Chapter 4 - The Setup
The police cars screeched to a halt right in front of the convenience store.
I dropped the phone.
He had set me up.
If I stayed here, they would arrest me, and Lily would be handed right back to Ryan.
"I have to hide," I told the terrified cashier.
"Please, don't tell them we're here."
The boy looked at the approaching officers, then pointed to a door at the back of the store.
"Storage room," he whispered nervously.
I grabbed Lily and sprinted down the narrow aisle of snacks, ducking into the dark room just as the front doors opened.
I pulled the heavy door shut, leaving only a tiny crack to peek through.
Two police officers walked in, their hands resting cautiously on their belts.
"Did a woman come in here with a little girl?" the taller officer asked.
The cashier swallowed hard.
"No, sir," he lied, his voice cracking slightly.
"Just me tonight."
I held my breath, pressing Lily's face into my chest to keep her quiet.
The officers exchanged a look.
"We have a report of a dangerous individual in this area," the second officer said.
"Mind if we look around?"
Without waiting for an answer, they started walking down the aisles.
They were getting closer to the storage room.
I looked frantically around the cramped space, seeing nothing but stacked boxes of soda and cleaning supplies.
There was nowhere else to go.
The heavy footsteps stopped right outside our door.
I closed my eyes, preparing for the worst.
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from the front of the store.
The officers spun around, drawing their weapons.
"What was that?" one of them shouted.
Through the crack in the door, I saw a rock lying on the floor surrounded by shattered glass from the front window.
"Someone's out there!" the officer yelled, and both men sprinted out of the store into the night.
The cashier rushed to the back room and yanked the door open.
"You need to leave, now," he urged.
"There's an emergency exit down this hall, it leads to the alley."
"Thank you," I said, tears of gratitude stinging my eyes.
We slipped out the back door into the cold, damp alleyway.
As we hurried away from the flashing lights, my mind raced.
Who threw that rock?
A black sedan slowly pulled into the alley, its headlights turning off as it rolled toward us.
I froze, grabbing a heavy wooden pallet leaning against the brick wall.
The car stopped, and the passenger window rolled down.
A woman's face appeared in the shadows.
"Get in," she ordered sharply.
"Who are you?" I demanded, refusing to move.
The woman leaned into the faint street light, revealing sharp features and tired eyes.
May you like
"My name is Claire," she said.
"I'm Ryan's first wife, and if you want to save your daughter, you need to get in this car."
