Rising (Anderson Special Ops #2) - Melody Anne Page 0,23

of you. I’d be a shell of a person without you in my life. You make me kind, humble, and giving. I always want to be better so I can be worthy of your love.”

Katherine leaned in and kissed him. “I don’t think you see yourself the way the rest of the world does, love. You’re incredible. Someday I’ll have a video put together of the expressions on people’s faces as you do acts of kindness that change lives. Then maybe you’ll see just a smidgeon of what I see every time I look at you.”

“When you see a family like the one I just met, doing an act of kindness is easy. It’s not about me, it’s about them. You should have seen how adorable the youngest girl, Eden, was. You caught a glimpse of her, but I watched for several moments as she cracked jokes with her family with obvious mischief, then bumped into a stranger and genuinely and politely apologized and asked if the person was okay. You don’t see that in a lot of the youth these days,” Joseph said.

“You see things most don’t because you not only look around you, but you care,” Katherine said as the two of them made it to a staircase. With one arm around her, Joseph pulled out his phone with the other. “Let me set up their evening real quick, my darling.”

They paused together as Joseph called Chef Nathan Lockwood, owner of Altura restaurant, and ordered the Anderson VIP treatment, no expenses or experiences spared. He gave the father’s cell number. Of course, there was zero issue of Joseph getting the bill. The chef had always been excited to work with Joseph, not because of the financial boon, but because they both enjoyed seeing people enjoy themselves. The chef promised to have pictures taken and sent.

“Upward and onward,” Joseph said as he hung up his cell. They were only a few steps up when a commotion at the top of the stairs caused them to stop. A couple of men who seemed to be in a hurry pushed through the crowd, one losing his balance. He began falling, rolling several times before crashing to a halt at Joseph and Katherine’s feet.

“Sir, are you okay?” Joseph asked, immediately kneeling to see how he could help.

The man groaned, then took Joseph’s hand, painfully rolling to his feet. As the man got upright, he readjusted his well-worn hat, pulling it tight and low on his head. As he continued to check himself he rolled his shoulders and shook out his body, testing to see if there were any injuries.

When the man made eye contact with Katherine, a startled gasp flew from her lips as her body began trembling. She stepped back, nearly tripping on the stairs as she slid behind Joseph, grasping his arm.

“What is it, love?” Joseph asked, instinctively reaching back and willing his body to expand to block her from any threats.

He turned slightly to see her face was white and tears were streaming down her cheeks — and not happy ones. Her breathing was rapidly accelerating as she tried to speak.

“It’s . . . oh my . . . it’s . . .” She gasped unable to get out the words.

“Please, darling, what’s wrong?” he begged, his voice calm, but just barely.

She took a deep breath. “Him. Joseph, it’s him. The one who attacked me,” she gasped.

Her words finally registered, and Joseph felt adrenaline shoot through him. He turned back to the man, and moved another half step, making sure his wife was fully behind him. Joseph had felt anger before, but never in his life had he felt rage like what he felt as he looked at the man who was still slightly disoriented standing only a few feet from him.

Without a thought, Joseph’s arm flashed in front of him, and into the chest of the man who had hurt his wife. Joseph’s adrenaline was at full tilt. As he started to pull the attacker down the steps, keeping himself between the scum and his wife, Joseph felt strength rejuvenate him as they landed at the bottom of the steps.

“Get off of me you old bastard,” the attacker seethed, while pushing at Joseph.

Joseph wasn’t letting go of the punk and was getting ready to swing when a commotion started around him. Looking over the man’s shoulder he saw Kevin making a beeline toward them. Paul had picked off someone else who was struggling against him. As always, his