Infamous by Sherrilyn Kenyon Page B

infuriated him. He couldn’t stand to see anyone abused. It didn’t matter that he knew Wren could take care of himself. He wasn’t going to tolerate this and do nothing to stop it.
    Climbing over Nekoda, he went to check on his friend. But no sooner had he stood up than the bully shoved Wren again.
    Aw, buddy, it’s on  … Nick pushed the man back toward his booth. “You need to sit down, shut-up and leave him alone.”
    The man raked a sneer over him. “That’s some ego you got there, punk.” He laughed over his shoulder, at his friends. “You like a Chihuahua that thinks it’s a Doberman.” Facing Nick, he sobered and narrowed his eyes with deadly intent on Nick. “Now, you’re the one that needs to sit down and mind your own business before I shut your mouth for you.”
    “Nick, let it go,” Kody said from behind him.
    The man looked past Nick to where she sat in the booth. “Man, that’s one fine piece of—”
    “You better lay off my girl and watch your language around her.”
    The man laughed. “Punk, you’re toast. I know karate and am a third-degree black belt.” He punched at Nick.
    Then Nick did what he did best.…

CHAPTER 5
    Nick launched himself at the man and latched on to him with everything he had. Grunting, the man tried to flip him off his back, then he slammed Nick against the wall, trapping Nick between his steroid enhanced form and the brick. Ted used his body to slam Nick there repeatedly. Nick tightened his hold around the Ted’s neck, trying to find the carotid and cut off his blood flow there like Bubba had shown him.
    You don’t gotta be strong, Nick. A little bit of pressure in the right place and you can own anyone.
    Still, the man did everything he could to get Nick off him.
    “That’s right. Uh-huh. Uh-huh,” Nick said arrogantly. “You might know karate, boy, but I know gorilla, and I’m a level-forty champion in it. Let’s hear it for Diddy Kong! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew!” He mimicked the sound of a gorilla as he held on for dear life.
    Her eyes filled with an equal mixture of humor and horror, Nekoda kept one hand over her mouth while Wren burst out laughing so hard he had to set his dishpan down before he dropped it.
    “Oh my God, Nick! Nick! What are you doing? You don’t even know that man.” His mother came running over to them. “Get off that man’s back. Now!”
    Nick hesitated. “Not sure that’s a good idea, Mama. He might kill me if I do.”
    “You damn straight, punk! I’m gonna kick your—”
    “You ain’t kicking nothing here, boy.”
    The man finally stopped trying to buck him off his back as Dev or Remi or one of the quads grabbed Ted by his shirt front and held him still in one beefy paw of a hand. “Slide down, Nick. I’ve got it from here.”
    It wasn’t until Nick’s feet were back on the ground and he saw the bow-and-arrow tattoo on Dev’s biceps that he knew which quad had saved him. “Thanks, Dev.”
    “No problem. Now let me take out the trash and I’ll be right back to help clean up the mess he made.”
    Nick gulped as he met his mother’s furious glower. Dude, don’t leave me. Cherise Gautier might be a tiny little slip of a woman, but she scared the snot out of him. Especially when she eyed him like she could go through him, like she was doing right this very second.
    His butt was already doused in gas. She was about to throw it into the fire pit and roast marshmallows over his carcass.
    “Mama, I can explain.”
    “No. I don’t think you can. I know you can’t.” She let out a sound of supreme exasperation. “You don’t fight, Nick. Not for any reason. You know this. How many times do I have to tell you before you learn to listen? Huh? I raised you better. You’re not an animal to just grab someone and start pounding on them for no reason. What were you thinking? I’ll tell you what you were thinking. Nothing. Nothing at all. And I expect better from you than that. You’re at an age now where they’ll send