Chapter 10 - Run

Mara moved first.

She shoved a folding chair across the concrete.

It crashed on the opposite side of the unit.

The man spun toward the sound.

“Now,” she whispered.

Ethan followed her through the narrow gap between the wall and a stack of mattresses. They slipped behind the neighboring row of units and ran.

Someone shouted.

Footsteps pounded behind them.

Ethan clutched the cash box against his ribs.

They hit the main corridor at full speed.

Mara slammed the fire alarm on the wall.

A siren exploded through the building.

Lights flashed.

Security doors began rolling down in sections.

“What are you doing?” Ethan yelled.

“Creating witnesses.”

They ducked under one descending door seconds before it hit the ground.

A man on the other side slammed both hands against the metal.

Mara kept running.

Outside, the night attendant stumbled from his office, confused.

“Call the police!” Mara shouted. “Two men inside!”

They reached her car.

Ethan looked back.

A gray sedan tore out through the rear gate before security could close it.

Mara started the engine.

“Seat belt.”

“You’re worried about a seat belt now?”

“I’m an accountant. Risk management is a lifestyle.”

Despite everything, Ethan laughed once.

Then his phone rang.

Claire.

He answered immediately.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Noah’s fine,” she said. “I’m fine. But someone just tried to use my debit card at a gas station two miles from your house.”

Ethan’s stomach turned.

“Freeze it.”

“I did.”

“Good.”

“And Ethan?”

“Yeah?”

“There’s something else.”

Her voice changed.

“The hotel front desk just called. A man is downstairs asking for me.”

“Do not go down.”

“I’m not.”

“Did he give a name?”

May you like

Billionaire’s Wife Kicked a Waitress in Front of 300 Elites—One Slap Exp...

The billionaire’s wife tried to kick a waitress in the face in front of 300 wealthy guests. But seconds later, she whispered three...

My Mother Grabbed My Wife by the Hair Over Cold Soup—But What My Father...

My mother grabbed my wife by the hair over a bowl of cold soup. And the most shameful part? For one terrible second, I almost defe...

My Parents Kicked My 6-Year-Old Daughter and Me Out on Christmas—Then I...

My mother kicked my six-year-old daughter out of Christmas dinner, never realizing I was the only reason she still had a house to...

Claire hesitated.

Then said, “Ryan.”\n\nWhen the first patrol car arrived, Ethan bent forward with both hands on his knees and tried to slow his breathing. Mara stood beside him without speaking. Adrenaline made everything too bright: the security lights, the wet pavement, the chrome on the police cruiser. He realized he had spent years calling himself calm when what he really meant was good at delaying fear.