A woman was being held back by two men, wailing and cussing that they let her go. Halfway up the block my heart nearly stopped. It was Rita Hawkins, and I knew there was only one reason she’d be freaking out.
“Lemme go, you son of a b***h!” She elbowed one of the men in his stomach, and to his credit he only tightened his grip on her arms. When she saw me her bloodshot swollen eyes widened. She stopped struggling for a moment, and then she screamed, her voice chilling my bones.
“Tyrone! Please, oh help me Jesus, help my boy. He’s still in there!”
Frozen in place, years of training in how to deal with real life emergencies were forgotten. I was paralyzed, frantically praying Michael was okay, that he hadn’t gotten here yet. He’d be the first one in the building, putting his life at risk
