Page 16 of Fire of the Fox

“Give us the money,” a deep voice spat.

A redheaded man glared down at me as he held a knife aimed at my chest. Moonlight glinted off the blade, and terror squeezed at my throat as realization hit me.

“Don’t you dare scream, either, or I’ll slice that pretty neck of yours.”

I pressed further into the tire to get as far away from the sharp weapon as possible and held up my shaking hands in surrender. “Don’t hurt me. Please. I don’t have any money.”

“Liar,” the man spat, his rancid breath wafting into my face.

He shoved the knife at me, making me jump back, despite not being able to retreat any further. A sob choked me. The need to scream for help at the top of my lungs surged through me, but when I saw the way he shoved that sharp blade nearer my neck, panic made all my cries die out.

“We heard you,” the man snapped. “You have five thousand dollars. Now give it here, or else!”

“Allen.”

My attention shot over the redhead’s shoulder to a second guy I was just now noticing. He was petite with messy dark hair. He fidgeted as his eyes flickered back and forth between Allen and me.

When he looked at his partner again, he stammered, “Allen, maybe we should—”

“Shut the fuck up, Blake. We’ve been over this. If you pussy out now, the guys aren’t going to let you hang with us anymore. Do you want to be on the streets again?”

Blake paused, and his unsure eyes found mine again. If I had any chance of making it out of this unscathed, he was my key. Blake clearly wasn’t resolved on this robbery like his partner. My desperate, tear-filled eyes silently pleaded with him to help me.

His face merely pinched tight with guilt as he turned away.

My heart sank with the break of his eyes.

“Fine. Let’s hurry and get this over with.”

“Please, no,” I cried. My body shook from the tremors rolling through me.

Allen shoved the cold metal edge against my throat. All the air in my lungs froze as I fought to remain still. One wrong move, and he’d slice open my neck, leaving me to bleed out alone and in utter pain.

“The money,” Allen bit out. “Now.”

“I don’t have any money,” I said slowly, trying hard to ignore the bite of the blade.

“We heard you inside. Don’t fuck with us. Do you want to die?”

I realized then that they must’ve heard Rune and me talking inside about studying abroad. They clearly missed that it was a joke. I wanted so badly to cry out and slap myself for saying something like that in public. You never knew what kind of people were listening. You never knew what kind of demented criminals were nearby.

“That was a joke,” I pleaded. “I don’t have any money. Please. Let me go!”

“This bitch,” Allen fumed. He leapt to his feet and grabbed me by the shirt. Yanking on me until I stood up, he shoved the knife into my face again. “Unlock your car.”

I worked to take a steadying breath as I reached behind me and opened the driver side door of Dallas’ car. I sent up a silent prayer of thanks that she’d left it unlocked because God only knows what they would’ve done to me if I couldn’t get into the car.

Allen kept his hold on me with the knife pressed to my throat. “Blake, check the car for the money. It’s in there somewhere.”

Long, torturous seconds ticked by as Blake dug through the contents of Dallas’ car. I knew all he’d find in there were discarded homework assignments, condoms, and a bag full of makeup and toiletries. But it was no use arguing and trying to convince him of that. They’d see it for themselves soon enough, and I hoped that they’d let me go when they did.

“You know,” Allen said, his mouth curling upwards in a sinister sneer. “When we get that money, we can’t let you go. You’ve seen our faces, heard our names.” He leaned in close and whispered, “I’m still gonna slit your throat.”

The heavy weight of panic settled over my shoulders and cries built up on my tongue. If I managed to scream, would people even hear me all the way out here above the music? I wasn’t so sure, so I went to beg and plead for my life when Blake re-emerged from the car, empty handed and as pale as a ghost.

“Well?” Allen snapped at Blake. “Did you find it?”

“There’s no money.”

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