Shine: The Knowing Ones (26 page)

Trin and Sam were ripped from the moment as everyone in the yard heard a loud crash. Trin jerked around with radar-like precision. Everyone looked toward the door, but Trin was locked on a second story window. Releasing Sam, he made a beeline for the porch, Sam right behind him.

“Trin what is it?”

They raced through the door, dashing up the staircase, Trin taking the stairs two at a time, locked in a zone. Dread filled the pit of Sam’s stomach. She wasn’t six foot three and muscle bound. She could not hoist him over her shoulder and force him to leave.

They reached the top of the stairs, Trin’s massive frame launching down the hallway toward a bedroom door. A man’s voice could be heard yelling and screaming on the other side.

With hinge shattering force, Trin blasted the door open. The scene before them confirmed his fear. Ryan Overton had Erika pinned against the wall by her throat—her body so tiny next to his mammoth posture. Blood dripped down the side of her face from a healthy cut on her head and a broken lamp lay on the floor. Ryan’s head snapped toward the opening door, but he hit the floor before catching sight of his attacker.

Within seconds Trin broke Ryan’s hold around Erika’s throat, pinning him to the carpet. Ryan lay on his back stunned, Trin’s sizable thigh pressing a knee into Ryan’s chest, his forearm at his throat. The hallway filled with onlookers, everyone in disbelief at what they had just seen. Trin was big, but Ryan Overton was huge, the most powerful linebacker on the football team.

Ryan wrestled to overcome Trin’s hold. But every attempt was blocked. Ryan could not get out from underneath Trin’s lightning quick, fluid countering.

Sam raced into the room, Erika bent over coughing, trapped behind the two large men on the floor at her feet; a bed blocking her only escape route. Sam made a dash for the bed as Ryan continued to struggle beneath Trin. Planting a knee on the opposite side she reached out. “Erika, come on!”

Erika gave one last terrified glance to Trin and Ryan and lunged across the bed to Sam, who grabbed hold of her, moving her into the hallway.

On the floor Trin pushed Ryan’s head to the side, applying significant pressure to his throat with his forearm. Ryan stopped breathing. Trin leaned in, lethal eyes gleaming
. “You get up...it’ll be the last thing you do
.” He rose from his crouched position, releasing Ryan, who rolled onto his side, gasping for air. Trin loomed above him. “We’re taking her, and she’s pressing charges.”

No one said a word as Trin took both girls and headed for the stairs. They passed Anna and Vig on the way down, pushing through the crowd. Blood flowed freely from the cut on Erika’s head, matting her hair, streaking her face. She trembled in Sam’s embrace, terrified and struggling to breathe.

“What the hell happened?” Vig asked.

“Ryan had her pinned against the wall. He was choking her,” Sam said.

Trin guided them forward. “We need something for her head. We’re taking her to the hospital.”

Vig ushered them into the kitchen, followed by Anna and a growing crowd of students. He grabbed a dish towel to stop the bleeding, handing it to Trin, who jerked his head toward Sam. “Sam, hold that against her head until we get her there.”

Tears streamed down Erika’s face. Every instinct within Trin cried out to heal her. But he knew he couldn’t. “Head injuries bleed a lot, Erika,” he said. “Don’t worry. You’re going to be fine.” They headed out the back door into another crowd of students, pushing their way through the back yard.

Ryan was inside, pushing his way down the stairs.

Trin guided the girls to the side of the house, reaching into his pocket for his keys.

Ryan stormed through the kitchen, headed for the back door.

Prickling intuition ignited at the base of Trin’s neck. His eyes lifted, gleaming, deadly, feeling the attack before Ryan had even made it outside.
Enough.

Sam turned to Trin and froze as savage white energy ruptured around him. She looked to the house just in time to see Ryan bursting through the back door. Everyone turned as the color drained form her face.

Ryan lunged at Trin’s back in a violent rage. The crowd reeled in a collective gasp as Trin’s body turned before impact, his powerful leg thrust backward, his foot blasting the side of Ryan’s head in an explosive back kick that snapped Ryan backward and slammed his massive body into the ground.

“Trin stop!” Sam screamed.

Inside the house male voices sounded from the bottom of the stairs. “Kosolov and Overton are fighting!”

Ryan lay on the ground holding his head, red, swelling at his right eye, but it wasn’t long before he got up. Rolling to his stomach, he pushed himself to his feet, enraged. In a fury he went for Trin again, throwing a punch aimed at his face. Trin dodged, throwing a knee into his abdomen. Ryan buckled over as Trin slammed an iron fist into the side of his head.

“Fiiiiight!”

A stampede of students came crashing through the back door into the yard, among them Vig, not sharing their enthusiasm. Anna was right behind him, pushing her way through the crowd to the yard.

“He’s gonna kill him,” Sam said. “He’s not gonna stop.” Sam trembled, passing Erika to Anna. “Get her to the truck. I have to stop him.”

“How are you going to do
that?”
Anna begged.

“I don’t know,” she said, running back toward the crowd.

“You’ll get yourself killed, Sam!” Anna shouted. “Vig!” she screamed. “Stop her!”

Vig caught Sam in his arms from behind. “Sam! Are you outta your mind?”

“You don’t understand!” she begged, fighting to break free. “Trin won’t stop until he’s dead!
Please help me
, Vig!”

He hesitated, panicked indecision on his face. “Okay.” He let her go and raced through the crowd in front of her, shoving people out of the way as they went. “Break em’ up!” he shouted.

No one listened. The entire yard was filled with oblivious bystanders eager to catch a glimpse of the fight of the year, and those who did care didn’t dare get in between the two massive young men.

He pushed through the last of the crowd and froze where he stood. Down on the grass Ryan’s bruised and bloodied face gaped, turning purple from underneath Trin’s solid choke hold. Vig moved around them, scanning for swimmers or football players,
anyone
close to either Trin or Ryan, but none could be found. “Trin, stop!” Vig lunged forward in an attempt to pull him off Ryan.

Pure instinct launched Trin’s elbow backward, right under Vig’s jaw.

Vig hit the ground—out cold.

In that split second, Ryan rolled his body beneath Trin, desperate to better his position. But this only made it easier for Trin to reapply the deadly hold.

Sam watched in horror as Trin slid his right arm under Ryan’s neck, left arm under Ryan’s left shoulder, grabbed his own wrist, locking the iron hold in place and squeezed. A rush of exacted justice consumed him as he felt the life slipping away from his target.

Trinton.

Trin’s eyes flashed, fluttered, chiseled jaw relaxing as his frenzied mind eased. The voice wasn’t harsh, yet it rocked his entire core, bringing him out of the fury. Ryan was no longer conscious.

Отпустите его, Trinton
.

Trin looked up to find Anvil standing in front of him...

...and he let go.

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

R
yan dropped to the ground, bruised, bloody, out cold. Trin reeled in horror at what he had nearly done. His lack of control, his inability to hear Sam as she begged him to stop. What was happening to him? He looked to Anvil who stood, staring back—resolute.

Trin and Ryan’s teammates pushed their way through the crowd, Sam racing to Trin, dropping to his side, taking his face in her hands.

A burly, muscled young man dropped to Ryan’s side, checking his injuries. Trin stood as Sam scrambled to her feet hanging on to his arm. Trin moved her tiny frame behind him as the young man’s face reddened, jaw clenched. His furious gaze shot up to Trin. “You son of a bitch!” He jumped to his feet, lunging at Trin only to be stopped by another player grabbing his arm. “Jonas, hold up man!” Jonas struggled against his team mate until he saw where he pointed. Across the lawn Ryan’s girlfriend sobbed while a pretty blonde treated a bloody wound on her head. Jonas’s entire countenance changed.

“He tried to help her without hurting him, bro,” said one bystander. “Ryan kept coming after him.”

Jonas stood speechless, staring, as devastation replaced his rage. Ryan was his friend. He knew about the steroids and had tried to get him to stop, fearing this very thing.

Two of Ryan’s teammates pushed past him to collect Ryan from the lawn. “Jonas, come on man. Let’s get him outta here.” They lifted Ryan from the ground, carrying him through the crowd. Jonas locked eyes with Trin, an unspoken understanding passing between them. He turned, following the men, carrying his friend out of the yard.

Adam came bursting through the crowd followed by a newly sober Chris, sans the giant penguin. Griffin and Jackson were on the ground aiding Vig as he came around, cursing and wincing in pain. Adam grabbed Trin’s hand, checking his bloodied fists. A myriad of curses, congratulatory comments, and the like flew around the yard, but Trin heard none of it. He glanced at Sam, feeling the severity of his actions. No one realized he had nearly killed a young ball player, and most unsettling of all, everyone now knew how lethal he was.

Amidst the chaos Anna had made her way to Vig. She dropped to the ground, bending over him as he held his jaw. Another dancer had taken Erika to the hospital. Sam stood, her arm around Trin’s torso, a hand on his chest. Their eyes locked as his friends continued on about the fight. They couldn’t stay here anymore. They had to get to Russia. Not only was Sam not safe, but Trin had become unstable. It was too much. They had to go.

The hospital waiting room was packed. Ryan Overton, one of Utah’s best linebackers, was in the ER and half the party had followed. Sam and Trin pulled into the parking lot to check on Erika with the intent of leaving right after. Trin was certain he wouldn’t be a welcome sight when family started arriving.

They walked up to the desk in the ER waiting room passing several bystanders. Some stared in awe, as if Trin were a hero for saving Erika. Others looked nervous, even afraid, not knowing what to think of the strength and precision with which Trin had taken the massive football player down.

“Do you think he’s on something?” one person whispered.

“Trin’s huge,” another replied.

“Yeah, but
Ryan Overton.
I’ve never seen anything like that.”

More comments followed.

“Did you see what Ryan did to Erika?”

“Did you see what
Trin
did to
Ryan?”

Trin tuned it out, resting his hands on the reception desk. “Erika Torbin was just brought in,” he said.

The woman consulted her computer screen. “Your name?”

“Trin Kosolov and Sam Shields”

Her fingers clicked across the keyboard. “She’s been asking for you,” she replied. “She’s right inside the double doors. You can go on back.”

“Thank you.”

The mechanical door swung wide as the woman at the desk hit the button. They passed into the bright hallway. A scent of chemicals, plastic and a sterile attempt to cover illness and death filled Sam’s nostrils as they continued down a hall lined with small examination rooms. Erika was in the first one to the left, speaking with a doctor. Sam went straight to her side. “Hey,” she said, resting a hand on Erika’s arm.

Trin turned to the doctor. “How is she?”

“She’s going to be fine,” he replied. “We’re going to take some X-rays, maybe do a CT scan just to make sure, but it looks like just a nice cut and a big bump on the head.” The doctor paused for a moment. “Could I speak with you out here for a moment?” he asked, gesturing to the hallway.

Trin nodded, following the doctor past the curtain and out into the hall. When the doctor felt they were out of earshot he turned and faced Trin. “I’m very concerned,” he said. “She said this happened at a party, that her boyfriend is responsible. Is that true?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Were you at this party?”

“I was.”

“Did you see what happened?”

Trin hesitated. “She was hurt by the time I got there. He had her pinned, choking her. Her head was bleeding.”

The doctor shifted, looking Trin squarely in the eyes. “
You
found them?”

“Yes.”

The doctor studied Trin. “You got her out?”

“Yes, sir.” The implication was clear; Trin was responsible for the young man down the hall. Trin could see him struggling. The doctor was limited in what he could say, but he also sensed the doctor had daughters. He was grateful Trin had been there. Trin breathed an inward sigh of relief. He didn’t need police involvement on top of everything else, though he knew he had been justified.

“She is unwilling to press charges,” the doctor said.

Trin exhaled. “Yes, sir. We’ve had this conversation with her a few times.”

The doctor nodded. “Perhaps tonight’s events might make you more persuasive,” he suggested. “Our staff can’t get through, but you may be able to.”