Page 148 of Strays
“He was moving toward Jo,” I say. “I was about to step in, Jay just got there first.”
Renner turns. “Shane?”
“If Jay hadn’t stopped him, I would have,” Shane answers.
“You’re aegis. Big, strong. If your intent was to punish Luc, could the three of you do more than one punch?”
“Of course,” I say.
“So let’s be clear: if your intent had been to harm Mr. Knolson… would one punch from one of you have been where it ended?”
“No,” I reply again.
“He wouldn’t have left with just a swollen face,” Shane adds.
Renner looks at me again. “So why did you stop after Jayson threw one punch at Mr. Knolson?”
“Because we only wanted him to stop going after Jo,” I answer. “Jay took care of it. We didn’t want anything more.”
Renner lets the silence stretch, pacing once. Then stops. “You are trained law enforcement officers. Have you been trained in restraint techniques?”
“Yes,” I answer.
“Why didn’t you use them?”
Jay answers this time. “We weren’t in a tactical stance. This wasn’t a planned operation, it was a split-second reaction. He was already within reach of Jo.”
“And in that second?”
“I chose the fastest way to stop him,” Jay says.
Renner steps forward, his gaze flicking between us and the jury. “You’ve heard the prosecution say that since Mr. Knolson is smaller than you, he couldn’t defend himself. Do you agree with that?”
“No,” Shane says. “He’s smaller and weaker compared to us, but he wasn’t targeting us. He was going toward our mate, and he’s not smaller or weaker than her.”
“No further questions.”
He returns to the defense table.
The DA rises and steps forward. “Mr. Jayson Larsen, you said you struck Mr. Knolson to protect your mate. That you believed he was going to hurt her. Is that correct?”
“Yes,” Jay answers.
“Did Mr. Knolson say anything indicating he intended to harm Johane Larsen? Did he verbally threaten her?”
“No.”
The DA nods once, then continues. “Let’s consider some scenarios. Mr. Knolson walks toward Johane Larsen and, once close, simply says something to her, nothing more. Or perhaps he realizes his mistake and stops before doing anything. How could you possibly know what was going to happen?”
Renner rises. “Objection. Calls for speculation.”
“Sustained,” Judge Conway says.
The DA sighs. “Mr. Jayson Larsen, how did you know that Mr. Knolson intended to harm Johane Larsen?”
Jay’s expression is calm, but I can see the fury in his eyes. “Are you saying a man who talks about a woman as if she were a dog and says he wants some of her pussy juice walks toward her with innocent intentions?”
“You didn’t answer my question, Mr. Larsen. How could you be absolutely certain he was going to harm her?”
