“You care if I take a piss?” the bearded biker said in a voice louder than necessary. “You can watch if you want.”

The man by the Dumpster snickered. “Trust you, man, to find a chick back here.”

Viper wasn’t easily cowed, but she wasn’t stupid either. The bar was too noisy for anyone to hear her, and she was keeping this conversation short. “I’ve got better things to do.” She rose from the bench.

Dumpster man swaggered toward her. “He’ll let you hold it for him.”

As she smelled the liquor on them, her uneasiness grew, but Viper didn’t believe in showing fear. “I couldn’t find anything that little.”

They hooted with laughter. Even though her knees had started to shake, she loved how tough she was. This summer hadn’t been a waste after all.

Except her wisecrack had opened the door to a camaraderie she didn’t want, and they were both closing in on her. “I like you,” the bearded one said.

Dumpster man had a narrow, sloping forehead and a unibrow. “Come on inside and have a drink with us.”

She swallowed. “Sure. Let’s go.”

But they didn’t move, and the smell of liquor and body odor was making her queasy.

“You got an old man?” The one with the beard scratched his stomach like Panda used to, except this was the real thing.

“An old lady,” she retorted. “I don’t go for guys.”

She thought she was being smart, but the look they exchanged wasn’t encouraging, and Beard Man’s eyes were creeping all over her. “You just haven’t found the right one. Isn’t that right, Wade?”

“Yeah, like I haven’t heard that before.” She managed a sneer.

A fence blocked the far side of the bar, so she’d have to slip past both of them before she could get to the parking lot. She’d always felt safe on the island, but she didn’t feel safe now, and her Viper face was slipping. “Let’s get that drink.”

“No hurry.” Wade, the Dumpster man, rubbed his crotch. “Scottie, go pee.”

“Can’t. I got a boner.”

Their stench made her want to retch. Her heart had started to race. “I need a drink,” she said quickly. “You can come with me or stay out here.”

But as she tried to slip past them, the one named Wade grabbed her arm. “I like it out here.” He squeezed until it hurt. “You really a dyke?”

“Leave me alone.” Her voice was suddenly high-pitched, all the toughness gone.

A man interrupted. A knight in shining armor calling out from the corner of the building. “Everything okay back here?”

“No!” she exclaimed.

“Girlfriend’s drunk,” Wade shouted back. “Don’t pay her no attention.” He palmed the back of her head and smashed her face into the reek of his T-shirt so she couldn’t cry out.