The muffled scream
came out of nowhere and he stepped back to check his surroundings. When it
repeated, he put his ear to the glass door.
Shit. It was
inside. A woman spewed profanity and cried out in pain. He tried the door but
it was still locked. Not sure why anyone was locked inside, he knocked on the
door. If he was interrupting an early morning love call, he’d at least warn
them of his presence. When he heard the female voice shout for help, he pulled
his Maglite from his belt and tapped hard on the glass panel next to the lock.
At the second tap, the glass cracked and fell into the building’s foyer.
Nowhere near a silent entry, but he was in.
The screams
continued and he raced in that direction.
A man was wrapped
around a woman, her arms pinned to her body while she kicked back at his shins.
The way she moved kept the assailant from getting to the open door across the
hall, even though he was taller and bulkier than she. Her eyes widened when
Steve neared, fear intensifying, but he laid a finger across his lips and
turned his focus to her attacker.
Years of combat
training took him in a few silent steps to the man’s side. Using the handle end
of the flashlight, he popped the man’s head and he went down like a rock. The
woman flung her body forward, ending up on her knees.
