Page 2 of Dangerous Rhythm

Knowing he might be surrounded by law enforcement at any minute, the man lunged at Curtis, just like any cornered animal would. Curtis jumped to the side to evade the sharp point of the knife and grabbed his opponent’s wrist and twisted it. The younger guy screamed in pain and the knife clanked as it hit the concrete floor. Curtis pushed and sent him scrambling back. But with the agility of youth, he caught himself before falling on his ass and bounced back.

Curtis braced himself for another strike, but the guy stormed right past him, through the door, and ran into the night.

“Hey!” Curtis yelled after him, but the slight groan behind him made him turn. He dashed back to the injured man. “Hey, man. Hang in there, okay? Help’s on the way.”

“Sir, sir? Can you speak now?” the voice spoke again on the phone. “I have officers arriving on the scene. Is the person with the knife still there? Is anyone hurt?”

“No, he ran.” Curtis put his phone on the floor as he knelt and eyed the now-unconscious man. “But there’s a man stabbed. There’s a lot of blood. I don’t know where he’s hurt.”

“EMT will be there in two minutes,” the operator said. “If you can find the source of the blood, put pressure on it. Can you do that for me, sir?”

“Ah…” Curtis stammered. Facing a guy with a knife seemed easier. He’d trained for that. Treating a stabbing victim wasn’t part of the mixed-martial-arts program he’d been doing for the past year.

“I will guide you,” the operator said calmly. “Can you tell me your name, sir?”

“Curtis,” he answered. “It’s Curtis.”

“Okay, Curtis. Deep breath,” the operator kindly said.

He inhaled and blew it out.

“You’re doing great. Now, do you see where the blood mostly is?”

Scanning the man’s left side where his shirt was soaked, Curtis confirmed and listened to the rest of the instructions in a dazed, automated mode. He bunched part of the man’s shirt and pressed it against the wound on his stomach with the heel of his hand as hard as possible. His mind traveled elsewhere as his hands did what they needed to do, until an officer came running in and pulled him back, and an EMT took his place.

Standing against a wall, he couldn’t take his eyes off the bleeding man as the EMT worked to stabilize him. The officer stood in front of him, peppering him with questions, but Curtis didn’t hear what he was saying.

He watched them wheel out the man, but somehow in his gut he knew. That man was gone.

two

New York City—Mid-January

Agentle swish of a glass door opening, allowing a quick burst of the outer office buzz in, made Lina Cheung swivel in her chair to face whoever just entered her office.

“You’re back!” said the bear of a man who suddenly made her office cramped.

Lina smiled at her boss, Marcus Barret. “You knew very well I’m back. You probably know which flight I was on, what time it landed, and who sat next to me in 4B.”

“Nobody sat next to you because you had the single business class seat by the window,” he replied with a grin, pointing out her attempt to trick him. “It’s good to see you, kid.”

Lina walked around her desk to give Marcus a quick hug. He might technically be her boss and a former senior officer in the Army, but he was also a good friend and confidant. Nobody knew her like Marcus Barret did, and he was the only person who could call her “kid” without risking having their ass kicked. Enveloped in his thick arms, she felt like a pixie that he could easily squash, though at five-foot-nine, she wasn’t dainty. And she wasn’t easy to squash, either.

“You and Ken didn’t miss me too much, did you?” Lina quipped. Ken Yasuda was the other named partner of Barret and Yasuda Security. She herself was one of the three junior partners and the newest at six months in the position.

“Of course we did,” Marcus retorted with a smirk as he sat on her guest chair. For a retired colonel, he didn’t have a stern bone in his body, but authority exuded from his every pore. Nobody could miss it. “You did good getting the Souros account set up with our partners in Europe. I’ve read the report. It was a well-spent month despite hitting the holidays and all.”

Lina perched on the edge of her desk. “It had to be done.”

The Souros Agriculture Group was one of Greece’s biggest businesses. Securing them as a retainer client for Barret and Yasuda Security was a big notch on Lina’s belt. Working over the holidays hadn’t bothered her. After dedicating a decade of her life to the Army, she found most of B&Y’s work relaxing.

As if he knew what she was thinking, Marcus said, “I'm glad you decided to join us four years ago. I know we see little action, but—"

Lina shook her head, interrupting him, “Believe me, I don’t miss it.”

She remembered feeling so burnt out from the “action” that she’d grabbed the fluff job Marcus had offered her when she’d gotten out of the military. Running security for a rock band on tour had been exactly what she’d needed. Traveling the country and through Europe had been practically a vacation for her. Readjustment to civilian life hadn’t been easy, and she was grateful for those memorable months with Canis Major.

Again, as if he was in her head, Marcus asked, “You remember that band you covered when you first joined us?” He handed her a file he’d been holding.

---