Page 98 of It's a Wonderful Knife
What the hell does that mean?
Behind Jax, I saw Richard running down the road. He was dragging his huge rolling suitcase and stumbling over the uneven ground. The snake was using this horrible moment as his opportunity to make a break for the river?
I hope you drown, you slimeball.
“Leave the boy alone.” Hermina started crying. Mary Puppins seemed confused by her master’s crying and started barking.
Surprisingly, the guy widened his eyes with fear at the sound of Mary Puppins. “Don’t let the dogs get me,” he cried out.
“Nobody is going to let the dogs get you,” Royce said, taking a step forward.
“Stay back,” screeched the guy. “Don’t unleash the hounds of hell.”
I glanced at scrawny little Mary Puppins. She probably weighed two pounds wet. Hounds of hell? Not so much.
Royce held up his hands. “We don’t want to hurt you. We just want to help you.”
Jax slowly moved to flank the guy. I was flabbergasted that he seemed to care more about Dakota than his own safety. Richard was behaving exactly as expected, but Jax was being…heroic?
“Be careful, Jax,” Chloe called out, pressing her hands to her cheeks. “He’s a crazy person.”
I winced inwardly, afraid Chloe might inadvertently alert the homeless guy to the fact Jax was creeping up on him.
“Why are you doing this?” Dakota gripped the guy’s forearms, struggling slightly to free himself.
The guy didn’t respond; he just dragged Dakota back a few steps. Royce followed, which drove me nuts. I just wanted him to stay back. Even though I knew that it wasn’t in Royce’s nature to play it safe when anyone needed help.
Homeless guy was so distracted by Mary Puppins, he didn’t notice Jax creeping up behind him. I felt sick watching because at any second the guy might turn and see Jax. If that happened, it would be a toss-up who he stabbed first. Maybe he’d stab Jax or maybe Dakota. Hell, maybe he’d stab Royce for good measure.
When Royce moved closer, I couldn’t help but say, “Royce, don’t be reckless.”
I earned a scowl for that comment, plus he ignored me and moved closer still. All the worst scenarios spun around in my mind. If anyone got stabbed, I wasn’t sure I could save them. I had no blood for infusions. If a major artery got nicked, I had no suture to sew it up.
Painful memories of Lucinda Pratt dying on my operating table came flooding back. Even with all the right equipment, sometimes you just couldn’t save someone. But this situation was worse. There was zero hope of success because I had no tools whatsoever at my disposal. If anyone got seriously injured, all of my medical expertise meant squat because I hadnoneof my equipment.
When Lucas also broke from the crowd and moved around to the opposite side of Jax, I felt like I was dreaming. Jax and Lucas were both being valiant? In what universe had I landed that those two men were the heroes?
“Be careful, Luke,” River said from behind me. He’d also moved to the front of the crowd. He wasn’t actually walking toward the crazy guy, but then, neither was I. I found it interesting that he’d warned Lucas to be careful and not Royce.
I truly have to be dreaming.
“Let him go,” Joey yelled. “You’rehurtinghim.”
Joey was right. Dakota wore a white T-shirt beneath his flannel shirt. There was a small circle of blood spreading across the material. I didn’t think the guy was poking Dakota on purpose, but because he was distracted, the tip of the knife was piercing Dakota’s skin through his shirt.
“He’sbleeding,” Joey screamed again, looking frantic.
“Please let him go,” Chloe cried out, her voice wobbling as tears streamed down her face. “He didn’t do anything to you.”
Scowling with confusion, the guy looked down at Dakota. Jax lunged so quickly, I didn’t even see it coming. Neither did the homeless guy. Thank God Jax was smart enough to grab the guy from the side so that when the three of them fell, it wasn’t on top of Dakota. They fell onto the muddy ground with a loudoof. The knife fell out of the guy’s hand, and Dakota scrambled away.
Jax began wrestling with the guy as Royce and Lucas jumped into the fray to help subdue the man. I was so relieved no one had been stabbed and that I didn’t need to try and save anyone’s life with luck and a prayer, I started shaking. The terrifying responsibility of saving someone from bleeding to death had now shifted into Royce taking the homeless guy into custody.
“Oh, my God, Max.” When Girdy spoke beside me, I jumped. “That was terrifying.”
My throat was still so tight, I had trouble making any noises except a grunting sound. Royce dragged the homeless guy to his feet, and the man looked dazed. He didn’t look like he could afford a meal, let alone drugs. Yet, I was positive he was under the influence of something.
“Where do you suppose he came from?” Girdy asked, shivering in the chilly weather.
