Red River Blue
Chapter 72
"No one knows what any of that crap is or what it looks like," Harley told Eugene for the third time, shoving the handwritten list he made back out of her face. "Yer gonna hafta go with us." Harley leaned against the side of the van, adjusting the gun on her back. She tried not to roll her eyes at the man. Eugene was on the road with them before. They never let anything happen to him then. And they weren't going to let anything happen to him now. He was making a fuss for no reason at all.
"Just relax Eugene, we got you," Tyreese said as he galloped by with Beth on his back. When the big man got to the back of the van he swung her down onto her feet. "Got one more ride in me," he teased, calling over to Harley and gesturing for her to climb on. She shook her head, fighting back a grin.
"I'll take a pass," Harley told the big man, "Save yer energy and you kin cart Wren's ass around later." Tyreese gave her a wink before he turned his attention to the map Glenn had spread out and pinned against the back of the van. From the other direction, Harley saw Aiden and his friend Nicolas headed in their direction. Both men were geared up with the biggest guns they could carry. Harley let out a heavy sigh. They were going on a run to an unscouted location. Something she never liked doing. And now some fools she didn't trust were coming with them. Something she liked even less.
The two men stopped a few feet away from her and started whispering to each other. They kept looking at her funny. She didn't like it. But she assumed they were probably just talking about her dalliances with Aiden's brother. So she ignored them and leaned down to tighten up her boot laces. When she straightened up, suddenly Aiden's friend was barreling right at her. At first she thought maybe Nicolas just tripped and stumbled in her direction. That's what it looked like. But when his body collided with hers, she felt the man's hand squeeze down over her breast. Harley shoved him off. Hard. Then she gripped the asshole pervert by the shirt and swung him hard into the side of the van. His body bounced off and this time he really did stumble and nearly fall.
"What the hell you crazy bitch!," he hollered. Nicolas turned, charging towards Harley and pushing her back. She bumped into the side of the van. Harley shoved him away from her again, harder this time. Nicolas stumbled back a few steps before he righted himself and took a step forward, fully intending to go after her again. But suddenly instead of looking at Harley's face he was staring directly into the chest of a much taller man.
"Don't you fucking dare touch her again," Spencer said as slammed his hands into Nicolas's chest, sending the smaller man down onto the ground and skidding across the pavement. Harley had her knife out and shouldered up slightly behind Spencer, backing him up. The man on the ground wasn't aiming his gun at them. But he had a gun. Strapped to his back. If he went for it, Harley fully intended to bury her knife in him.
"If ya know what's good for ya, you'll stay down," she hissed.
"What in the world is going on!," Deanna hollered. Nicolas was quick to holler out his complaints.
"That crazy bitch attacked me for no reason," he yelled, pointing at Harley.
"That's bullshit," Spencer yelled back, "You fuckin' grabbed her I saw that shit!" He was coming from the other direction and saw the entire thing. Aiden and Nicolas were laughing together, gesturing to her. Then Nicolas advanced on her and pretended to stumble, tossing his body into Harley's and groping her.
Harley narrowed her eyes at the man on the ground. She was getting angrier by the second. First he dared to put his hands on her. And then he called her a bitch. Twice. She would show him a bitch. Spencer felt the whoosh of air next to him as Harley darted around him. She moved fast, landing a hard kick to Nicolas's ribs before anyone thought to stop her. Then she pulled her knife out, threatening him with it.
"You ever touch me again and I'll carve you up like the fuckin' pig you are," she cursed. To make sure she got her point across, she kicked Nicolas again. This time in the balls. Spencer felt he ought to do something. But he was too busy staring with his mouth open at Harley's open display of hellcat fury. It wasn't that Nicolas didn't deserve a little of what she was dishing out. But Harley looked ready to kill him. Spencer was grateful when Tyreese pushed in, backing Harley up and placing his much larger frame between her and the man on the ground.
"That's enough," he told her, his low timbre voice calm and steady. "Just calm down." Harley didn't seem like she was going to go after the man again. But Tyreese had seen the girl in action enough times to know that she wasn't to be trusted. He walked her further back and all the way around the other side of the van just in case.
"Nicolas," Deanna barked. "Go home." She watched to make sure the man did as she instructed. Then she turned back, hoping the situation was done and there wasn't anything else she needed to deal with.
"We're burning daylight," Glenn announced. Deanna watched as the small group of people shrugged off what just happened and climbed inside the van. She thought only Aiden and Nicolas were going. It made her chest tighten when Deanna saw Spencer climb inside the van and take a seat between Harley and Beth. He didn't usually care much for going on runs. Or for leaving the walls at all if he could avoid it. Harley was grabbing at his belt, tightening it and fixing his holster so he could be able to get his gun out faster. Deanna wasn't sure how she felt about the young couple. Harley certainly wasn't someone she would have picked for her eldest son. But now that they were leaving the safety of the walls, Deanna was suddenly grateful that the fierce girl was at Spencer's side. If she was willing to kick someone to death for groping her, Deanna could only imagine what the girl might do to anyone that actually tried to hurt her son.
As she watched the gates slide shut behind the van, Deanna felt her husband's arms around her shoulders.
"Spencer's found himself quite a formidable apocalypse partner, hasn't he," Reg joked. Deanna could only shake her head and smile.
"That's one way of putting it," Deanna responded. Her husband laughed and kept his arms around her shoulders as they walked back towards the house.