Free Misconduct (Hot Ice series Book 6) by Lily Harlem Page A

scene.
    Thank goodness.
    “Get off,” the captured man half gasped, half shouted. Even
at a distance I could sense the panic in his voice. He really hadn’t expected
an Olympic athlete to be in the area. Not only that, one who was twice his
size.
    “Give me that, scumbag,” Dustin sneered, plucking my wallet
from his hand. “Were you never fucking taught that stealing is wrong?”
    “Leave me the hell alone. Get off.”
    Dustin kind of growled again, that noise that made my belly
flip and my thighs clench.
    “Shit,” the guy squeaked, “it’s just a wallet, fuck…”
    Dustin had increased the pressure. The man’s cheeks were
bright red, his feet were a good few inches off the floor now and he was
tugging violently at Dustin’s t-shirt.
    Dustin didn’t seem to notice.
    “I’ll take it from here, sir.” An officer ran up to the
alley, handcuffs at the ready, his voice loud and commanding. “I saw it all.
Please step back.”
    Dustin released the criminal as quickly as he’d caught him,
but he didn’t step away, instead he stayed looming over the man who was
clutching his neck and gasping for air.
    “Gina, you are hurt?” Raymond asked. “Your knees. Look.”
    I glanced down as I straightened. Sure enough my right knee
was grazed and a fat globule of blood was trickling down my shin.
    “Come, sit on the wall. I will get you something to clean it
with.”
    I allowed Raymond to help me up. The lady from the purse
stall rushed over.
    “Oh dear, that was terrible. I saw him before and I knew he
was bad. He had those eyes,” she said, winding her hands together. “Eyes that
hold many bad deeds.”
    “I thought the same thing.” I swiped my palms together to
rid them of grit, bent my leg up onto the wall and thought how dramatic the
blood looked seeping toward my foot.
    But I knew I’d gotten away lucky. A shove in the back was
preferable to a knife in the back.
    A small crowd had gathered now to watch the policeman
handcuff the thief. I could still see Dustin. He was nodding and speaking to
the policeman. I saw him hold up the wallet and then point my way.
    “Here you are, here you are,” Raymond said, rushing back
with a wet cloth. “Quick, you must stop that terrible bleeding before you run
out of blood.”
    “I’ll live, it’s very superficial,” I said, “but really, go
and mind your stalls, you two. Dustin is coming now, he’ll help me. I’ll be
okay.”
    As I said it I realized how glad I was that he had been there and that he’d chased down the man who’d pushed me and stolen from
me. That he’d shown everyone, including the children in the market, that
stealing was wrong and wouldn’t be tolerated.
    He was coming toward me now with a grim look on his face but
a softness in his eyes.
    Raymond and the other stall owner left me, obviously anxious
about their unmanned wares.
    I began to shake, not a lot, just a little. I pressed the
wet cloth to my knee and tried to suppress a wince.
    “Are you all right?” Dustin asked a little breathlessly.
“Well, clearly you’re not.” He glanced over his shoulder at the cop who was
marching his prisoner away. “Bastard, I should have fucking strangled him. That
way he’d never do it again.”
    “It’s just a graze,” I said, dabbing at more blood and
watching it soak onto the wet cloth. “It was the fright more than anything.”
    “Yeah, that must have been a real shock getting pushed to
the ground like that. I saw him rush up to you, he was running pretty fast.” He
handed me my wallet. “Here, yours I believe.”
    “Thanks.” I juddered in a breath. Willed my eyes not to fill
with tears, but they were, the sting behind my eyeballs told me it was
inevitable. I thought I was tough, but the shock of the attack was rattling
through me like a mini earthquake.
    “You’re shaking,” he said, taking the cloth from me and
cupping my hands in one of his. “Did he hurt you anywhere else?”
    He swept his gaze over me, but not like he had