The Shepherd Read Online Free PDF Page B

for a moment. Then, the final aggressor ran toward the end of the alley with a speed that he wouldn’t have thought possible for a man of that size. But then again, he had learned that a person never knew how fast they could run until they were being chased.
    He, however, had no intentions of chasing the man. Instead, he decided that it was time to deal with the instigator of the brawl, a certain beer-gutted gorilla. He turned and walked to where Glenn shuffled. He threw down the bat, knowing that he wouldn’t need it.
    Glenn stared at him for a few long seconds. He wondered if Glenn was psyching himself up for an attack, or if the tough-looking cowboy was about to piss his pants and run away. With a trembling voice, Glenn said, “I guess I’m gonna have to teach you a lesson myself.”
    The cowboy reached into a pocket and revealed a switchblade knife.
    This is going to be fun.
    Glenn charged with the knife. The cowboy made a quick stab but sliced only air as he moved clear. Glenn countered with an arcing slash that nearly sliced him across the abdomen, but he was able to jump backward and arch his back enough to avoid the blade.
    Glenn attempted two more quick stabs, both unsuccessful. On the third thrust, he grabbed Glenn by the wrist and pulled as hard as he could. Propelled by his own weight, Glenn rocketed forward.
    He caught Glenn with an outstretched arm, clotheslining the burly cowboy and slamming him to the ground. Glenn lost his grip on the knife, and it clattered down the alley. Glenn’s head thudded against the pavement, and he wheezed as the impact expelled all the air from his lungs.
    Marcus looked down on his opponent. He had always been a huge fan of action movies and great one-liners. Although this wasn’t a movie and it would never go down in history with the catch phrases of Dirty Harry or the Terminator, he filled with great pride as he said, “Class dismissed.”
    ~~*~~
    “Are you okay?” Maggie said, taking a cell phone from her purse and placing it against her ear. “You’re bleeding.”
    Marcus reached up and wiped a trail of blood from his lip. He rubbed it between his fingers. “I’m—”
    Maggie held up a finger to him, and he guessed that her call had connected. He had always found that you could tell a lot about a person by the way they reacted to a stressful or dangerous situation. As she spoke into the cell phone, he watched her mannerisms, cadence, pitch, tone, breathing, eyes. The words she spoke could have just as easily been issued from the mouth of a valley girl, but he looked beyond the words at the person underneath. Her voice was calm. Her tone was insistent yet professional. Her breathing was steady, and her body language exuded confidence. Her eyes scanned their unconscious attackers. At the edge of his perception, he detected a slight tremble, but that was to be expected. She reminded him of a cop calling in for backup.
    “Glenn and some of his buddies just tried to jump me and a friend…We’re fine…My friend took care of them…Yes, Father, it’s a guy friend…No, you don’t know him. Now’s not the time. Just get over here. We’re in an alley next to the bar…Okay. Hurry.”
    She closed the phone and placed it back in her purse.
    Marcus watched as Glenn tried to get up but then fell back down and lay still. “Don’t you think we should call the cops?”
    Maggie smiled. “My dad is the cops. He’s the Sheriff.”
    “Oh, great.”
    “That’s not a problem, is it? Lotta guys head for the hills when they hear my father’s the Sheriff. Guess they’re a little intimidated.”
    “Not me. I’ve got a lot of respect for anyone who carries a badge. I’m a third generation cop myself. Or…I was anyway.”
    “But not anymore?”
    “Not anymore.”
    For the first time, it occurred to him that maybe he could be a cop again. Maybe I can get a job as one of the Sheriff’s deputies, sitting next to the highway, issuing the occasional citation? It would be a