Chapter 5: The Wall
The officer’s feet dangled in the air, kicking uselessly. His hands clawed at the iron grip around his neck as Miles held him up against the tree like he weighed nothing.
The second officer, wide-eyed, shouted into his radio, "Officer down, I repeat—" but before he could finish, Miles turned toward him, swift as a blade in the dark. With his free hand, he snatched the gun from the man’s grip, twisted it effortlessly, and dismantled it into two broken halves.
The pieces clattered to the ground like cheap toys.
The second officer turned pale, stumbled back, and ran.
A deep, primal growl erupted from Miles’s chest. His fingers tightened around the officer’s neck.
"How... DARE... you touch her!" His voice boomed through the silence like a bomb detonating—shaking birds from the trees, turning heads, freezing breath.
Elena stood frozen.
She couldn’t see his face—his back was to her, broad and still, framed by the flickering blue and red of police lights. But something about him... something in the way he stood, shielding her, made her heart slow down. A moment ago, she had been terrified. Now... she didn’t understand why, but she felt safe.
And yet, that safety came wrapped in chaos.
The man before her was a storm—silent, controlled rage pouring off him like heat from scorched metal. His hand held the officer like he weighed nothing, like justice itself had taken form.
Who was he?