Page 46 of The Fault Next Door

Dave stood and then reached for something in his pocket, pulling out a knife. Ryder felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He needed to move swiftly and not stumble.

Other men working in the lumbar yard gathered around and moved in closer. Ryder did his best to ignore them. He needed to concentrate on the man threatening him, not the crowd around them.

Ryder didn't see Rafe anywhere close. Disappointment slid through him. He didn't think Rafe was the type of guy to abandon friends in need. But knife fights were scary. He understood Rafe did not want to be a part of this. Hell, he didn't want to be a part of this. Not once while working in Atlanta had he ever been threatened by a coworker. He didn't have a knifeon him and wouldn't pull it out if he did. Fighting with weapons would get you in big trouble if anything happened.

Dave lunged, and Ryder moved fast, getting out of his way. Dave didn't fall, which wasn't great for Ryder. If Dave had stumbled, maybe he would have dropped his knife, and then Ryder could have kicked it away.

“I’m going to get you,” Dave called out, his voice rough.

The men standing around them were yelling, but Ryder wasn’t focusing on them. He needed to pay attention to every move this jerk made. It would take just one mistake for it all to go south.

Dave rushed forward and nicked Ryder’s arm, but it didn’t do much damage. One more mistake like that could be the end. Ryder needed to get Dave down on the ground and get the knife away from him. He circled to the left and was trying to gauge his best path when he heard some commotion coming his way.

He didn’t have time to look up because the asshole charged him, and he had to duck and roll to get away from the blade aimed at him. He was breathing hard when Jim arrived with Rafe trailing him.

“What the hell is going on?” Jim yelled.

“They said I was gay!” Dave yelled.

Ryder snorted. “Hardly. That isn’t what was said.”

Dave snarled and lunged. Jim screamed and jumped back. Ryder could tell this was going downhill fast. The jerk wasn’t going to back down, and Jim being here had made the circle he’d been using to avoid Dave much smaller. He needed more space, or the asshole was going to stab him.

Ryder was about to tell Jim to back up when Dave raced forward and tripped. He stumbled, his arms swinging wildly as he took a few halting steps. Jim had moved and was now in the way. The knife hit him somewhere close to the chest or arm. Ryder wasn't sure where.

Everyone gasped. Dave slowly stood, backing away from Jim. Luckily, he hadn't pulled the knife out. Ryder knew that would be a mistake.

Ryder grabbed his phone from his pocket and called Nolan. He answered on the second ring. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Jim, my boss, was just stabbed. Where are you?”

“The clinic. I’m on my way. Hang up and call for an ambulance.”

Ryder ended the call and then dialed for an ambulance. He told the operator what had happened. Police and ambulance were on their way.

When Ryder looked up, half the guys were gone. Rafe looked like he’d turned paler than a ghost. Ryder glanced around and spied the camera in the corner. He pointed and Rafe glanced up. “Everything was recorded,” Ryder said.

Rafe bit his lower lip. “I hope that’s enough.”

“We all know what happened,” Ryder said.

Rafe still looked pale, like he was worried about more than Jim. Ryder knelt next to Jim and tried to keep him calm. Rafe moved close, and Jim met his gaze. "Rafe, get the fuck out of here." Jim's voice was strained, but he seemed cognizant.

“But the camera,” Rafe said.

"You weren't involved. I'll make sure they know. Now get out of here before the police get curious and lock you up."

Ryder had no clue what that was about and wasn’t going to ask. He leaned in, making sure there wasn’t too much blood pouring from the wound. There was a good chance the knife had missed anything major, but he didn’t know for sure. Panic swept through him in the form of heat. He had to take a deep breath to keep his wits about him. He glanced around and noticed Rafe hadn’t left.

Chaos descended on them as the EMTs rushed in right when Nolan and another man came in. The EMTs accepted help fromNolan and the guy with him who said he was a doctor. Before the ambulance took off, it looked like Jim was going to be okay. He needed to go to the hospital, but he would survive.

Nolan stayed at the lumberyard even though the police were asking loads of questions, so much that it took about two hours before Ryder was cleared to leave. Rafe had stuck around, and there didn’t seem to be a problem once the police saw the video from the security cameras. Ryder wondered why Jim had told Rafe to take off.

They were in the parking lot, standing midway between their vehicles. “Damn, it’s lucky the cameras caught the whole thing,” Nolan said.

“Yeah. Especially since that asshole called in and told the cops I was the one who stabbed Jim. I’m thankful they looked at the video and determined what had really happened.”

Nolan shook his head. “Has that Dave guy worked here long?”

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