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Leaving? Silas was pretty sure this had to be the guy with the goatee, or something bad enough to make Victor want to run. If Kota was staying behind, he may need backup. “I’m going to check. We’ll meet you at the car.”
Victor hurried away with Sang, not questioning him. Not that Kota couldn’t handle himself, but there had been three of them.
Silas hurried to the hallway.
Kota was just outside the bathroom doors, standing over the guy who had bumped into Sang earlier. The guy was on the ground with his hands up over his face, holding his own jaw.
Kota must have punched him.
Silas approached them. “Kota,” he said.
Kota just barely glanced over his shoulder at Silas and then returned his full focus on the guy on the floor. His eyes were wide, his fists ready.
It wasn’t like Kota to just punch someone, and he wouldn’t have if the guy had just been talking.
He must have touched her, or something else.
The guy was mumbling something. Perhaps he was cursing. Silas wasn’t quite sure. Silas checked the hallway and listened toward the bathroom. The guy’s friends might be nearby. Not that they couldn’t take care of them, too, but the longer they stayed, the more likely they’d have to fight. Or other people might also get involved. “Let’s get out of here,” Silas said.
“Wait for a moment,” Kota said. “Give them a chance.”
Kota didn’t have to say more. He was giving Sang and Victor a chance to get to the car before this guy could go after them. If he and his friends tried to follow anyone, it was better if it was Kota and Silas.
After another minute of rolling his head, the guy started to stand up.
“Don’t move,” Kota said. He nudged him with a foot, and the guy cowered into the wall.
“Shit,” the guy said. “Whatever.”
Kota crouched close enough to hover over him. His tone was dark, and deep. “Never touch a girl who doesn’t ask for it. Never corner a girl like that again. And if I see you near Sang again, this won’t be the last time your face meets the floor.”
It must have been serious. Cornered Sang. Touched her...
Silas lingered with Kota for as long as he felt he needed to keep an eye on the guy.
For Kota to get that upset—not that he might not have done similar for any girl in trouble—he must have felt very strongly about Sang.
Silas’s anger rose, but he held it back as he waited. He hadn’t seen what happened, but he thought about how nice Sang was. She didn’t deserve being harassed.
He was sure this was his fault.
7
Kota and Silas waited for a few more minutes. Those minutes seem to take forever. Silas anticipated getting word from Victor at some point that they were waiting in the car. Only, Victor might not be interrupting them with messages if he thought Silas and Kota were trying to defend themselves.
Eventually, Kota backed off, allowing the guy to stumble into the bathroom. Kota must have hit him pretty hard.
When he disappeared behind the bathroom door, it was time to go.
“He could be calling his friends,” Silas said.
“I know,” Kota said.
“We should go.”
Kota hesitated. “I think I messed up bringing her here.”
“You couldn’t have known this guy was looking for a fight.”
“It was unpredictable,” Kota said, “but I should have anticipated interruptions, perhaps some trouble, distractions... I just wanted to do something normal with her. Just to ease into getting to know her.”
Silas’s lips dipped down. “Wasn’t your fault. I shouldn’t have left her alone.”
Kota blinked rapidly. “You...”
“I went to go throw away trash,” Silas said. “I should have waited for you all to come back first.”
Kota absently shook his head. “Yeah, but...” He glanced at the door and then to Silas. “We can sort it later. Let’s get out of here.”
Silas followed Kota down the hall and cut through the food court’s tables. They only paused once to figure out which direction to where they had parked.
Silas kept checking over his shoulder. It was highly possible that the guy Kota had punched, once he found his friends, would come back after them. He seemed braver with his backup around.
An eruption of angry voices echoed in the mall. It could have been anyone, just an argument, or it could have been the guy and his friends looking for Kota.
Just to be sure, Kota and Silas darted into one of the department stores and made a few circles. When they headed back out into the hallway, they didn’t see any sign of the guy or his friends. With that, they headed down the concourse into the department store they had entered through. This time, they didn’t bother with circling and went straight for the doors.
Victor’s BMW was parked at the curb. They hurried to it.
Silas climbed into the back seat next to Sang. Kota took the front seat.
The moment they were in, Victor changed gears, pulling away. Sang kept her eyes on the mall and turned in the seat on her knees, looking out the rear window. She focused on the doors.
“Are they out there?” Victor asked.
“I don’t see them,” she said.
“I think we lost them,” Kota said. He was breathing rapidly, leaning back against the front seat. “Only I got worried when we made a circle in one department store, trying to shake them.”
Sang lingered on her knees, keeping an eye on the doors. Victor was going faster now, and Kota would be on her about her seat belt in a minute. Silas wasn’t really sure what happened back there, but it was over now.
“Sang, it’s all right. You can sit,” Silas said. He wanted to joke with her, to cheer her up a little maybe after what happened. He aimed a finger at her side and poked lightly.
Sang winced hard, cried out a little and backed away from his finger.
It was a weird, long moment as Silas tried to figure out what he had done to make her do that. D
id he stab her harder with his finger then he meant? It seemed like he’d barely touched her.
His eyes widened. Maybe that was why Kota had punched the guy. Silas hadn’t had a chance to ask. Had that guy actually hurt her? Her side?
And enough to make her sensitive?
On instinct, he reached out to her, holding her carefully so she was stable where she was. He tugged gently at her blouse, pulling it away to check the skin underneath.
She leaned a little, waiting, avoiding looking at the spot.
A large, purple, splotchy bruise covered part of her hip.
Anger rippled through Silas again. “Where did that come from?” he asked. He didn’t mean to sound rough with her, but he needed to know exactly what happened.
“I...,” she stuttered.
Did it matter? No wonder Kota was so angry.
Had Silas known...
He released her and then turned toward the car door and grasped the handle. “Turn the car around.” It didn’t matter that Kota punched him. If he would hurt somebody like Sang, who was to say he wouldn’t hurt another girl in the mall. They needed to go back, to escort him and his friends out of the mall, and maybe even bring them to the police.
“Silas,” Kota said.
His voice was irritatingly calm, but leaving people to harm other people wasn’t what they did. Sang was safe. There was no reason for them not to go back and correct this.
Silas released the handle of the door and clenched his fists. He spoke through his teeth. “I said turn it around.”
“It wasn’t him,” Sang said quickly. “That’s from yesterday. Greg never touched me."
Silas turned to her, stared at her, confused. He realized suddenly the bruise couldn’t have been him... Greg. The bruise was purple, and it wouldn’t have developed so quickly.
Silas quieted. Sang eventually turned around, sitting back against the seat.
“Was it from Max?" Kota asked quietly, turning to look at her.
She glanced out the window, and then to the back of Victor’s seat. “Yes,” she said. She bit her lip.
Silas was confused. If it was from Max, then what was the big deal?
“Let me see it again,” Kota said. When she didn’t move, he repeated, “Sang, let me see.”
