AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Percy nodded. “I’m not going anywhere.” He reached down and lifted Lila onto his hip before turning his attention back to the scene. Michaelson was now gone, and the new guy was sitting down in front of Ravi, who was breathing a little more evenly. They were conversing slowly in ASL, but after a second, Ravi looked past him and spotted Percy.
“Oh!” Ravi said aloud, his voice trembling. “It’s you. Percy.”
Percy swallowed heavily. He chanced a careful wave. ‘Hi. I’m here.’
The cop looked over his shoulder, then signed something to Ravi before climbing to his feet. ‘Deaf?’ he asked Percy.
Percy shook his head and twirled his finger under his chin. ‘Hearing. Learning ASL,’ he managed with one hand.
The cop deflated, then turned to Ravi. ‘I’m going to voice with the witness.’
Ravi waved him off. ‘I know him. It’s fine.’ The hand he used to tap his chest was shaking like the temperature was frigid.
‘I promise to tell you everything when I’m done,’ the cop vowed.
Percy was thrilled he was able to follow along, but he felt more than that. The other cop had been cruel and unnecessarily violent. This one looked like he wanted to murder his coworker and protect Ravi—the way it should be. But the fact that it happened at all was sending Percy for a spin.
“I’m Officer Martinez,” the guy said as he stood up and pulled a notepad and pen out of his front pocket. “How much did you witness?”
“Of what happened to Ravi?” Percy asked. “Or whatever the cop was chasing him down for?”
Martinez’s eyes went dark. “What happened to Ravi. Fuck everything else. I had that taken care of, and he just—” Martinez quickly stopped himself. “Sorry. I need a witness for Ravi.”
Percy gave a quick account, holding Lila tighter in his arms. The words came quickly, and he felt a little uncertain, but Martinez just nodded and wrote everything down. “That was wrong, wasn’t it? How that was all handled?”
“It wasn’t handled right, but it never is.” Martinez swiped his hand over his brow. “Between you and me, I’m getting a little fucking sick and tired of nights like this.” His face did something complicated, but then his gaze fell on Lila, and he smiled at her.
It was sweet, but it wasn’t comforting. Percy had a sudden vision of something like this happening to her. Or maybe like what happened to Wren at his office with the security guard. What if her entire life was filled with moments like these?
He felt sick to his stomach as Lila twisted in his arms, grinned back at Martinez, then waved her hand at him. ‘Do you have lights?’
Martinez grinned at her. ‘I have a light on my…’ Percy missed the last part of his sentence that Martinez had fingerspelled. ‘Want to see?’
Lila squirmed out of his arms, and Martinez jerked his chin to where he’d parked his golf cart, and Percy thought maybe he should keep his niece close, but Ravi looked like he was about to fall apart, and he could do something about that.
Or, at least, he could try.
“Do you mind if I show her?” Martinez asked.
“Go for it. I’m gonna go sit with him,” Percy said, gesturing at Ravi.
Martinez turned his back and signed to Ravi, who nodded and waved him off. The cop held his hand out to Lila, and she took it happily, signing with breakneck speed with her free one.
The moment the pair started toward the golf cart, Percy’s feet finally unglued from the pavement. He walked over and offered his hand, and after a beat, Ravi took it. Percy kept a grip on him as he led the way to a couple of low benches, and when Ravi sat, Percy crouched in front of him. ‘Can I look?’
Ravi frowned, then cleared his throat. “Look?” he voiced.
Percy nodded his fist, then grimaced. ‘Sorry. Learning.’
Ravi rolled his eyes. “I know you are. Just…” He held up a finger, then dug into his pocket for a small box, and a moment later, he had his hearing aids nestled in his ears. “I don’t like wearing them very often, but you can speak. What did you want to look at?”
“You,” Percy said. “You were tackled to the ground. That cop should have made sure you were alright.”
“He did,” Ravi said, but he held out his arms anyway, and Percy used gentle touches to make sure nothing felt swollen or broken. “He offered to get me an ambulance, but I’m not paying for that shit.”
Percy let out a sigh and pushed himself up off the ground, turning to sit beside Ravi so the man could see his lips. “I’m so sorry.”
Ravi shrugged, his face doing something complicated that Percy knew he’d never understand because he’d never have to. “Why did you stick around?”
