eagerly listening. There was no doubt in my mind that Annie cared deeply for her family. I already knew she had a big heart, but this only cinched it.
She was beautiful and kind and loving. What more could I want? There was the little matter of her being my brother’s ex, but I had no doubt I’d be able to handle that in time.
When we were done, nothing but bones and sauce on our plates, I ordered some apple cobbler to go and we left. I took her hand as we went back to the car. The sounds of our footsteps echoed through the otherwise empty street around us. The back of my neck tingled. The restaurant was second-to-none, but I wasn’t crazy about how isolated it was from the rest of town.
“I’m not too far from here,” I told her. “Want to come to my place for a bit?”
She opened her mouth to speak, but before another word came out, a voice spoke from behind us.
“Hey!” The word was delivered in a friendly tone.
We turned to see a tall, wiry man dressed in thick winter gear, a white tear on the elbow of his puffy black jacket, a knit cap pulled down nearly over his eyes.
I was on guard right away. “Yes?” I asked.
He smiled, but it wasn’t a warm, friendly smile in the least. It was the smile of a man on edge, a man I needed to watch myself around. A man I needed to watch Annie around. Before saying a word, I took a small step forward, putting my body between him and Annie. He twitched at this, making me even more certain my gut instinct was right.
“I’m trying to get to the Stumble Inn, but I got kinda lost. Either of you know where it is?”
The Stumble Inn was a bar on the other side of town, but I didn’t believe his true interest was in asking directions.
“Catch a cab and ask the driver,” I said, my tone curt but polite. “They’ll help you out.”
“Can’t afford a cab, man,” he said. “Got a few bucks?”
I glanced at Annie out of the corner of my eye. Her eyes widened slightly, and her limbs were stiff. Just like me, she’d sensed the danger and was prepared, tensed.
“Not tonight,” I said. “Have a good one.”
My body still positioned between him and Annie, I stuck my arm out to lead her away. One of his hands shot out, grabbing Annie by the wrist before we’d taken a step. The other deftly reached into his pocket and pulled out a mean-looking blade.
“That’s a nice purse,” he said. “Bet she’s got a few extra dollars in there.”
Annie let out a scream, trying to jerk her hand away. He gripped her tightly, however, not letting her go.
It was the last move he had a chance to make.
The first step was getting Annie out of harm’s way. I grabbed his wrist, twisting and squeezing it hard enough to break his grip. I shoved the man back, making damn sure he wasn’t close enough to touch her, let alone hurt her.
“Ow! Shit!” He grabbed his wrist with his other hand, the blade dangling between his middle and index finger.
My nerves even and calm, I focused on the problem at hand and solving it as though it were nothing. Panic didn’t enter into it.
Next step was disarming him. I pulled my fist back, driving it hard in his direction. His eyes went wide as my fist connected with his jaw, a sickening crack indicating a broken jaw. Pain radiated through my hand instantly. The man stumbled back, his knife dropping to the ground with a clatter. He fell next, stumbling and hitting the sidewalk hard, blood trickling down the side of his mouth. He was in a total daze.
I spotted the knife on the ground and kicked it away, making sure it wasn’t in arm’s reach of the man. I turned to Annie. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said. Then she glanced down at my hand. “But you’re not.”
I raised my hand to my face and saw what she meant. I was bleeding. Not a lot – just a few drops. “We need to get out of here,” I said.
I put my hand on the small of Annie’s back, shooting the mugger one last hard look before leading her away from the scene. Less than a minute or two later, we were at my car, the locks clicking shut.
“Holy shit,” she breathed, tension releasing from her