Just froze.
No sound.
No words.
Erin didn’t notice why. Too busy straightening her collar and adjusting her lipstick.
She reached forward and shoved Remi roughly in the back.
“Let’s go, Carter.”
Remi went down hard, cuffed, off balance, no way to brace.
Her knees hit pavement with a crack. The sound sliced through the air like a warning.
And then?
All hell broke loose.
A crowd erupted that we didn't even know existed.
Screams. Gasps. Shouting.
People surged forward. Cameras flashed. Signs waved.
"Justice for Remi!"
"Hold the Line!"
"We See You!"
A woman screamed, “She’s bleeding!”
Someone else shouted, “Get your hands off her!”
And another, “You call that protecting women?!”
"Who will protect us from the police?"
Officers rushed out to hold the crowd back, but that just made it worse.
I stepped forward to help her up, Remi, on her knees, jaw clenched, breath shaking... but she yanked away from my reach.
Got herself upright.
Alone.
I heard someone sob.
And I realized it was Ava.
She was somewhere in the front, near the steps. Pale. Shaking. Holding back rage with every inch of restraint she had left.
The officers tried to form a perimeter, but it wasn’t working. The crowd didn’t want a perimeter. They wanted Remi free, and they were willing to draw blood for it.
Then Jack stepped up to the top of the stairs like he’d been waiting his whole life for this.
He raised his arms, and just like that, the noise dipped.
