jaw.
    “Ouch!” he cried.
    Blood dripped from the kid’s bottom lip. “I’m warning you one last time. You get up, get the hell out of here or I’ll have to hurt you.”
    “Fine. We’ll leave.”
    Trusting him, Reed climbed off him and helped him to his feet. “Now move along.”
    At this point the music had stopped and the entire bar watched , waiting to see what would happen next.
    As the kid started to walk away, Reed bent and picked up a small towel sitting atop one of the speakers, turned and tossed it to the singer.
    She smiled.
    “Business as usual,” he said.
    She nodded and directed her band to start back up.
    Reed headed toward the wall he’d been leaning against for the last hour when someone jumped on his back.
    “You can’t mess with me you son of bitch. You obviously don’t know who I am.”
    It was the stupid drunk kid. He had his arm hooked around Reed’s neck, trying to choke him. Reed bent forward, flipping the kid onto his back. He pressed the heel of his boot against his neck.
    “I don’t give a rat’s ass who you are. I told you to leave and I wasn’t kidding.”
    Tables were pushed out of the way and a crowd surrounded them. This had the potential to get really ugly and Reed knew he could be outnumbered. His band mates hadn’t arrived yet and he wasn’t ready to take on more than this kid but he would if it meant the safety of the other people in the bar.
    Luck was on his side and someone had called the police. Two officers barged through the crowd took one look at the kid lying on the floor. The older one spoke.
    “Johnny, what kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into now? Your father isn’t going to be happy.”
    He picked the kid up off his sorry ass.
    “Tough. I don’t give a shit what my father thinks,” he said, wiping off his clothes. He lunged toward Reed taking another shot.
    Reed ducked. “Easy there tough guy.”
    Two officers grabbed him and carted him off. “Let’s go see your father, Johnny.”
    “Yeah, let’s go see about your jobs, assholes.”
    The kid was full of piss and vinegar. Reed didn’t envy the officers their job. He was obviously a spoiled punk. Reed watched as his buddies followed close behind the officers. They didn’t seem to feel the need to jump in and help their friend. Lucky for Reed.
    Reed noticed everyone was looking to see what he would do next. “Show’s over folks.”
    He stomped off to his wall, while the crowd cheered for him. They shouted their thanks. When he returned to the same position against the wall he waved his hand in thanks.
    As quickly as the ruckus started the crowd returned to normal. The crowd went back to talking in whispered groups while the singer