I took a step back and sighed. “That’s the most I’ve ever heard you say at one time.”
He grunted in response.
I felt dizzy, so I sat in June’s office chair and took a deep breath. When I got the text from Elias, I hopped in the car and drove straight here. My sister screamed at me from the passenger seat as I ran every red light, but I ignored her.
Nobody could stop a man from reaching the woman he cared about, especially when she was in danger.
Cole came jogging into the room moments later. “Where’s June? Is she okay?”
Elias gripped him by the shoulders and said, “Sit down.”
Cole was smarter than me, and immediately took a seat without trying to fight the big man.
“What are you doing here?” Cole asked when he saw me. “Were you here when it happened?”
“Elias texted me,” I replied.
“He texted me, too.” Cole looked at the goalie. “Did you tell the whole team?”
“No. Only you, and you.”
I shared a look with Cole. “Why did… Wait a minute. You know, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“How?” Cole asked. “Did June tell you?”
Elias’s expression drew serious. He shook his head. “You two show too much emotion. Very obvious.”
“Nobody else on the team knows,” Cole said.
“They talk too much. They are not quiet.” Elias tapped his temple next to his eye. “I am quiet, and I see things others miss.”
“This is the most you’ve ever spoken out loud at one time,” Cole said.
“That’s what I said,” I muttered. “Where is June?”
“Being interviewed,” Elias replied. “Police.”
“But she’s okay?”
Elias wiggled his palm like a see-saw. Bloody nose. Not broken. Her attacker, though?” Elias scowled. “He is worse. I made sure.”
“Tell us what happened, and start from the beginning,” Cole said.
Elias gave us a quick run-down of the events. June had invited him to come to the arena early to work out. He couldn’t because he had a lunch meeting with his agent, but decided to swing by afterward to see if June was there. He heard her shouting in the hallway, and found a man standing over her in the hallway.
“I recognized this man,” Elias said. “I fought him in a bar. Months ago.”
“Oh shit, I remember when that happened,” I said. “You pulled an oblique muscle in that fight, right?”
Elias stiffened. “My oblique was fine.”
“Okay, okay,” I said defensively. “Sorry I mentioned it.”
“When I saw him fighting June, I tackled,” he finished with a shrug. “Knocked knife away. He was small, very easy fight. So much trouble for such a tiny man.”
“You saved her life,” Cole said.
