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“What about what I tell you?” Gerard shouted. He struggled against my hold again. “Let me go!”
Officer Johnson shook her head. “He’s gonna hold on to you until Officer Kane comes in to take over while I interview the young man in the back.”
Gerard went pale. “You can’t believe anything he says. The kid’s a liar.”
Liam frowned, and it looked like he was going to say something, but I caught his eye and shook my head ever so slightly. Let Gerard dig his own grave.
Officer Kane walked in before Gerard could say anything else. Kane was a big Black man, almost as big as me, and wore a don’t-fuck-with-me expression like nobody’s business. He spotted me holding Gerard and smirked. “I see you came up against somebody you couldn’t intimidate, huh, Gerard.”
“Screw you, Kane,” Gerard sneered.
Officer Kane tsked and shook his head. Turning to Liam, he asked, “Is this the man who attacked you?”
Liam nodded. “Yes.”
“Do you want to press charges?”
“Yes,” Liam replied.
Officer Kane gave me an up-nod, and I let go of Gerard’s arm. The asshole made a big show of rubbing his shoulder and wincing in pain. Kane was unimpressed. He read Gerard his rights and put him in handcuffs. Gerard bitched the whole time and kept saying they were making a mistake, didn’t they know who he was, blah, blah, blah.
Liam rolled his eyes and Officer Johnson shook her head as they watched the scene. Two more police cars pulled up as Kane walked Gerard to his vehicle. Officer Johnson’s radio went off, and she walked away to answer it. Liam came over to us with a wry smile. “Thank you for coming to my rescue again.”
“You seemed to be holding your own,” I said.
He shook his head. “He’s got thirty pounds on me, at least. The only reason I’m still standing is because I moved faster than he did.” He chuckled. “I used to spar with Sean before I quit tae kwon do. He was already a black belt, and I was just a lowly green belt. I had to move fast and learn to block so he didn’t kick my ass.”
I had to laugh. I’d been on the receiving end of Sean’s tae kwon do skills, so I knew what Liam was talking about. My mouth chose that moment to override my brain, and I said, “If you want to learn some self-defense, I can teach you a few things that are quick and dirty. They’ll get you out of a tough spot pretty quickly.”What. The. Fuck?
Liam’s eyes went wide. “Really? That would be great.”
I glanced over at Tony, who was grinning like an idiot. Asshole. I wanted to take it back, but the look of pleasure on Liam’s face did me in. There was nothing for it now. “Yeah, sure,” I said. “We can use the gym at your brother’s hotel.”
Officer Johnson came over and said, “The detective from SVU is on his way. I need to interview the boy to get his statement.” She looked around. “Didn’t you say there was a receptionist here?”
“Yes,” Liam replied. “Gloria. I sent her to my office to sit with Jean-Pierre while we cleared up the mess with Gerard.”
Officer Johnson turned to Tony and me. “Would you gentlemen mind waiting a little while? Another officer will be in to take your statement.”
“No problem,” Tony said.
Johnson gestured for Liam to show the way, saying, “You can interpret for me until our Haitian officer gets here.”
Two more officers came in and took Tony’s and my statements. By the time we were done, the Haitian officer and a social worker had arrived. This was followed by an ambulance because Liam was ninety-nine percent sure the kid had pneumonia.
When the EMTs wheeled Jean-Pierre out on a gurney, I saw how thin the boy was. His bruised and battered face was tear-streaked, and he looked terrified. The Haitian officer, a middle-aged Black woman, held his hand and spoke softly to him in French as they entered the waiting area.
Liam followed behind the gurney, talking to one of the paramedics who had come with the ambulance. Watching him work reminded me of the night in New York. Just like then, he was calm and professional. He was confident without being arrogant. And damn, he was pretty.
I clenched my jaw and turned away. Tony, who was just getting off a phone call, smirked at me. “Shut up,” I growled.
He raised his hands in fake innocence. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to.” I blew out a breath. “You’re right. He would be good for the team.”
“I know,” he said smugly. “Listen,” he continued, “I just talked to Michael. He thinks somebody in the PD is blocking action on reports regarding Gerard’s house. He got into the call logs and saw some calls, but there’s no response record.”
Before I could say anything, Liam walked outside with the gurney, and I saw him speak to Jean-Pierre before they loaded him into the ambulance. The boy took hold of Liam’s hand and said something that caused Liam to nod and smile. He stood outside the clinic for a long time after the ambulance was gone. I rolled my eyes. “For fuck’s sake. Where’s his damn coat?”
