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Great, he was going to cry about killing me, like that fucking mattered. I needed to get out of here.

Think, Avery. Think!

I tried to spread my arms, and felt a little bit of give on the shrink wrap, but that would do no good. This shit was like glue; it was why we used it. I needed a knife, and I didn’t have a knife.

But you have keys.

My eyes widened. I did have keys in my back pocket.

I squirmed. They didn’t notice. I squirmed some more, until I was able to get to my keys. I heaved in a deep breath, then positioned one key between my forefinger and thumb, and poked a hole in the wrap and began to saw while the arguing continued, louder and louder. As soon as I got some of it ripped, I continued to rip it with my hands.

I heard a wet thump and looked up. Lance was holding his face and blood was spurting out his nose.

“I will kill you if you don’t help me load this bitch into the trunk of my car. Do you hear me?”

I rolled a little deeper under the table, and kept tearing at the wrap. I was desperate. I needed to get away, I needed to run. I needed to get to the panic button.

No, that would take too long. He had a gun. I needed a weapon.

The crowbar for opening crates.

Maybe Lance would help me.

I tore off the last of the wrap, and crawled to the other side of the table. Where was the crowbar? I needed the fucking crowbar!

I continued to crawl away, around a corner of boxes and toward the crates.

Crates. The crowbar would be near the crates!

I looked. I looked again. Nothing!

“Where’d she go!”

“You stupid asshole. Find her!”

“I’m not stupid.”

I heard another meaty thud.

“I’m looking, I’m looking!”

One of the empty crates was on its side. I crawled in and pulled some of the packing straw on top of myself.

I held my breath and waited, wishing I hadn’t turned the sign to Closed.

Chapter Thirty-Two

"Pick up. Pick up. Pick up," Adam begged.

"This better be good," Ernie growled into the phone by way of greeting. "And I mean, Zoe is in jail and I'm the only one who can get her out, good."

"I'm outside the store. It's locked up, but Zoe's Jeep is still out front, along with another car I don’t recognize. No lights on inside. She's not answering her cell phone and she was supposed to be at my house an hour ago."

Ernie’s tone changed. "Call the cops, I'm on my way with a key but I’m half an hour away." Ernie hung up.

Like I hadn’t already called the cops. And Code at Onyx Security. Unfortunately, there was a highway death that had Nash occupied and Code was in LA, thinking Pacific Rim was handled. Nolan was on his way, but his, Renzo’s, and Ford's ETAs were at least twenty minutes out.

Fuck it.