Captain’s eyes grow sharp and he lifts a finger to his lips.
I rush toward the door to gauge the sound better, and Captain’s right there to grip my arm.
He yanks me back, but then a broken plea follows.
“Please, I’m sorry.”
Captain flies out the door, me on his tail.
Right as we round the corner, Jason Rowe’s hand comes down across his girlfriend’s face, in a hard, opened handed slap.
She cries out, but it quickly turns to a shrill scream when Captain suddenly slips in her sight. He has Jason by the neck, lifts and slams him to the marble at our feet in seconds.
Jason’s head bounces against the hard flooring, eyes fluttering as his body fights to stay conscious.
Captain pulls out his phone, lifting it to his ear. After a moment he says, “Get in here.” He shoves it back in his pocket.
Tisha, his girlfriend, tries to run off, but I dart forward, gently gripping her wrist.
She whips her wide eyes to me, tears pouring down her face as she tries to work through her shock.
“It’s okay,” I edge gently, my muscles settling. “This is what they do.”
“He’ll—” she starts, but cuts off, when Captain looks up at her.
She swallows, dropping her eyes to her toes.
Royce and Maddoc come charging around the corner in the next second, and when Maddoc looks over his shoulder, Raven steps to his side.
Royce’s gaze wildly snaps along the scene, and a sheet of rage blankets his entire being. A visible tremor shakes him where he stands and with it the brown of his eyes grows black. It’s as if he leaves his body completely. He opens and closes his right fist at his side, and I can’t help but notice the blood already spread across his knuckles.
Mike’s blood.
Captain takes his knee off Jason’s chest and stands.
He coughs, half rolling on his side, his first sign of consciousness since he was laid on his ass, but Captain doesn’t let him find comfort by shifting his body.
He pulls his leg back, kicking him straight in the side, and Jason gasps, panic in his eyes when he realizes he can’t get air into his lungs.
Royce moves forward as Captain slides back, an eerie, black cloud surrounding him.
He picks up Jason’s foot, hooking it over his shoulder.
Jason’s eyes widen, moisture filling them as Royce begins to walk forward in slow, unnerving steps, Jason’s head scraping against the ground as his body hangs over Royce’s back.
He doesn’t stop until he’s kicking open the door at the very end of the hall and stepping through it, the heavy metal coming back to slam against Jason’s limp body as they exit.
I look to Raven, who stares in the direction Royce went.
Maddoc looks to Captain, and then pins Raven with a stern look that can only mean for her to stay put right before he charges in the direction Royce disappeared.
The girl finally comes out of her shock and begins to cry, her body shaking as she lifts her hands to hide her face.
My pulse races and I step away from her, looking to Raven to find the same uncomfortable expression on her.
She meets my eye and then focuses on Captain.
Captain wipes the sweat from his browline with the hem of his shirt and then steps toward her.
“Tisha,” he calls, a tenderness in his tone that has not only her shoulders falling but mine. He shuffles closer, gently reaching out to wrap his fingers around her hands.
She flinches, hesitating, but slowly allows him to pull her hands down. She can’t bring herself to look at him, though, her eyes are focused on the floor.
“Can you turn your head for me, let me see?”
Slowly she does, and her hair falls to the side.
A thick welt stares back, the perfect shape of a hard hand, as if she didn’t cower away from the slap, but stood there and accepted what she knew was coming.
“How long?”
She shakes her head as more tears build. “No, he, um...” she cries, but tries to laugh it off. “It’s track season, you know?” she rushes out, sniffling. “Mr. Carpo asked me to interview the team and when he found out I was meeting a couple at lunch today he... he didn’t mean.” She swallows. “It’s just—”
“Look at me, Tisha,” he cuts her off.
Her nose grows red, and finally she meets his eyes.
Something inside her breaks then, her cries growing uncontrollable.
Raven turns around, taking a few steps away.
He pulls her hands into his chest, whispering, “How long?”
“Couple months,” she breathes. “I... tried to break up with him, but he...” She shrugs.
Captain nods, letting her go and stepping back. “He’s gone.”
Her eyes slide toward the door he was drug through, and she asks, “What will he do to him?”
“Everything he could have possibly done to you, but worse,” Captain answers honestly.
“Will he kill him?” she asks.