Page 35 of The Love Duet
Then, against my better judgement, I raced out into the backyard, then reached for the stranger, praying that I didn’t get walloped for my efforts.
“You sonofabitch,” the stranger growled as his fists rained down on the other man’s face, and it really was a sight to behold.
“Stop!”I yelled.“Please...you’re going to kill him!Stop!”
As soon as I touched the stranger’s arm, everything stopped, the man freezing instantly, and I didn’t know what to make of it.All I knew was that he had to stop before he killed the other man, something that he’d surely get convicted of.No matter that he was a hero in my eyes, the law wouldn’t see it that way.
“Please...please stop,” I begged.“Please...help is on the way.”
Lowering his fists, the stranger straightened as he stepped back from the limp body on the ground, and I was certain that both of us could hear how hard my heart was beating.Even though it was his chest that was heaving with exertion, I was the one on the verge of a heart attack.
“Are you okay?”he asked, and his voice took me by surprise.Now, while I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting, it hadn’t been for him to sound like a smooth sip of whiskey.
I nodded, a rush of emotion hitting me like a ton of bricks.“Are...are you?”
“Did you call the police?”he asked, his voice raspy, his breathing a heavy tempo of adrenaline.
I nodded again.“Yes, they’re on their way.”
Ignoring the incapacitated man on the ground, he turned to look at me fully, and that’s when I noticed just how big he really was.He had to be standing at around six-foot-two, and even though the lighting from the back porch wasn’t bright, I could see that he had dark brown hair, matching dark brown eyes, and even through the scruff of his beard, I could see the sharpness in his cheekbones and jaw.
He also looked to be around my age, mid-to-late forties, and it was also obvious that he was homeless with the way that he was dressed, and so that could only mean one thing.For him to have shown up like this, he’d had to be sleeping in my backyard or shed, because there was no way that he’d heard me from the street as he’d been randomly walking by.
Just then, the sounds of police sirens echoed through the night, and while it shouldn’t matter, it was going to suck when all the neighbors came outside to see what was going on.Because society really was a judgmental bastard, I could see them caring more about a homeless man in the neighborhood than the fact that I’d been attacked in my own home.
This was not going to be fun.
I was also going to have to call Leah, Roxie, and Tullie as soon as possible before my personal business was live-streamed on the internet for the whole world to see.
~
Josiah~
Even though I knew that I was probably going to get arrested for trespassing, I was okay with that.Hearing a woman scream in terror was something that no one should ever have to listen to, and there was just no way that my conscience would have allowed me to just ignore it.Especially, when you considered how I’d been using her property without permission.
A few days ago, I’d been walking down the street, dusk already settling, when I noticed a shed in the small gap of this woman’s fencing.Now, my first thought had been how she should get that fixed for safety reasons, but then I’d immediately and selfishly begun to wonder if the shed was unlocked.So, even though it’d been wrong, my need to shelter myself from the scorching heat had outweighed my sense of morals, and so I had snuck into her backyard through the gap, thanking God that the shed had been unlocked.
I had also found it to be virtually empty, only housing a lawnmower, a weed whacker, and a few other gadgets, so there’d been plenty of room to hide my stuff and carve out a space to sleep at night.Honestly, the plan had been to only take advantage every now and again, but I’d gotten comfortable with having a regular place to sleep at night, and though wrong, it’d been the right choice for tonight.
At any rate, I’d been just about to lay down to sleep when I’d heard a loud thumping sound coming from nearby, but needing to be unseen, I hadn’t immediately gone to inspect the sound.Because it could have been anything, I had listened for more, and when I’d heard a woman’s screams, that had been enough to risk going to jail for.
Racing out into the yard, the second that I’d seen the attack, everything in me had gone into protect-mode, and the soldier that’d been lying doormat for so long had come out in full force.Honestly, had her voice not gotten through the rush of adrenaline in my ears, I might have killed the piece of shit that was currently being seen to by the paramedics.
“Well, he will certainly be detained after his injuries are seen to,” Officer Morton stated evenly, not even caring that his victim was still shaking a bit.“And are you certain that you don’t want to go to the hospital to get checked out?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” Pepper Milo answered, her voice soft but firm.“I just...I just really need to know that you’re arresting him and that he’ll be in jail tonight.”
“Of course, ma’am,” he replied, his tone still even and easy.
During the initial questioning, I had discovered that the property owner was named Pepper Milo, she owned The Flower Shoppe in town, she lived alone, and she had a daughter in college.I had also learned that she was forty-seven, and with just her socks on, she had to be about only five-foot-three.She also had light blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and without a stitch of makeup on, she was beautiful as fuck.She was also a petite little thing, though she looked sturdy enough.
As the neighbors were all gathered in their yards to see the drama unfolding, I watched as another officer walked over to whisper something in Officer Morton’s ear, and I knew enough to know that all of my history had just been shared with the questioning officer.
Looking over at me, Officer Morton asked, “Mr.Austin, are you aware that trespassing is against the law?”
Pepper’s entire body froze with his question, and it killed me that I might be frightening her all over again.“Excuse me?What are you talking about?”
“Have you forgotten that he’s admitted to sleeping in your shed, Ms.Milo?”he asked her condescendingly, and I had to grit my teeth not to make things worse.“While Mr.Austin may be retired military, it’s obvious that he stopped being a productive member of society a long time ago.”
