AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her mouth hung open, but no words came out.
I was torn between keeping this asshole pinned to the ground until the cops showed up to arrest him or letting him go so I could take Laura in my arms and comfort her. “Laura?” I said gently. “Look at me.”
The brain fog seemed to lift a bit as she shifted her gaze to me. “What? Yes. I’m…I’m ok.” Her voice wavered, and even with the bulky winter gear, I could tell she was trembling.
Anger rolled through me. This guy deserved a punishment far worse than whatever the cops would do to him. I wasn’t even sure he would get arrested. He hadn’t actually committed a crime yet, and I didn’t know if batons were considered illegal weapons.
I wanted to kill this bastard for scaring her this badly. Or at least beat the shit out of him. My friend Hawk would help me get him out of here quietly. He had experience with this sort of thing, and he knew how to never get caught. I, on the other hand, had no clue. I had always followed the law to the letter. And the only fighting I ever did was in the cage at Titan’s Club.
Well, tonight I was out of the cage. I unleashed my anger and punched him in the kidney, hoping I put enough force into it to cause the little shit excruciating pain, but also hoping I’d pulled my punch enough to not leave a bruise in case the fucker decided to sue me later. Even if he did, I had my own methods of protecting myself. I wouldn’t need Hawk’s goons for that.
Jerkface’s hollers pierced through the icy darkness in a super-satisfying way that made me want to hit him again, but what if someone was watching from a building. They looked empty, but I couldn’t be sure.
With my free hand, I took out my phone, then hesitated. I really wanted to call Hawk and render my own brand of justice in one of his secret, abandoned warehouses where the law couldn’t touch us. But there was too much of a risk that someone had already seen us.
With a sigh, I called 911.
The jerk under me struggled and yelled “I didn’t do anything. Let me go. Help!” the entire time I was talking to the 911 operator. I should have gagged him.
After that call, I continued to ignore the prick and called one of my lawyers. The best in the city. I needed two things from him.
Laura listened to my conversation with wide eyes as she looked from me to the guy under me.
“Whatever you do, Robert, make sure this guy gets the full punishment. And block any lawsuits he tries to send my way for excessive force. Make them believe I only used the minimum force necessary to stop the attack. Oh, and keep my affiliation to Titan’s Club under wraps. I’ll call you back once I know which precinct the cops are taking him to.”
After the call, Laura took a tentative step forward, wobbling slightly. “How did you…? Where did you come from?”
“That’s not important right now. I think you might be in shock. Sit down.”
She shook her head, and as she did so, the fog finally cleared from her face. She looked at the jerk lying under me and then at the can in her hand. Taking another cautious step forward, she tapped the jerk’s elbow with her boot. “You. Guy on the ground. Why?” She was barely audible, and her voice trembled.
“Lady, help me. Get this guy off me. I didn’t do anything.”
“You were coming after me. Why?” Her voice found its strength again, but I still detected the fear in it. “What were you going to do if you caught me?”
“Nothing, I swear. I was just going for a jog. Help me, please.”
Fucking liar.
Two cop cars arrived. The officers handcuffed the prick and threw him into the back of a cruiser. But I still couldn’t get to Laura. A female officer was taking her statement while three male ones interrogated me nervously. The jerk they arrested kept whining that I had beaten him, and the cops seemed to believe him.
They sized me up and acted as if I was the threat, their hands hovering over their sidearms. If it hadn’t been for my $6000 designer suit, they would have taken one look at the size of me and probably slapped the cuffs on. Not that I thought they knew the difference between luxury mohair and cheap synthetic crap, but they seemed to at least have enough sense to recognize my clothes came with a big price tag. So, if it wasn’t for the finesse of my wardrobe, they would have probably treated me like a thug. Or maybe it was because I had Jerkface pinned to the ground while he screamed like a girl when the cops pulled up. Then again, it could have been the scowl on my face that deepened with every second they kept me away from Laura.
I glanced over their heads to see further up the street where my intern stood tall and proud. Her expression, while speaking to the female officer, was solemn yet determined. I couldn’t hear exactly what she was saying, but I could tell the words were coming out steadily and without hesitation. To an onlooker, she seemed her usual confident self.
How had she shaken off the shock so quickly? I wondered how many difficult situations she had had to navigate alone after her mother died. I guessed she was used to dealing with all sorts of hardship on her own.
Right now, she appeared completely at ease and back to normal, and for some reason, that made some of the tension in my shoulders melt away.
The shorter of the three cops poked me in the chest. “I’m talking to you, buddy.”
I sighed internally. “Yes.” Why hadn’t they left? They had their criminal.
“So, you admit it?” Shortie said.
I looked down at him and resisted the urge to sneer. “I admit nothing. Don’t twist my words. What’s the question?”
“So, you weren’t listening to us, then?” He threw up his arms in frustration.
