It was the homeless man. He’d gotten the best of my attacker, who lay motionless on the ground. Now, he had the bloody knife in his hand, his eyes wide and panicked as he held it out toward my girl.
Oh no.
Sabrina
I knew it was crazy to come to the strip club, but I needed to talk to Butch in person, and I knew that he worked here every Friday and Saturday night. The news I had to give him wasn’t the type that I could share over the phone. I needed toseehis reaction. It was the only way that I could be sure if he was happy about it or not.
So I looked up the address for Black Satin and plugged it into my GPS. It was in a sketchy part of town, on the south side, but that didn’t surprise me.
What shocked me was the sight that met my eyes as I approached the parking lot. Butch was standing with another man while a third one walked up behind him. I watched, curious about the third man’s fast pace. When Butch turned around just in time to be stabbed, I let out a small scream from within my car.
A fight broke out between the other two men, but I hardly registered that as I parked and hurried out of the car, leaving it running. Butch’s eyelid were heavy and he was panting while holding his hand to his side. But I could see blood soaking through his clothes anyway. The sight made me feel woozy, which was not a good combination with my all-day-long morning sickness.
When the fight distracted me, I stood straight and walked towards the men, hoping to somehow diffuse the situation. Butch was in no position to take on either of these men, even though I was sure he’d try if he had to.
Now, I was standing there, staring at a wild-looking man with a bloody knife. Butch’s attacker was on the ground, unmoving. God, was he dead? I’d never seen a dead body before.
My weak stomach churned.
“They attack when you least expect it. Always watching. Not safe. Not safe…”
I looked closely at the man that was brandishing the weapon and rocking back and forth. He was also using his free hand to pound his fist against his temple. I felt a stirring of recognition in the back of my mind. He looked somehow familiar. Had I seen him at the soup kitchen, maybe? His clothes and unkempt appearance suggested that was entirely possible, but I couldn’t quite place him...
It was his shaggy brown hair that triggered my memory. I gasped.
“Lance?” I asked, remembering the picture that Annie had given me weeks ago. This was her missing brother. He looked different, of course, but I was sure that it was him.
He furrowed his brow, his eyes clearing slightly as he stared at me.
“You’re one of them, aren’t you? he asked suspiciously. “You’ve been spying on me.”
“No,” I said, taking a step backward with my arms raised. I was trying to look as non threatening as possible. “Not at all. I know your sister.”
“Sister?”
“Annie.”
Emotion flashed across his face, and I felt a surge of hope when his grip on the knife loosened and he lowered it to his side.
“Annie?” he looked around, as if he expected to see her here.
“I can take you to her, but I need to call an ambulance for my friend first.”
“The monitor,” Lance said, nodding at Butch. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I was going to go with it.
“Yes, sure, the monitor.” I pulled out my phone and placed a call to 9-1-1, keeping my eyes on Lance the whole time. I was terrified that Butch was losing too much blood, but Lance couldn’t be trusted enough to take my eyes off him.
Once I was assured that an ambulance was on its way, I pulled up Annie’s phone number and pushed send, putting the call on speakerphone. I held it up so Lance could hear as it rang. Annie answered almost immediately.
“Hello? Sabrina?”
Lance’s face seemed to crumble at the sound of his sister’s voice and he stepped forward to take the phone from my hand. I took a step back, keeping distance between us.
“Drop the knife and you can have the phone,” I said. He hesitated.
“Sabrina? Are you there?” Annie’s voice seemed to help him make his decision. The knife hit the pavement and I handed over the phone. I took the time the kick the thing away before turning back to Butch, who was watching silently.
I could hear Annie start to cry as she realized who she was speaking to, and Lance seemed confused, but happy. It felt amazing to bring the two of them back together, but it was all secondary to the crippling fear that I felt as I knelt next to Butch again.
