Concealed Hearts (Hometown Jasper #4) - Nicky James Page 0,28

a nasty beating, I guess. It was five against one and not looking good, and he said we should hurry and break it up because he’s not risking his new hip to jump into that fray—his words. I radioed Lucas, but he’s out on the county road and said he’d be five minutes. We’re closer.”

I dropped my pencil and shoved back from my desk, grabbing my Stetson and fitting it on. “Radio John too and tell him to meet me there. Damn kids. They haven’t been on summer break one week, and they're already up to no good.”

I was out the door and in my cruiser before Matthew could respond. The library was less than two blocks, but I didn’t waste time. It was one thing for two teens to fight out their differences, but when they ganged up against one foe, it wouldn’t end well. I’d seen it before.

With my lights and sirens on, hoping that by announcing my arrival, it would break things up, I sped to the library.

They’d drawn a crowd by the time I screeched up to the curb. Everyone must have been in the same mind frame as old man Grover—worried about their own safety. There was a whole lot of gawking and not a whole lot of helping going on.

As I rushed from my car, a lone brave soul burst from the crowd and put themselves in the middle of the tussle without pausing to consider the ramifications. I joined the redheaded blur of a man who’d come from the other end of the street, and together we broke up the fight.

Using my booming voice helped. Once the kids knew the police had arrived, things calmed down fast. The redheaded hero turned out to be Lucky, the bartender from the brewery a half a block down the road. Together, we peeled the kids apart, and I instructed them to have a seat on the curb, ensuring they kept a distance from each other since tempers were still burning hot.

The guy they’d been hammering was bloody and banged up, but he got to his feet with Lucky’s help, limping and groaning. I was shocked at his size. Often times, it was the smaller kids who took the brunt of bully’s abuse. This kid was not small, his height nearly matching my own. Only when he turned his stormy gray eyes on me did I recognize him.

Felix.

His right eye was swelling shut, his hair was in disarray, and his clothes were askew and torn. There was a nasty cut on his upper lip, dripping a stream of blood down his chin and onto his shirt. I couldn’t tell by looking at him if they’d broken bones, but he was unstable and banged up pretty good.

Felix slumped and almost fell when he tried to stand on his own, so Lucky kept a hand on his elbow, holding him upright.

I unclipped my radio. “I’m going to need an ambulance outside the library.”

“I’m fine.” The gash on Felix’s lip made the words come out mumbled. He swiped his mouth, smearing the blood onto his arm. He frowned at the mess as though surprised to find himself bleeding.

“Ten-four. Ambulance on the way, Chief.”

“I hate to do this,” Lucky said, his cheeks flushed. “Can I pass him off to you, Chief? I abandoned my post and left Anka by herself. She’s gonna be pissed.”

“I’m good. Thanks for jumping in.”

As Lucky transferred a wobbly Felix to a bench outside the library, Constable John Bygrove pulled up to the curb in his cruiser, lights flashing. He got out of his vehicle, shaking his head as he took in the scene.

He met me on the sidewalk. “What do we got?”

“I just showed up. Haven’t talked to them yet. Managed to pull them all apart with Lucky’s help. These yahoos over there had Felix”—I gestured to the roughed up teen on the bench—“pinned down and were beating the snot out of him. Lucky came from the brewery and helped, but he had to get back to his post. Once we take care of this—”

“I’ll talk to him and get a statement. Where do you want me?”

“I have a history with Felix here. Plus, an ambulance is on the way to check him out. Lucas is on his way. Get these guys to the station. I want parents called, and I want to know what the hell’s going on.”

“On it.”

I scanned the crowd of lookie-loos and shook my head when I caught Jasper Times’ head journalist,