3. Cole

Chapter 3

Cole

The Ice Bears were indeed putting on quite the performance and Cole was more than happy to see his old team stretch out their lead against the Dolphins as the game moved into the final third.

‘Told ya,' Cole laughed, playfully grabbing Roddy by the shoulder. ‘No one knows the Bears like me.'

‘Yeah, yeah,' Roddy replied. ‘And I guess this means you want a whisky to go with that beer, right?'

‘You got it,' Cole bellowed. ‘But just keep an eye out on those Dolphins fans over near the corner. I don't think they're enjoying this game as much as we are. And unless I'm mistaken, I think they might be under the influence of more than just the Smokers Tavern's guest German beer.'

Cole, Roddy, and Vince exchanged a look.

As they predicted, the Dolphins fans were not taking their team's impending defeat well. In fact, they were all starting to look like they might just be ready to start causing a scene.

But Cole knew that Roddy was more than capable of handling himself. Not only was Roddy built like a machine, but he also had the fighting smarts to handle a bunch of drunk hockey supporters. That said, Cole was enjoying the evening too much to see it turn into a series of broken bar stools and splattered noses.

‘So… see anyone here you like tonight?' Vince asked, casting his eyes beyond the drunken Dolphins supporters and across the bar. ‘I'm no longer on the market, so you've got a clear run on anyone here.'

‘Ha!' Cole retorted, a big smile on his face. ‘You are one handsome sonofabitch, it's true. And with that shiny truck of yours and bulging bank account, I never could compete. But… no. I'm not looking. I don't know, I'm just pretty happy being me. You know?'

‘Hey, I love Ranger as much as the next man,' Vince said, finishing off his beer. ‘But while a man and his hound can be best friends, there are limitations to the relationship.'

Cole smiled wryly.

Vince did have a point, there was no denying that.

Cole loved Ranger with all his heart. Getting out into nature with his trusty hound alongside him was one of the most incredible feelings in the world. Together, Cole and Ranger would explore far and wide, going deeper and deeper into the forests and mountain ranges that surrounded Ridgeback Falls.

But while this was all well and good, Cole knew that he would always be getting into bed alone. Cole wasn't averse to the occasional casual hookup, but deep down he knew that it never satisfied him. Fucking a hot young thing's brains out was all well and good, but what Cole craved more than anything was a connection. Cole wanted to find a boy who he could call his own, get comfortable with, and be there for over and over again.

‘Hey, I guess it's just not meant to be,' Cole said, his reply tinged with a hint of wistfulness to it. ‘But don't worry about me, brother. I'm good.'

‘I know you're fucking good,' Vince roared. ‘You've got me and Roddy!'

Cole was about to join Vince in his laughter but just as he glanced over toward the bar he saw that Roddy was involved in what looked like a potentially troublesome altercation.

Without a second's pause, both Cole and Vince got up from their table and made their way over toward the bar area. Roddy was flanked by the drunk Dolphins supporters and judging by the look on his face, this wasn't a situation that was going to end up in them all becoming drinking buddies any time soon.

‘Hey, Roddy, what's up?' Cole said, immediately making his presence felt amongst the group of seven men, excluding his friend. ‘Guys, I trust that no bullshit was about to go down. Right? We treat each other with respect here in Ridgeback Falls. And that goes for the patrons and the staff too. Ain't that right, Tiffany?'

‘Sure is, Cole,' Tiffany replied, a sense of relief in her voice. ‘Sure is. I'm sure these gentleman won't be making a scene.'

Cole took a moment to scan the Dolphins fans at closer range.

They were drunk, average build, aggressive. But they weren't anything to worry about either. Had Roddy wanted to, he could have cleaned them all out himself. And with Cole and Vince there now, any brawl wouldn't last longer than sixty seconds.

‘Nah, we're cool,' the red-faced Dolphins fan at the center of the situation said, shame faced as he realized that stepping to Cole and his friends would be a seriously bad idea. ‘Just pissed because of the game. Whatever. It's cool.'

‘Good,' Cole said, his voice stern but with just enough openness to keep the energy calm and collected. ‘Have a good evening.'

With that, Cole and his friends made their way back to their seats. The prospect of letting rip into the obnoxious Dolphins fans might have appealed to Cole at one time, but those days were long gone.

All Cole felt in that moment was a sense of relief that not only had a confrontation been avoided, but that none of the Dolphins supporters had recognized him from his playing days – and this was something that both Roddy and Vince weren't about to let go of either…

‘I guess you weren't that memorable a player,' Roddy said, doing his best to keep a straight face.

‘You could always go back and give them your career stats,' Vince added, playfully taking his cellphone and Googling Cole's overall career numbers.

‘Fuck you Vince, and fuck you Roddy,' Cole said, breaking out into laughter. ‘I'll blame the beers on them not recognizing me. And for that, I'm eternally grateful.'

With that, the three friends continued to drink and watch the remainder of the game play out. It was looking more and more like a total wash for the Ice Bears, with the Dolphins defense offering nothing against the Bears' fast, accurate attacks.

But if Cole thought that the evening's drama was over, he had another thing coming…

An hour or so after the end of the hockey game and Cole was just about ready to haul his ass back home and enjoy a late night raid into the refrigerator to heat up some leftovers.

‘You guys can probably guess what I'm about to say,' Cole said, finishing off the last of his whisky. ‘Cole Tyrant is rolling out.'

‘For once, I'm ready to get out of here too,' Vince said. ‘Josh is waiting for me at home and I'm in the damned mood for some hard and fast love…'

‘Too much information, man,' Roddy said, shaking his head. ‘Looks like it's just me propping up the bar until closing time.'

The three friends were about to embrace and say their goodbyes for the evening when Cole caught something out of the corner of his eye. And it didn't look good.

The Dolphins fans appeared to be dragging someone out of the bar by his collar. And the looks on their faces told Cole that this wasn't a prank or friendly arrangement either.

‘You guys wait here,' Cole said. ‘I'll be back in a minute for one final night cap.'

With that, Cole powered over toward the exit, and as soon as he stepped outside, he could see that something was very much up.

But rather than intervene right from the jump, Cole wanted to make a full assessment of what was going down, and why.

Cole watched at the Dolphins fans began to angrily push and pull a young slip of a boy. He must have been only twenty, maybe twenty-two or twenty-three at the most. The boy might have looked young, but there was something about him that was far from innocent though. Maybe it was instinct, but Cole could see that the boy was trouble through and through. But however much that might have been the case, Cole still wasn't going to stand around and watch a group of seven grown-ass men kick the crap out of a young man…

‘Hey, I thought I fucking warned you assholes,' Cole said, stepping forward from underneath the bar's outdoor rain cover.

‘Fuck you, old man,' one of the men said, landing a hard blow into the boy's stomach. ‘This little shit stole my wallet. And now he's getting his ass kicked. You got a problem with that, you can come and say it to our faces.'

Cole felt his heartrate jump up a notch.

This was happening, it was only a question of how soon.

While the boy may indeed have stolen a wallet, there was something about the demeanor of these men that was rubbing Cole up all kinds of the wrong way. It was a seven on one, and the one just so happened to be smaller, weaker, and out of his depth.

‘Looks like I'm saying it to your faces then,' Cole growled, stepping forward and landing a huge right cross to the face of the man, immediately sending him staggering backward and into the throng of other Dolphins supporters.

‘I don't need your help,' the boy said, barely able to speak as the effects of the punch to his stomach made themselves all too apparent. ‘And I didn't steal his wallet. I stole the money inside it!'

Cole rolled his eyes.

With sass like that, he was instantly regretting stepping in and helping the thief. In fact, it was debatable whether the best thing for the boy would have been a good ass whooping from these assholes.

What the fuck did I get myself into.

This boy is more trouble than he's worth.

But he's got spirit, I'll give him that…

However before Cole had a chance to process the situation any further, he found himself being jumped on by the rest of the men. Unfortunately for them, they had no idea just how strong Cole was, nor how good his wrestling skills were either.

Before long, Cole was dispatching the men, one by one.

And as his fists and feet crunched into their midriffs, legs, jaws, and noses, Cole could see that this was going to be plain sailing.

‘And don't even think about calling the cops,' Cole snarled, rounding on the lead male for one final jab to the nose. ‘Because I've got witnesses who said you started the whole damn thing. This is a small town. CCTV goes missing or doesn't work more often than you might think. Got it?'

‘ Urgh . Fuck. Whatever,' the man said, blood pouring from his nose. ‘The little shit stole my money. He deserved everything he got.'

‘Let me handle him,' Cole said. ‘If I was you, I'd think about heading to the nearest hospital and getting yourself checked out.'

‘Fuck you,' the man replied, already half on the turn and walking away along with his similarly battered and bruised friends. ‘And by the way Tyrant… you sucked on the ice! Totally overrated!'

Cole shook his head in disbelief.

The man had recognized him after all.

Rather than get bogged down in any of that, Cole had a much more pressing matter to deal with…

The boy.

But The only problem was that the sassy little thief was nowhere to be seen.

With a shrug of his shoulder and a shake of his head, Cole turned and headed back inside Smokers Tavern. Suddenly the idea of one final drink to wrap off the night was feeling more like a necessity than ever…