"What, you don't think I'll hit you because you're a woman?" he yells, lifting his hand from his shoulder, which is visibly drooping.
I step closer to my sister.
"Come at me, coward," Nat snarls.
And that's when the cops bust through the door, guns drawn.
A half-hour later, Brent's been arrested and hauled away, first to a hospital to have his shoulder treated, then to the county jail.
Leilani, Nat, and I are still here, moving around the bar in stunned, stiff silence. Well, Leilani and I are stunned. Nat's saying goodbye to one of the cops. He's an old high school buddy of hers (they'd been in marching band together) and I have a suspicion that he still has a crush on her.
I touch my nose, then squint my good eye for a look. Sticky, dried blood coats my fingers. I sink into a chair.
"Remy," Leilani whispers, and she's next to me, kneeling.
I stroke her long, pretty hair. Lord, I've missed her. "You okay? Did he hurt you?"
She shakes her head and I spot the tears streaking down her cheeks. "No. He didn't touch me. He only threatened me."
"You sure you don't need a doctor?"
Leilani studies my face. "I'm totally fine. But you're going to have a heck of a bruise."
Nat comes over. "Yeah, he is."
We discuss whether to take me to urgent care, and I wave them off. "Geez, sis, I knew you took martial arts, but you handled that piece of wood like you'd been in several back alley rumbles. You didn't even get that angry when Damien and I put cockroaches in your bed when we were kids."
Leilani steps back, staring at me in horror. "You did what?"
"Pfft. Leilani, I'll tell you everything about him one of these days. The twins were little turds. But they're pretty decent now."Nat leans down and kisses the top of my head. "Glad you're okay, Barf Face."
I grin, which makes my entire face light up with pain. "Oh, bringing out the childhood nicknames are we, Turdasaurus?"
Leilani smiles. "Seriously Nat, how did you know what to do with that piece of wood?"
"I took a lot of kendo classes when I pulled overnight shifts at the resort's front desk. They teach you how to use objects as weapons if threatened."
"Well, thank you." Leilani looks past me to Nat. The two embrace, then pull apart.
"Anytime. We're here for you." She looks over at the two-by-four and grins.
"You want to take that with you as a reminder of your badassery?" Leilani asks.
My sister smirks. "Nah. The only reason I used it was because I didn't want Remy to hurt that guy and get mistakenly charged with assault. He doesn't need that in his life."
"No, he doesn't." Leilani turns to me, and I lift a throbbing hand and thread it through hers. I'm stunned into silence, blown away that the women in my life are slightly crazy, incredibly brave, superheroes.
Nat stretches, like she's just woken from slumber. "I'm gonna head out. Might go have a drink later with Officer Hughes. And that'll give you two some time for a soul-searching conversation. Unless you think you need to go to the hospital with that nose. In which case, I can drive you. It’s my last offer."
"Nah," I say.
"I think that cop has a crush on you, Nat," Leilani says while inspecting my face.
"Maybe so," my sister says, pressing the handle on the door and winking at Leilani.
"I'm going to clean Remy up." Leilani jumps to her feet.
I wave her away, every inch of my face smarting. "I'm fine. Don't worry. Just a little flesh wound. Haven't been in a fight since..." My voice trails off.