“Get the fuck out of my way,” he barked, but a stammer shook every word.
Theft was the least of this guy’s problems now. He’d cut Jared. There was no way she was letting him escape. No one who inflicted harm on others got to escape. Not this guy. Not Laurie Hernandez’s and Holli’s killer. She stood her ground. “Drop the knife.”
“You’re crazy. You don’t get paid enough for this shit.”
“Honey, it ain’t worth it,” a shopper said.
She took a deliberate step forward, and the guy rushed her. The onlookers around them scattered, causing others to gasp in surprise.
He was fast. He covered the short distance in a flash, with the knife raised, but she didn’t panic. This was what all her self-defense classes had taught her. The move Karen had demonstrated a few nights earlier sprang to mind. She sidestepped him and lashed him with a side kick. She failed to connect 100 percent, but it was enough to drop him to one knee. She aimed a double palm heel at his face and caught him hard across the bridge of his nose. He yelled out, but to his credit, the blow didn’t fell him.
He swung his arm, knife in hand. The wooden butt connected with her cheekbone. Pain exploded from the point of impact, sending shockwaves across her face. She staggered back and bounced against the safety railing, which kept her from falling down to the first story of the mall.
The thief jumped to his feet and broke into a loping stagger for the exit. Zo? had no doubt given him a dead leg with her kick. She chased after him and surprised him by chopping him across the forearm, sending the steak knife skittering across the polished floor. Before he could chase after it, she stamped down on the back of his leg, driving him to his knees again. She’d gained the upper hand and pounced on it by wrapping her arms around his neck in a sleeper hold.
He toppled forward, either in surprise or in an attempt to dislodge her, but she maintained her grasp. The both of them went down. He thrashed, but she maintained her hold. He flipped them over, throwing himself on top of her, but his scant weight did little to deter her. She knew she had him and wrapped her legs around his waist. He drove an elbow into her ribs. She bit back the pain. His blows were losing their power, and she could feel his strength going out of him. It was just a matter of time now. An uncomfortable gurgle slipped from his lips before he went slack in her hold.
Jared appeared with a hand to his chest where he’d been cut. He grinned and pulled the thief off her. “You got the prick, Zo?.”
She clambered to her feet to cheers and applause.
She looked down at the thief in his Niners hoodie. Yeah, I got the prick, she thought. Now I just have to get the one who counts.
The mall turned into a circus filled with police, paramedics, supervisors, shoppers, and a small media presence. Marshall Beck had taken up a satellite position on the periphery to observe. The police had the suspect in cuffs now that he’d come to. They’d also rounded up a bunch of eyewitnesses and cordoned off the area where Zo? had choked the kid in the 49ers hoodie. Paramedics worked on both Zo? and her fellow security guard while a couple of cops tried to get statements from the two. Mall management stayed close to Zo? and her coworker. The aftermath took place under the hungry gazes of dozens of onlookers. A couple of news crews were interviewing shoppers and a spokesperson from the mall. From Beck’s point of view, it was all very satisfactory, considering he’d masterminded the whole thing.
After finding out that Zo? was taking self-defense classes, he’d needed to establish whether she’d learned any actual fighting abilities. It looked as if she had. She certainly hadn’t fought like that when he’d taken her. She’d been shown the error of her ways, and she’d changed because of it. He liked that. He’d affected change in someone for the good. He wondered what other changes Zo? had made to her life. If she had made enough, maybe he’d leave her alone in favor of someone else who needed reeducation.