killed the engine. “Damn.” He started the truck and eased forward, but a flash of color caught his eye. A commotion of some kind was taking place in the parking lot of the church. Curious, he turned to the right, instead of the left. The truck chugged slightly as he inched forward for a better look at what was happening.
Three people were involved in a confrontation. Two kids—big kids—and a woman. In a purple tank top…
He let out a curse and punched the accelerator. He didn’t look to see if there was oncoming traffic or a curb. A thick white chain kept him getting as close as he would have liked.
“Hey, what’s going on?” he yelled, jumping out of his truck.
Bothboys turned to look at him then took off running. One was smart enough to grab his bike. The other clambered up a Dumpster to reach the top of a concrete block fence and slither into somebody’s backyard. David didn’t try to follow either of them. He’d gotten a good look at the big kid’s face. The same boy he’d seen not a half hour earlier leaving his stepmom’s house. He was Liz’s neighbor.
“Liz. Oh, shit, are you okay?”
She was on one knee, leaning over, breathing hard. Her hair was half out of the ponytail she’d had it in. Her running clothes were a little scuffed looking, but fortunately she was still in one piece.
Or was she?
When she lifted her head, he saw the feral look in her eyes. The kindhearted healer he’d had tea with was gone, replaced by a stranger—a warrior who’d vanquished the enemy.
He watched her get to her feet, keeping his hands close to, but not quite touching, her shoulders. He saw a tremor pass through her body. Anger? Fear? Dread? He wasn’t sure what.
“Liz,” he said bending slightly to make eye contact. “Do you need a doctor? Do you have your cell phone with you? We should call the police.”
He wanted to take back the words the instant they left his mouth. He didn’t do cops. Good Lord, the last thing he needed was his name on some police blotter.
She didn’t respond to his questions, but a quick scan of her body told him she wasn’t carrying her phone. “Can you make it to my truck?”
His question apparently connected. She blinked twice then looked around, as if coming back to her body. Her hands returned to a clenched state. “Where are they?”
“Gone. You’re safe.” He gingerly took her elbow. “If Ihadn’t shown up, I’m pretty sure you would have whupped their butts.”
He wasn’t sure that was true. There had been two of them, after all. But she didn’t need to hear that. Not now.
She stopped suddenly and looked over her shoulder. “I…I wasn’t expecting them to react like that. They were so young. I thought they’d listen. But then the bigger boy got in my face and this time sorta got mixed up in my head with the other time.”
The other time? A sick feeling started to churn the acid in his stomach. “I’m going to take you home, and you can call the cops from there, okay?”
He wasn’t sure if she nodded or not. Twilight was pressing in. A fleeting thought hit him. What would have happened if he hadn’t come by? He swallowed hard to keep the bad taste from climbing up his throat.
He closed the passenger door and raced around to the driver’s side, stopping only long enough to toss the abandoned bike into the bed of his truck. Yep, same bike he’d seen Crissy’s stepson riding that afternoon. He and that kid were going to have words.
“Do you need to see a doctor? There’s an out-patient clinic not far from here.”
She shook her head. “I’m not hurt. Just embarrassed. I knew there was a reason I never preached from soap-boxes—the fall from one hurts like hell.”
He made her explain.
“I don’t know what I was thinking. I’ve been called names before, but this time, something just sorta snapped. I honestly thought if I talked to them—made them see me as a person, not as a member of a minority deserving of their scorn—I might
Three people were involved in a confrontation. Two kids—big kids—and a woman. In a purple tank top…
He let out a curse and punched the accelerator. He didn’t look to see if there was oncoming traffic or a curb. A thick white chain kept him getting as close as he would have liked.
“Hey, what’s going on?” he yelled, jumping out of his truck.
Bothboys turned to look at him then took off running. One was smart enough to grab his bike. The other clambered up a Dumpster to reach the top of a concrete block fence and slither into somebody’s backyard. David didn’t try to follow either of them. He’d gotten a good look at the big kid’s face. The same boy he’d seen not a half hour earlier leaving his stepmom’s house. He was Liz’s neighbor.
“Liz. Oh, shit, are you okay?”
She was on one knee, leaning over, breathing hard. Her hair was half out of the ponytail she’d had it in. Her running clothes were a little scuffed looking, but fortunately she was still in one piece.
Or was she?
When she lifted her head, he saw the feral look in her eyes. The kindhearted healer he’d had tea with was gone, replaced by a stranger—a warrior who’d vanquished the enemy.
He watched her get to her feet, keeping his hands close to, but not quite touching, her shoulders. He saw a tremor pass through her body. Anger? Fear? Dread? He wasn’t sure what.
“Liz,” he said bending slightly to make eye contact. “Do you need a doctor? Do you have your cell phone with you? We should call the police.”
He wanted to take back the words the instant they left his mouth. He didn’t do cops. Good Lord, the last thing he needed was his name on some police blotter.
She didn’t respond to his questions, but a quick scan of her body told him she wasn’t carrying her phone. “Can you make it to my truck?”
His question apparently connected. She blinked twice then looked around, as if coming back to her body. Her hands returned to a clenched state. “Where are they?”
“Gone. You’re safe.” He gingerly took her elbow. “If Ihadn’t shown up, I’m pretty sure you would have whupped their butts.”
He wasn’t sure that was true. There had been two of them, after all. But she didn’t need to hear that. Not now.
She stopped suddenly and looked over her shoulder. “I…I wasn’t expecting them to react like that. They were so young. I thought they’d listen. But then the bigger boy got in my face and this time sorta got mixed up in my head with the other time.”
The other time? A sick feeling started to churn the acid in his stomach. “I’m going to take you home, and you can call the cops from there, okay?”
He wasn’t sure if she nodded or not. Twilight was pressing in. A fleeting thought hit him. What would have happened if he hadn’t come by? He swallowed hard to keep the bad taste from climbing up his throat.
He closed the passenger door and raced around to the driver’s side, stopping only long enough to toss the abandoned bike into the bed of his truck. Yep, same bike he’d seen Crissy’s stepson riding that afternoon. He and that kid were going to have words.
“Do you need to see a doctor? There’s an out-patient clinic not far from here.”
She shook her head. “I’m not hurt. Just embarrassed. I knew there was a reason I never preached from soap-boxes—the fall from one hurts like hell.”
He made her explain.
“I don’t know what I was thinking. I’ve been called names before, but this time, something just sorta snapped. I honestly thought if I talked to them—made them see me as a person, not as a member of a minority deserving of their scorn—I might
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