Ava's POV
In the middle of the crowd, the tension snapped.
A sharp commotion broke out, followed by the heavy, unmistakable thud of a body hitting the ground.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“Should we call an ambulance?”
I barely registered the voices around me. All I could hear was my own breathing and the frantic rhythm of the man beneath me.
I had him pinned to the ground.
His scent was wild, erratic, laced with fear. My grip tightened instinctively, even as pain flared from my wrist where the knife had grazed me. Warm blood slid down my skin, but I ignored it, shoving the sensation aside.
“I’m fine,” I said, waving off the concern like it was nothing.
My eyes shifted immediately, searching, locking onto the little girl now safely in her mother’s arms. The child clung to her, her sobs so
