He also went down on his knees, hands to his throat, wheezing.
By the time I took three steps back, I saw Tex with a knee in the chest of a big guy on his back on the floor. Brian was there, gun out aiming between the three as he pulled his badge out of his back pocket and shoved it into his belt.
“Police. You’re under arrest,” he announced.
We had onlookers and we also had company as Lee, Hank, Eddie, Mace, Luke, Willie, Matt, Bobby and Jimmy Marker joined us.
My eyes went to Lee. “Ike?” I asked.
“Vest,” he answered. “He gets his breath back, he’ll be fine.”
The grip on my insides released.
“Are there more?” Tex asked.
“Only these three,” Lee answered.
“So this is it?” Tex asked, sounding peeved.
Lee just stared at him.
Tex looked at me.
“Told you, woman. Boring.”
Whatever.
I felt fingers wrap around my arm and saw Lee had hold of me. He propelled me to the front door and out of it, Hank following.
We stopped on the sidewalk. He let me go and I looked up at him.
“I’m missing the fun part of cuffing and hearing them get their Mirandas,” I complained.
“How’d you know?” Lee asked bizarrely.
“What?” I asked back confusedly.
Hank got close and reiterated Lee’s question. “How’d you know?”
I looked at Hank. “Know what?”
“You ran your hand through your hair before they sat down. Brody sent word the situation had deteriorated about two seconds after they walked in. Last report, which was five seconds before that, their man inside was nowhere near you,” Lee explained, and I looked back at him. “How’d you know?”
Oh. I got it.
How did I know they were a danger.
I shrugged. “Felt it.”
“You felt it,” Hank said.
I nodded to Hank, but Lee was again talking.
“They had no witnesses outside, so I reckon they intended to do you here or get you to a car and do you somewhere else. As long as you were inside you were safe, and Tex had the element of surprise. You gave him the heads up. He moved, got the drop on them. They had five seconds more, they could have got you to a place where Tex couldn’t get to you fast enough, including outside where they had the upper hand,” Lee said.
I knew what this meant.
I knew exactly what this meant.