I no sooner was set on the ground when something strong wrapped around my wrist.

Before I could lift my head, I was pulled free from Harvey with such force I went sailing and only stopped when I collided with something else.

I looked up to see what I collided with, ready to flee, and saw Eddie.

I didn’t flee mainly because it was Eddie but also because his arm went around my waist, not in a Harvey way, in a hold-her-before-she-falls way and he pulled me back a few steps then stopped. When he stopped, his other arm came around me and he pulled me close to his body.

I kept looking at him partially still panicked, partially so relieved I could cry that this episode with a Balducci had a different ending than the last one. Then I saw Eddie’s face was scary stony and his eyes were locked on something beyond us.

I looked at that something.

Hector had Harvey Balducci pinned against the brick wall with nothing but his hand at Harvey’s throat. Lee was standing two feet behind and beside him. Harvey was gagging and trying to tear at Hector’s hand, kicking out uselessly with his feet. It was not just gagging; it was eyes bugging out, face getting purple, life flashing before your eyes gagging.

I stood, my heart thundering, and tried to get my thoughts in order.

Then my thoughts came into order and I realized that Hector was strangling Harvey. Not only that but Eddie and Lee weren’t doing a thing to stop him. Not one thing.

Visions of Hector wearing prison blues filled my head and he didn’t look half as good in prison blues as he did in those jeans and that skintight t-shirt.

The visions spurred me into action and I pulled against Eddie’s arms but they went solid.

“Stop!” I shouted.

Neither Hector nor Lee looked at me. I struggled against Eddie’s hold but he held on tight.

“Stop! Stop it! Stop!” I screeched.

Then I heard more people arrive, female exclamations and gasps then running feet.

“Lee, do something!” Indy was beside me and she was shouting at Lee.

Lee didn’t move; he just watched Hector like it was some kind of weird, new-fangled, in the alley behind a g*y bar outdoor play.

I tell you, bizarre.

Then I saw a whirl of motion and Daisy was there. She charged Hector full on, head down moving with such velocity she knocked him to the side.

Thank God. Little Daisy to the rescue and no prison blues for Hector.

I sagged against Eddie.

The relieved sag lasted two seconds then I straightened and went tense because Daisy wasn’t trying to save Hector from a murder charge. She was trying to get to Harvey.

And got to him she did.

I watched frozen as she went at him, nails scratching, boots kicking and fists punching.

Harvey was bent over, sucking in air at the same time trying to ward Daisy off.

He failed.

No one tried to stop Daisy either. No one.

Somehow she got him on his back and jumped him, beating him about the face and chest completely out-of-control. So out-of-control, I could hear her grunting and crying hysterically, all at the same time.

“You…” Punch. “Let…” Another punch. “Sadie…” Claw to the face. “Alone.” Then she leaned into his face and she finished on a high-pitched screech, “You let her alone!”

Finally I yanked free of Eddie and ran to Daisy, grabbing her from behind by her raised wrist, my other arm going around her waist. She fought me and we struggled as I pulled her up.

“Daisy, it’s me,” I whispered in her ear, holding on tight. “Sadie. I’m fine. I’m okay.”

Daisy whirled on me, breaking from my hold as I noticed Eddie move around us and felt movement behind us as Hector, Lee and Eddie, soon to be joined by an advancing Tex and Buddy, started to deal with Harvey.

“You ain’t fine!” Daisy screamed in my face. “And you ain’t okay!”

“Daisy –” I started.

“You can’t do this alone!” She was still screaming, tears streaming down her face. “I know it, I know it. You can’t do this alone.” She put her hands over her face and cried behind them, mumbling a repeated, “You can’t do it alone.”

Cautiously, I got close and then, feeling strange, I slid my arms around Daisy like Buddy or Ralphie would slide their arms around me.

“I’m not alone,” I whispered to her bent head.

She raised wet eyes to me, they were bright and they were flashing. “Damn straight,” she snapped.

I couldn’t help it, her snapping a full of attitude “damn straight” with tears streaming down her face for some reason struck me as funny.

“You need a screaming orgasm,” I told her authoritatively like I even knew what one was.

She blinked. “What?” she asked.

“The shots I was buying everyone before I came out here. They should be done by now.”

She stared at me like I might just be touched then nodded slowly. “Well, sugar, I gotta admit, you’re right. I could use a screaming orgasm about now.”

“Let’s get you inside,” I said, moving my arm to around her shoulders and leading her toward the backdoor.

I looked and saw all the Rock Chicks and Ralphie standing by the door and all of them were watching me.

Maybe one day I could deal with them all at once but right then I’d been attacked (again!) by a Balducci and Daisy was in no shape for anything but whatever a screaming orgasm was.

So I looked away from them and kept going in a beeline toward the backdoor while I went on, “Maybe we’ll order one of those sex on the beaches too.”

* * * * *

We all (that was, every last one of the Rock Chicks, Ralphie and me) had our screaming orgasms then we had our sex on the beaches then we tried fuzzy navels.

Hector, Lee and Eddie didn’t join us for our Festival of Shots but Buddy and Tex came back, faces tight and set and they looked like they were standing guard.

No kidding, standing guard.

I looked around, tried to find the bartender who gave me the note but he was nowhere to be seen.

Indy disappeared then for some reason Diva Drag Queen of the Evening, Burgundy Rose came out (Indy at her side), walked right up to me and pulled me into a deep hug.

I stood there rigid with shock at this new unexpected turn of events but she didn’t seem to mind. In fact, after she was done hugging me, she gave me a huge, loud kiss on the cheek then leaned back and started swiping at the lipstick with her thumb.

“I’m Tod,” she said in a male voice, still swiping my cheek with her thumb.

“Hi Tod,” I said without anything else to say like “What in the heck are you doing?” or an Ice Princess “How dare you touch me?”