Page 103 of Shea's Hero

I just need to stall Mark until then.

“You,” Mark says in a menacing tone. He aims his gun at Ari. “You’re my hostage. Get over hereright now.”

Ari whispers, “No. Please. I have a little?—”

“NOW!”

“Wait!” I stand up, my heart beating in my throat. “You can take me.”

“Shea, no,” Ari cries.

But I’m determined. Staring straight at Mark, I say, “You can take me. And listen. I have money. Plenty of it. I can give it to you. So you’ll have whatever’s in this bag?—”

“Cocaine,” he replies absently. “A pound of it.”

“Right. So we’ll find the cocaine, and then we’ll go to my bank and I’ll take out all my money. And you can leave town, and…”

Andwhat?

Interest lights his eyes. “How much money?”

“Tens of thousands.”

Does he know I can’t just withdraw ten thousand dollars from the ATM? Hopefully not.

Almost like we’re coconspirators, Mark asks, “And what about them?” He gestures at Ari and Thea with the gun. “They’ll turn me in.”

Um. Yes? They will?

I don’t think that’s the response he wants.

“We can… tie them up,” I suggest. “And you can leave town. With all the money I’ll give you, you could go to Canada. It’s really nice there.”

What am I saying?

“Canada?” He shoots me a look of disbelief. “You want me to move to fucking Canada?”

The gun shifts in my direction.

Terror explodes inside me.

No. Stay calm. Oliver is almost here. He has to?—

The door cracks open.

Oh.

OH.

Oliver!

As he pushes the door open on silent hinges, I almost collapse in relief.

My Oliver, his features like stone, his gaze filled with icy rage. This isn’t sweet Oliver, who buys me flowers and rubs my feet and makes me heart-shaped pancakes every Saturday morning.

No. This is dark and dangerous Oliver. The Oliver who won’t hesitate to do whatever it takes to keep me safe.

“Vancouver is great,” I reply, hardly believing what I’m saying. “I’ve heard it’s the Manhattan of the Northwest. And they have universal health care in Canada. So that’s good, too.”

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