“What is that stench?” A tall, muscular man had walked a couple of steps past them, but returned, his nose in the air, sniffing. Annika, always aware of her surroundings, had noticed him passing. He stood a good head over Nilay, his shoulders spanned the width of both hers and Nilay’s, and he wasn’t wearing a jacket, simply a dark-colored long-sleeved shirt, so tight it looked painted onto his skin, accentuating his beefy musculature. He took slow steps toward them. “I smell something...foreign.” He wrinkled his nose and turned to them with a snarl. “Like it don’t belong here.”

Annika felt Nilay tense beside her. She grabbed his arm, her belly in fits. “Just ignore him.”

Before Nilay had a chance to do anything, the man stepped closer, his eyes narrowed at Annika as she held the bag in front of her. “Why don’t you just take that stench and go back to where you came from?” And he spat at her, spittle hitting the precious brown bag of food and dripping down onto the ground. Before she could fully register what happened, Nilay jumped in front of her, his small fists flailing.

“Nilay!” Annika dropped the bag, trying to reach her brother and pull him back before this deviant hurt him. “Stop! No!”

She was too slow, and the man shoved her aside as if he were flicking away a bug. He landed a meaty fist to Nilay’s chest. Annika saw something on his fist catch the light and Nilay fell back, a rag doll in slow motion. Annika tried to reach him before he hit the sidewalk, but she was too far away. She grabbed at his shirt just as another pair of hands also grabbed at Nilay.

Daniel.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

DANIEL

DANIEL HADN’T BOTHERED with a jacket; he was used to the cold. He walked out just as a man easily three times the size of Nilay landed a solid punch to the boy’s chest. Annika was screaming and reaching for her brother. In two large steps, Daniel was close enough to grab Nilay so he didn’t hit his head on the concrete. But in the second it took him to turn to the assailant, the asshole kicked Nilay in the leg, leaving it at an odd angle.

It was almost in slow motion that Daniel assessed that Annika was out of the way as he made a fist and aimed for the man’s face. A flicker of something shiny flashed in front of his face, followed by a searing pain in his arm, and Daniel’s punch never landed.

The assailant kicked the bag of food, scattering its contents all over the sidewalk, and took a few steps back, wielding the knife that had just cut Daniel.