Chapter 7 - The Amber Alert
The horrific words from the police scanner completely drained all the remaining warmth from the small back room.
Adrian had completely flipped the narrative, utilizing his brother's corrupt influence within the police department.
He had officially framed Lucy for kidnapping her own child and painted her as an armed, psychotic threat to the public.
Every single police officer, highway patrolman, and concerned citizen in the state was now actively hunting her.
Marcus slowly took his hand off the cash on the table, his eyes darting nervously toward Lucy.
"Carmen, what the hell is going on here," Marcus asked, taking a slow, cautious step backward toward his desk drawer.
"She is the victim, Marcus, her husband is a violent abuser trying to kill her," I pleaded, stepping in front of Lucy defensively.
Marcus shook his head, the fear of harboring a federal fugitive completely overriding his long loyalty to my late husband.
"I cannot get involved in a statewide kidnapping manhunt, Carmen," Marcus apologized, his voice trembling with genuine regret.
"I have a business to run, and I am not going to federal prison for a girl I do not even know."
Before I could say another word, Marcus quickly stepped completely out of the back room and into the main shop.
He aggressively slammed the heavy steel security door shut, violently throwing the deadbolt lock from the outside.
We were entirely trapped inside a windowless concrete room, completely at the mercy of a terrified pawn broker.
"He is calling the police," Lucy panicked, aggressively pounding her fists against the unyielding steel door.
"Stand back," I ordered, my eyes scanning the chaotic room for absolutely anything that could break a commercial lock.
I spotted a heavy steel crowbar resting against a stack of discarded television sets in the corner.
I grabbed the heavy tool, ignoring the sharp pain radiating violently through my arthritic shoulders.
I wedged the sharp end of the crowbar deeply between the steel door and the heavy metal frame.
I threw my entire body weight onto the iron bar, gritting my teeth as the metal groaned in loud protest.
The locking mechanism violently snapped with a deafening crack, and the heavy door swung open.
We rushed out into the main shop just as Marcus was speaking frantically to a 911 dispatcher on the landline.
I did not stop to argue, I simply grabbed the keys to the delivery van off the front counter and ran.
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We burst out the back door into the alleyway, throwing ourselves into the rusty, unmarked white van.
I started the engine and sped aggressively down the narrow alley just as three police cruisers swarmed the front of the pawn shop.
