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Her mother was always reminding her to live in the moment. She was right. As a matter of fact, she was right about a lot of things. She’d warned Allegra that getting to the top might not be worth everything she’d had to give up.
She peered at Xavier. Spending time with him was definitely worth missing some meetings. Pushing that thought aside she winced as she shifted her weight. Painful pins and needles fired in her legs from holding a squat as long as she had. She desperately wanted to stand.
The two women were chatting still and moving around the store. Suddenly, the coats on their rack were thrust aside and a woman’s face appeared. Allegra froze. Their gazes locked. The woman opened her mouth in a wideOof surprise.
The bell over the door went off again as the woman started to make a sound.
“Did you forget something?” Lena asked in a loud voice.
“I wanted to show you a picture of the people we’re looking for.” It was the man from before.
The woman at the coat rack let out a small scream while staring at Allegra.
Allegra didn’t know what to do. She started to move but Xavier held her in place. Her stomach had dropped as her heart rate soared. Xavier pressed a finger to his lips, asking for the woman’s silence.
“Ah, you saw the mouse? I seem to have a few rodent visitors. It’s cold. They come inside.” Lena’s voice was getting closer. Then her face appeared and she leaned in slightly to the center. “Oh, they are gone.” She closed the coats again and spoke in rapid-fire German in a low voice to the lady standing by the rack.
“Wait,” the man said, “what is the problem?” His boots clomped on the floor as he approached their hiding place.
CHAPTER11
Fuck my life.Xavier had no weapon and no way of protecting Allegra. If there were only two gunmen in the store, he might have a chance. But the innocent bystanders complicated everything.Seriously, just fuck my life right now.
“A little problem with mice.” Lena’s voice sounded stressed.
“Yes, mice,” said another woman. That voice had to belong to the woman who’d seen them.
“You show me the pictures, yes?” Lena asked.
The booted footsteps stopped their progression.
There was only one set of footsteps. Did that mean there was only one gunman? Better odds. Xavier closed his eyes and pictured the layout of the store. Opening his eyes, he slowly started moving the coats apart. Allegra grabbed his arm, her eyes wide and frantic. He nodded once at her but continued to make a hole.
“Come to the counter. I need my glasses,” Lena’s voice carried over to them.
God, Lena was the closest thing to a guardian angel he’d ever met. Xavier grabbed Allegra’s hand again and then whispered in her ear. “Follow my lead.” Then staying low, he moved out of the rack and quickly went into the one next to it pushing through the coats rather than moving them. They swung back but left a small hole. He gestured to Allegra. She hesitated. He stared at her. She pointed to her legs.
What the hell?They must be asleep.What else could go wrong in this fucked up scenario?He gestured to her again. Blood thrummed faster in his veins, pulsing in his eardrums. She needed to move now or risk the gunman turning and seeing them both. He stretched out his hands.
“No, no. I don’t… I have not seen them,” Lena said in a clear voice.
“What about you?” the man asked.
Allegra came out of the rack and sprawled onto the floor. Then lay there as if frozen Xavier looked up to see if the man was coming but the woman’s response had covered the sound.
“No. Not seen them,” the other woman responded.
Xavier reached over and Allegra took his hands, then waddled into the rack with him. He closed the hole as quietly as possible.
The man tried one more time. “What about you?”
“No,” said another female voice.
“Okay, then.” The sound of the boots on the floor grew louder.
Lena’s voice sounded strained as she said, “What are you doing?”
Hangers scraped on the metal bar. The man was checking the rack where they’d been. He knew it would happen. He’d have done the same thing. The woman’s response was too much for a mouse.
