Everyone’s talkin’ ‘bout you. Heard you kneed Fratel i in the bal s at a bagel place. Wish I’da been there. You coulda sold tickets to that.”

“It was kind of a spur of the moment thing. He cal ed my boyfriend a wetback,” I explained.

Damn.

Now I was cal ing Eddie my boyfriend.

Shirleen’s grin faded and her eyes narrowed.

“Fuckin’ dick,” she said. “Fratel i’s not a big fan of the brothers either.” She turned to Daisy, “Marcus, now, he’s a good man, respects the brothers, ‘bout time he cut Fratel i loose.”

Daisy’s hair nodded again.

“You see Ray, you cal me, would you do that Shirleen?” Daisy asked.

“You got it.” She put her hand on the doorknob, “Gotta get back. Go to the bar, tel ‘em Shirleen said to set you up.”

“You’re a peach,” Daisy said.

Shirleen disappeared behind the door. We went to the bar and told the bartender Shirleen set us up. He didn’t quibble and used a heavy hand.

“What now?” Al y asked, sipping her Designated Driver Diet Coke.

“I know of another table, but ain’t no way they’d let me sit it and ain’t no way I’d try. Marcus would have a conniption,” Daisy replied.

This was not good news. This meant the night was a bust.

No Dad, no control of my life, no end to my nightmare.

Al dressed up and nothing to show for it.

Damn.

I glanced across the room and then froze solid when I saw Darius.

He saw me at the same time and did an eye-sweep taking in Indy and Al y. Then, without hesitation, his hand went to the back pocket of his homey-jeans and he pul ed out his cel .

“Shit!” I hissed, turning to the bar.

“What?” Indy asked.

“Darius is here, he saw us, he’s cal ing Eddie,” I looked at her, “Or Lee.”

Indy looked across the room, obviously saw Darius and then turned around.

“Shit!” she hissed.

“I’m gonna go say hi,” Al y said.

Indy grabbed her.

“Don’t say hi! We’re in Darius Domain. He doesn’t want some white woman in red knit with her ass hanging out walking up to him to say hi.”

“He’s Darius,” Al y returned as if that explained everything.

Something to know about Al y, apparently, she wasn’t scared of anything.

Daisy was looking across the bar, bold as brass, staring right at Darius.

“You girls know him?” she asked.

We nodded.

She turned to us, Serious Kick-Butt Daisy firmly in place.

“You don’t know him right now.”

Al y stared at her.

“Gotcha,” Indy said, pul ing Al y back to the bar.

Luckily, that was that.

We sucked down vodka. Mine and Indy’s cut with cranberry juice, Daisy’s cut with ice.

So much for the big, dangerous night out with the girls.

“Yo, bitch!”

We al turned to see who the bitch was.

To my surprise, the bitch appeared to be Indy.

A smal , round black woman with ringlets invaded Indy’s space.

“Remember me?”

Indy blinked at her.

“Um…” Indy mumbled.

The woman looked at me.

“She don’t remember me,” she said.

I stared.

Guess I was wrong about the big, dangerous night out with the girls.

She turned back to Indy.

“Few months ago, you stun-gunned me.”

Daisy, Al y and I looked at Indy. Indy’s face registered recognition.

“Uh-oh,” Al y said.

“Uh-oh is right, bee-atch,” the woman said, not taking her eyes off Indy.

The negative power force enveloping us ratcheted up a notch.

“Who you cal in’ a bee-atch?” Al y asked, hand going to hip.

Okay, so we’d reached ground zero in a serious Holy Shit Situation.

The woman moved into Al y’s space.

“I’m cal ing you a bee-atch, bee-atch.”

I was thinking that wasn’t the right answer.

“Why don’t I get you a drink?” I put in, trying to defuse the Holy Shit Situation.

“Don’t want a drink,” she answered, not looking at me,

“Ain’t no one disrespectin’ me. You hear what I’m sayin’?” Her ringlets were bouncing around while she was shaking her head and I didn’t take this as a good sign.

“I’m not the one who charged over here, getting into people’s faces. That’s disrespect. Y o u hear what I’m sayin’?” Al y flashed back, hair bobbing around her head and somehow the Holy Shit Situation escalated.

“Ladies,” I tried to cut in just as the woman’s fist came forward in a jab.

I ducked, she missed me and hit Daisy right in the eye.

I lifted up and stared.

Daisy staggered back a step on her rhinestone encrusted, ice blue, platform go-ahead.

Then she steadied herself.

“Uh-oh,” Indy, Al y and I said in unison.

Then Daisy pounced.

It was fair to say at that juncture that mayhem ensued.

Al y jumped on the pile of arms and legs on the floor, which consisted of a rol ing Daisy and the black lady. The black lady’s friend came up and shoved Indy and they got in a tussle. Other people either watched or thought it might be fun to join in and started shoving and punching each other. I stood in the middle of it al , opened my purse, pul ed out my stun gun and switched it on. It started crackling and hissing which I figured meant it was ready to rol .

I wasn’t wrong.

I leaned over and touched it to black lady number one.

She let out a squeak and went slack. Then I touched it to black lady number two, with the same result, except she was standing and she hit the ground like a dead weight.

I looked at the stun gun, then looked at Indy.

“Rock ‘n’ rol !” Indy shouted, putting her arms up, forefinger and pinkie extended in the famous rock ‘n’ rol double devil’s horns.

I switched off the gun, shoved it in my bag and then I helped up Daisy and Al y. I grabbed Indy’s arm, turned tail, and ran, dragging Indy along with me.

I chanced a glance backward at the growing brawl to see Al y wave at Darius.

He was grinning.

We got in the Mustang and Al y burned rubber.

We were a couple of miles away when Indy said, “I think I tore Tod’s dress, he’s gonna have a shit fit.”

“That ain’t nothin’, Sugar, I think I might get a black eye, and worse, I broke a nail.” Daisy said.