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When a man walked through the door with a gun pointed right at me, screaming to hang up the phone, I almost passed out. Somehow, I had enough presence of mind to push the panic button as I hung up on Jo, hopeful that she heard what was happening.
“Put your hands in the air, don’t touch anything.” He walked to me and grabbed my phone, shoving it into his back pocket. I stared at his face as I raised my hands, knowing exactly who he was. His picture had been on every local news station for the last few weeks, it was the missing felon that Kane had been tracking, Albert Wayne.
His clothes were dirty and torn and every inch of exposed skin was covered with grime and small cuts. He looked like he had been sleeping, or rather hiding in the woods to avoid being captured.
“Look all you want, sweetheart. I’m not hiding behind a mask anymore.” His eyes traveled down my body and he licked his lips, making me shiver in fear. “You sure are a pretty little thing.”
I wrapped my arms defensively around my stomach, he didn’t look like the kind of man that would care that I was pregnant. His eyes hardened with rage at the move and he lunged at me, grabbing my hair at the roots and ripping my head back. He smelled like rotting garbage and body odor and I thought I would be sick as it washed over me.
“You bitches are all the same, always thinking you’re better than me. Maybe I’ll take you with me, teach you some fuckin’ manners.”
“Please,” I begged as tears streamed down my face. His grip on my hair loosened and I dropped to my knees at the sudden release.
He pointed the gun back at my head, “Open the register, cunt.”
“There…there isn’t anything in it, we haven’t even opened yet,” I managed to stammer out. His hand came out lightning fast as he whipped the gun across my face, knocking me to the ground. The taste of blood filled my mouth and my vision blurred as the pain exploded through my head.
Don’t pass out, don’t pass out, I repeated to myself over and over again. There was no telling what he might’ve done if I lost consciousness.You have to protect yourself and the baby, just for a little longer. They’ll come for you. Just try and distract him.
“It’s in the safe! The money’s still in the safe!” I screamed and held my hands in front of my face as he reared his fist back to hit me again. He stopped mid swing and pressed the barrel of the gun against my temple.
“You better not be fuckin’ lyin’ to me,” he gripped my arm painfully, I knew there would be bruises in the shape of his fingers, and dragged me to my feet. A wave of dizziness rocked me and I stumbled as he pushed me down the back hallway where the office was located.
I moved slowly, not only because I was praying for help to arrive but because I ached so badly I couldn’t walk straight. No one had ever hit me in my life and let me tell you, that shit hurt. I unlocked the office using the key attached to my belt and opened the door. The lights came on automatically and I pointed to the back wall where the safe was located.
He shoved me forward again with the gun barrel pressed to my spine and I walked the three steps it took to reach it. “Open it,” he growled and I knelt down and lifted a trembling hand to the combination lock.
I turned the dial, putting in Daisy’s birthdate, trying to hold back a sob. What would he do once he had the money? I was the only witness to what he was doing but surely the cameras had caught him coming into the building. The cops already knew his name and face, there was nothing holding him back from killing me and escaping back to where he had been hiding.
When I put in the last number, my sweaty hand slipped on the handle and the safe didn’t open.Oh god, why isn’t it opening?
“You tryin’ to screw me over, bitch? You think puttin’ in a fake combination’ll buy you more time?” The gun pressed against the back of my head, shoving me toward the safe.
“No! I swear! It’s tricky sometimes, please let me try again!” I begged him.
“Get it right this time, or you’re dead,” he said right next to my ear, his warm, putrid breath making me retch.
Spinning the dial, I started inputting the combination again.Please work, please work, please work,I chanted in my head. I stopped on the final number and breathed a sigh of relief when I heard a click and the handle turned. The sound of glass breaking and a pained grunt came from behind me. I screamed, throwing my hands over my head and tucking into a ball as tightly as I could. When a body thudded heavily next to me, I peeked an eye open to see Wayne lying on the floor unconscious, blood pooling around his head.
“Probably best to get out of here in case he wakes up,” was spoken behind me.
“Harold?” I took his offered hand and rose to my feet, only swaying slightly. He had an orange coffee pot handle grasped tightly in his other fist and jagged shards of glass stuck out from where it had been broken. The floor was littered with glass and quickly cooling brown liquid.
“Decaf?” I smiled, wincing when I felt a stinging sensation in my lip.
“I wasn’t gonna risk the regular,” he said sincerely as he helped me step over Wayne’s unmoving body.
“Winnie!” was screamed from the front of the diner and then the hallway filled with people, Kane and Gray at the front of the pack. I must have looked as terrible as I felt because both of them gawked at me until Kane began moving again. He swept me up into his arms and gingerly carried me through the mass of sheriff’s deputies that were handcuffing the unconscious asshole and taking him straight out of the building.
Kane laid me down gently on the grass and his shaking hands hovered over my body, taking in my injuries. “Tell me where you’re hurt, baby.”
“I’m fine, Kane, he hit me once in the face with the gun but other than possibly losing some hair, I think it is just bruises.” His face grew darker with each word out of my mouth. He started to rise to his feet but I gripped his wrist tightly. I knew if he left, he was going to go and possibly shoot the man who had assaulted me and I really didn’t want him to get taken to jail. “Please don’t leave me.”
Kane dropped back down next to me and held me in his arms until the ambulance arrived. He carried me himself, refusing to allow the paramedics to put me on the gurney. “You know I can walk, honey.”
“Winnie, after today, don’t be surprised if I never put you down again.”
Epilogue
