Page 38 of Compelled Obedience

I was right. It was the kid from her classroom. The asshole had her around the throat, a knife pressed against her jugular. I reacted without a second thought, flying toward him. I managed to have a split second of surprise, but when he noticed my sudden appearance, he immediately tightened his hold on her.

“Hey, man. I don’t want any trouble but that’s my girlfriend you have in your arms and as you might imagine, I’m pretty pissed off about now. Aren’t you from her class?”

Sanchez. That was his name. While I could tell she was horrified, there was tremendous sadness in her eyes as well as fury that he was doing something like this to his own teacher.

He said nothing, but he was furious that he’d been interrupted.

“Yeah, the music prodigy. Right? You’re damn good on the piano.”

I managed to disarm him, if only for a little while. What the fuck was going on?

When he said nothing, only snarled, I walked closer because I was about to pin him in, the other end of the alley blocked off by a fence. Either the guy had plans on killing her in the alley or he wasn’t from the neighborhood.

“She’s my bitch now.” He wasn’t Hispanic, although he was pretending to be. I could tell by the type of knife he was using that he was likely affiliated with a gang, and if I had to make an educated guess, she was targeted specifically. This wasn’t about what happened in class. Why?

“Let me go,” she said softly, not fighting him as much as I would be doing.

“Can’t do, teacha,” he said, maybe not meaning for me to hear. He nuzzled against her neck, but for a fleeting second I could tell he wasn’t thrilled with what he’d been instructed to do.

My blood pressure was on the rise, my anger skyrocketing. He was still dragging her with him. I was no fool. Even if I had called the police, it would take them time to get to the neighborhood. She didn’t have that kind of time. After I dealt with him, I’d call a couple of buddies in law enforcement to find out how she’d gotten on the radar.

“This shit isn’t going to happen, Sanchez. Now, you can walk out of here or you can crawl. It’s entirely up to you.” A weapon I did carry with me at all times was a hunting knife my father had given me. It was a comfort thing, something I’d had in college. It was part of my attire, just like wearing a watch.

I yanked it out, flicking it open and waving it at him. I was no fool. Little did the asshole know, not only was I a blackbelt in karate and other forms of martial art, but I’d enjoyed being a part of an MMA team for a couple of years. It was one of my best kept secrets.

I darted a glance in Kerri’s direction. She was watching every move I made, her hands wrapped around Sanchez’s arm.

When she mouthed the word ‘don’t,’ I shook my head.

“Please let me go, Sanchez. We don’t need to tell anyone this happened.” Her voice was strong, unwavering.

“Can’t do. Gotta get paid.”

The kid had been hired for a single job. No wonder he was so nervous. That made him that much more dangerous.

I thrust the blade at him again, able to get two feet closer, also noticing he had a tattoo on his neck. I had a feeling I knew which gang he was a member of, but I had plans on double checking. If that was the case, somehow Kerri had gotten herself on the radar of one bad dude. Had she not known he was gang affiliated or was she used to it?

“I’m giving you one last chance, kid. Let her go and I won’t call the police,” I told him.

He laughed, but he pulled his arm holding the weapon further away from her head, which was the opening I needed. “Kerri. Now!”

She elbowed his stomach, breaking the hold, but he shoved her against the side of the building. Now my anger had reached the point of no return. With a keening growl, I tackled and tossed him against the building, smashing his arm against the hard brick as he howled, finally releasing his hold on the knife. I issued several brutal punches, driving one after another into his jaw.

“Grant!” Kerri yelled. “It’s okay. I’m really okay. Please don’t hurt him.”

“Who hired you?” I snarled.

The stupid kid laughed, gritting his teeth as he continued fighting me.

“Grant. Please. Just let him go.”

I could tell by her voice this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

He got off two punches, one to my gut. I threw a brutal swing, the connection pitching him against one of the dumpsters.

Taking long strides, I grabbed him by the hoodie with one hand, yanking him to his feet. Then I shoved the tip of my knife against his jugular.

“What the fuck do you want with your teacher and my girlfriend?” When he laughed, I dug the point in deeper until the drops of blood gave me a smile. “I’m going to ask you one last time. What do you want with her?”

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