Chapter Twenty-Seven

When Offsed tore his shirt and jumped onto the table, Nutsbe leaped to his feet.

As he saw it at that moment, his job was to protect Candace and Olivia.

Swinging his head to ensure Beowolf guarded Candace, Nutsbe found she had slipped to the ground and curled between the chair and the balusters.

Nutsbe had hoped to just grab the women and hustle them out the back.

A quick glance told him there was no egress.

At the back of the room, the court guards tried to push through the doors. The trial spectators were trying to rush out of the courtroom. No one was making any progress. Angry shouts from both tides rose louder.

From the jury room door, the same scenario: humans at cross purposes meant no one met their goal.

Beowolf rumbled threateningly as he stood over Candace, his gaze pinned to Offsed.

Offsed's arms swung back, then he launched himself toward the judge. The bailiff, a man close to retirement with slight body and wavering hands, turned his gun toward the judge, then slid his weapon back in the holster as he rounded behind the bench to stop Offsed from pummeling Judge Madison.

Olivia hadn't hesitated.

With Offsed still in mid-leap, she lunged forward as if to catch and throw him off.

There was no way in hell that Nutsbe was going to allow Olivia to touch that lunatic. He grabbed the railing with one hand and snagged her by the elbow with the other. Her momentum swung her sideways. He slid his arm around her waist. She was trying to move forward, and he was trying to drag her back. They landed on the ground.

"Stop it, Olivia. Stay with Candace." He got back on his feet.

Stretching out a hand to help Olivia up, Nutsbe shouted, "Beowolf!" He wasn't sure what command needed to come next. In his mind, Beowolf would grab Olivia and drag her like yesterday out of the fray, pull her toward Candace, and guard them both so Nutsbe could do whatever came next.

Instead, Beowolf was around the bar, past Olivia, and, with a lunge, grabbed a mouth full of Offsed's pants between his teeth.

Just like yesterday, dragging Judge Greenway in the parking lot, Beowolf sat into his haunches and hauled Offsed backward.

Offsed maintained a grip on Judge Madison's robes and pulled the judge with him back over the bench toward Nutsbe.

Beowolf stepped back and back.

Nutsbe leaned in so he could grab Offsed's pinkies. Prying Offsed's little fingers backward forced him to release his hold. The judge draped across his bench, clinging to the lip.

Without the counterbalance to Beowolf's powerful pull, Offsed hit face down on the ground.

Instantly, Beowolf moved up the man's body, laying over Offsed's head and chest like a grappler on the mats, pinning the man with his sheer size and weight.

Offsed's feet kicked. Next, he tried to bend his knees to the sides as he tried to lizard crawl out from under the suffocating weight.

Any moves were futile.

The court police had finally fought themselves salmon-like into the room, guns drawn, instructions shouted. Nutsbe got to his feet, immediately shifting his gaze to Olivia.

By then, Olivia had rounded into the witness box, dragged the chair away, and was trying to revive Candace.

"Beowolf, good job. To me." Honestly, Nutsbe wasn't sure that was going to work.

Beowolf swung his head around. He looked like he was exerting zero energy, just lounging in the sun.

"Beowolf, to me." Nutsbe patted his thigh.

Beowolf lumbered to his feet and moved into the instructed position.

Enough time had gone by without a breath, Offsed was unconscious.

Nutsbe focused on Olivia. "Is Candace okay?" he asked, holding his place, not wanting to crowd her.

"I think she fainted. She's hit her head and needs an ambulance." She looked at Nutsbe as if he should act, then seemed to realize he didn't have a phone. She looked down at the phone in her hand and thrust it toward him.

But sirens could already be heard up the road.

Help was coming.