Page 102 of Shea's Hero

But that doesn’t solve anything.

“Where is it?” Mark thunders. “The bag! Where the fuck is it, you dumb bitch?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Penny replies softly. “What bag? I only took my stuff?—”

He cocks the trigger, the small sound deafening in the room. “You took it! Did you sell it to those men? Try to make a profit for yourself?”

“Wha—”

Abruptly, he swivels, pointing the gun at Ari, whose hand is halfway to her ear. “I said don’t fucking move!”

Oh,crap.

Ari has a little girl. An adorable little girl who’s about to turn two next month.

Thea has a baby. Little Elias, who’s not even a year old. And a precocious stepdaughter, Laila, who wants to be an author one day.

Oliver will be back, but what if Mark shoots them first?

I have to do something before either of them gets hurt.

Mark swings the gun towards Thea. And that’s when I notice his hand is shaking. Not in ahe might drop the gunkind of way, but theI think he’s on drugskind.

Thea lets out a small cry of alarm. “Please. No.”

While his gaze is still on Thea, I reach up to my earring and press it hard. Then I take a deep breath, trying to will my voice to remain calm. “Mark?”

Get your eyes on me and away from Ari and Thea. Please.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Penny slowly inching towards the door.

If she can get out, she can run for help. Or at the very least, she’ll be safe.

His gaze narrows as it lands on me.“What?”

“Um. I’m just wondering, what are you looking for? Maybe we can find it.”

With his free hand, he runs his fingers through his gel-tipped hair so it’s sticking out in a hundred different directions, like a rumpled porcupine. “Did you take it? Sell it?”

“No,” I reply, holding his gaze. “I didn’t. And I don’t think—”No. Don’t mention Penny.Keep his attention on me. “What was it in? A bag? Maybe it’s?—”

“FUCK!”

It’s like a thunderclap in the room.

Penny flinches. Tears run down her cheeks unchecked. Ari is frozen on the couch, terror all over her face. And Thea looks absolutely petrified as she stares at him.

“Fuck,” he repeats more quietly, almost to himself. “You all weren’t supposed to be here. How the fuck is this going to work? How am I going to get out of here?”

Oh, quadruple crap.

He just realized he has four witnesses. Four women who can easily identify him.

“I need a hostage,” he muses. “Or… I have to kill all of you.”

Penny whimpers quietly behind him.

How long before Oliver gets here? He must have been on the way already. And my earring would have triggered the alert. Blade and Arrow would be notified, and they’d tell Oliver immediately. He wouldn’t wait for their help. He’d come right away.

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