The man just laughs again, a bubbling, broken sound.
Nolan shifts, sharp and fast, and clips him just behind the ear with the edge of his hand.
The man slumps, dead weight, sliding down the wall.
Unconscious.
Alive.
For now.
Silence drops over the little stretch of sidewalk, thick and sudden.
Riley realizes she’s been holding her breath.
She sucks in air, chest heaving.
Her wrist throbs where the man grabbed her. Adrenaline sings in her veins, making her hands shake.
Nolan turns, letting the guy’s body drop the last few inches.
His tie is crooked now. There’s a smear of someone else’s blood on the cuff of his white shirt.
He looks like he just stepped out of a boardroom and straight into a back‑alley interrogation.
“You okay?” he asks, voice gentler.
Riley stares at him.
“Yo
