Easy Nights (Boudreaux #6)

“I know.” And now she breaks down in tears again. “She’s always been afraid to have kids because the girls in her family inherit her paranormal abilities, but Beau is so good for her, and I’m so h-h-happy for them.”

“I see that.” I tug her hand and pull her up into my arms, rocking us both back and forth. I wonder if she’s torn when one of her siblings says they’re going to have a baby. Is she happy for them and sad for herself at the same time?

I don’t want to ask her that now. I don’t want any ghosts here tonight. So I kiss her temple and wipe the tears away.

“We’ll congratulate them tomorrow.”

She nods, the tears drying up.

“Are you hungry?” I ask.

“Yes.”

“Let’s order that pizza then.”

***

“Today was a kick-my-ass day,” Ethan, my general manager, says the following evening as we’re closing up the studio.

“Anything you need help with?” I ask him.

“No, nothing crazy, just busy. I had two women come in together today and join Shelly’s class.”

“That’s great.” I started that class right after we all discovered just how badly Savannah’s ex-husband abused her. “We might have to add another of her classes each week. It’s pretty full.”

“It’s great for us, but it’s fucking sad that there are that many women who need to defend themselves against men who are supposed to love them.”

“And that’s just the ones who have discovered the class and are brave enough to come,” I reply.

“I know.” He sighs. “I have some more paperwork to catch up on, but I’ll be right behind you.”

“I can stay.”

“No, I’ll literally be thirty seconds behind you. I’ll lock up on my way out.”

“All right, man, have a good night.”

He waves me off and I snag my keys off my desk. It’s after dark, but that’s not unusual on Thursdays when I work late. I don’t expect my staff to always take the evening classes, and I don’t mind doing them, so I teach late on Thursdays.

I walk out of the door and take two steps toward my car when I’m suddenly grabbed on both sides.

“What the fuck?”

I spin, almost freeing myself, but two more men join them. They’re massive, outweighing me by at least fifty pounds each.

“Take my wallet,” I say, hoping one of them loosens his grip on me long enough to grab for it, but no such luck.

Thug number three punches me, square in the mouth, cutting it open.

I kick up, using the first two as leverage, but they grab my legs. Thank God I’m fast and I pull back before they can plant their elbow in my shin, breaking it.

“Hey!” I hear Ethan yell and they immediately drop me, but just before they let go completely, Thug One mutters in my ear.

“Stay away from her.”

And then I’m lying on the street and the four of them are running away.

“What the fuck?” Ethan asks as he helps me to my feet.

“That’s what I said.” I dab my lip. It’s bleeding.

“They’re wearing masks,” he says as we watch them disappear into the night.

“And they didn’t say much,” I reply. “Let’s go back in so I can grab a towel. I’m not going straight home from here.”

“No problem.” He picks my keys up from the sidewalk. “Did they mug you?”

“No.” I follow him into the studio. “I told them to take my wallet, hoping they’d loosen their grip on me, but they didn’t take it.”

He narrows his eyes.

“I think it was one of our girls’ ex-husband. He said, stay away from her.”

“Assholes,” Ethan mutters. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, the lip is the worst of it.” I shake my head and toss the bloodied towel in the hamper. “I’m gonna go get a drink with my friends. Would you like to join us?”

“Nah, my wife has dinner waiting.” He smiles. “We need security cameras outside, now that we have the girls coming here. Obviously their exes are pissed.”

“Of course they are. The women they got off on hurting can hurt them back now.” I nod and hold the door for Ethan, then lock it behind us. “And you’re right. I’ll make some calls tomorrow.”

We’re parked near each other, and soon Ethan waves as he gets in his car and heads home to his wife.

I’m going to The Odyssey, the bar Declan and his wife co-own, to meet up with the guys. It’s in the Quarter, which is hopping tonight. Spring always brings more tourists to New Orleans. I park about a block away from the restaurant.

“Hey,” Eli calls out, catching my attention. They’re all gathered around the bar.

They’re all here, which is rare these days with everyone busy with their own lives. Declan is behind the bar with his friend, and the other co-owner of the bar, Adam. Beau, Eli, Rhys, and Simon are sitting on stools, nursing beers and flipping each other shit.

That’s what we do.

“You’re late,” Rhys says, then frowns when he sees my face. “Who gave you the fat lip?”

This attracts all of their attention, but I wave it off. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Here’s some ice,” Adam says. “What does the other guy look like?”

“There were four of them,” I reply, starting to feel sore where the fuckers grabbed me, and my lip is swelling like a son of a bitch. “Jumped me outside of work.”

“Jesus, Ben,” Beau says with a frown. “Mugging?”

“No, I think it’s one of the students in Shelly’s class’s ex.” I shrug and take a sip of cold beer. “I’m going to have to beef up security outside.”

“How do you know that’s what it was?” Simon asks.

“One of them told me to stay away from her.”

I take another sip, thinking it all over. “You guys don’t think it could have been related to Lance, do you?”

They all frown and Eli shakes his head no. “He’s in prison. And no one here is going to help him.”

“He’s in maximum security,” Beau adds. “I sincerely doubt it has anything to do with Savannah. What you suggest makes the most sense.”

“You’re right.”

“I never thought I’d see the day that Ben got his ass kicked,” Adam says with a smile.

“Oh, you should have seen him last week,” Eli says. “Savannah gave him a shiner.”

“Shut up,” I reply, glaring at my so-called friend.

“This is not good advertising for your business,” Simon says, joining in on their fun. He’s the newest man to join our fold, marrying Charly about a year ago.

“Sure it is,” Rhys says, slapping me on the back. “He’s a walking billboard for why people need to take his class.”

They all laugh, and I join in. It’s ridiculous. I haven’t taken this many shots without giving it back ten-fold in years.

I’ll be working out extra hard this week.

“Congratulations, man,” I say to Beau and lean in for a man-hug. “Was this a surprise?”

“Yes and no,” he says with a shrug. “We decided that we would like to have kids, so we threw birth control out the window, and she got pregnant the first month.”

“Over-achievers,” Rhys says with a grin.

“Are you having more babies?” Declan asks Rhys who shakes his head.

“No, we’re happy with the two we have. I got snipped last year.”

We all stare at him in horror.

“It’s far easier for me to take care of it than for her, so why not? I protect her. That’s what I fucking do.”

“Good man,” Simon says with a nod.