Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 61576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
I walk Paul and Rachel out the front steps to where Logan and Ryan already have the car waiting.
“Well, that went quite well!” Rachel says, smiling happily.
“It sure did,” Paul agrees. “And without a single incident, thanks to our friends here.”
“Oh, we can’t take credit for that,” I reply. “It’s not really a high-threat area–”
Just as the words leave my lips, there’s a blur out of the corner of my eye. I wheel and see a man lunging toward Rachel, coming at her from behind. His eyes are crazed, his mouth open.
“Sons of bitches!” the man cries out.
I have time to draw my pistol, but that’s a very conclusive move, and the man doesn’t look armed to me. Besides, Rachel is an art exhibit curator. Why would someone want to kill her?
“Rachel, look out!” I shout, leaping past her at the attacker.
I hear her say something in confusion as I slip past her and drive my elbow into the man’s solar plexus.
He lets out a grunt of pain as I spin around him and snatch his neck with my left arm, trapping it like a vise in the hinge of my elbow.
I kick out his ankle with my right foot and drop him to the ground, catching his right arm and pinning it behind his back. I hold it there with my right knee, immobilizing him as my team reaches my side.
“Any more?” Ryan calls out, immediately securing the man’s ankles.
“Clear!” Logan replies, pinning the man’s neck with his knee.
“Jesus Christ!” Paul cries out. “Who—who the hell is this!?”
I look up to see Paul standing between his wife and her would-be attacker, just as a husband should. He looks shocked but not afraid. This guy knows how to handle himself.
“Do either of you recognize this man?” I ask him as I secure his other hand behind his back.
Paul shakes his head. “No! Honey?”
Rachel shakes her head. “N-no.”
“R-rich…sons of…bitches…” The man is slurring his words and foaming at the lips as he speaks. “Rich p-pieces of shit.”
Logan and I look at each other. “Boss, is he–?”
“Drunk.” I nod, trying not to laugh. I look over to Paul and try to convey a sense of safety with my expression. “Just a crazed drunk, buddy. Just needs to sleep it off in a cell.”
Paul visibly relaxes and stops playing human barrier between him and his wife, turning and taking her into his arms.
“Fucking hands off…me…” the drunk man mutters.
“Call the cops,” I tell Ryan. Ryan nods and pulls out his phone. I turn to Logan. “You got him?”
“Yeah,” Logan replies, taking full control of the man’s wrists and keeping him pinned with a knee to the back. I stand and look over at Paul and Rachel, who still look a bit shaken up but are recovering. They’re whispering something to one another.
“I’m going to get them out of here,” I tell the boys. “You two make sure the cops take care of this guy and get the full story.”
“You got it, boss,” Ryan replies. Logan nods.
I leave the drunk attacker with my guys and go over to the Thortons. Rachel still looks shaken up but seems to be recovering quite quickly with the help of her husband.
“All right, let’s get out of here,” I tell them both, motioning to the car.
“We don’t need to stay?” Paul asks. “Give our statements to the police?”
“No.” I shake my head. “My men will take care of that. What we should do right now is get you two home. He appears to be alone. Just some random drunk. But just to be sure.”
Paul nods, still glancing back and forth to the man. “Right. Okay, let’s get out of here.”
42
Jake
The vibe on the drive back to the Thortons’ home from the museum is quite different than the vibe on the drive from the Thortons’ home to the museum. We have a limo with a driver I know taking us back so they can relax, but I’m still alert.
At first, things are a bit tense from both Paul and Rachel, but as we start to get out of the city and back into Connecticut, they both seem to loosen up a bit. In fact, Rachel seems almost excited by what happened.
I’m sitting next to her, and I could swear I feel her shooting glances over at me every now and then. But I remain as professional as I can and keep my eyes forward or out the window. I don’t want her husband to think I’m getting any ideas about his wife.
But then, out of the blue, Paul looks over at me and says, “She’s impressed.”
“What’s that?” I ask, not sure if I heard him right.
He nods over to Rachel, who I notice is looking at me with something like a smile on her lips. Her eyes could be said to be sparkling as well.