Page 22 of The Thief
“Please, Tyler,” I whispered, closing my eyes and praying to God, willing him to sit with us. “Don’t be a hero. Get down. Please. If not for yourself, then do it for us.” I reached my hand up to pull him down, my eyes begging him to do it and keep himself safe.
Hearing my voice, he swallowed, then glanced to the side and peered down at me, smiling. I could see the pain and regret in his eyes. Pain for what was happening, and regret for what we were about to go through. But in that smile, I knew I’d gotten through to him, as he nodded and sat down, positioning himself as close to us as he could. The warmth of his body gave me comfort and a tiny shot of confidence... so, so tiny, but it was something.
We would be okay.
We’d survive this.
We had to.
I couldn’t bear to think of the alternative.
Chapter Eight
TYLER
My arms were itching to wrap around them both, shield them from it all. I had to do whatever I could to protect this little angel and her mum. Iwoulddo whatever I could.
My body was shaking, but it wasn’t from fear; it was pure, unadulterated anger at the men who’d burst through the doors into this bank, trying to destroy the lives of every single person in here.
And for what?
A quick buck. A few thousand, if that. Money that’d be gone within months, in exchange for destroying lives forever.
Me, I was used to violence. But the rest of the people here weren’t. They weren’t equipped to deal with a situation like this. A life changing situation. A devastating nightmare that for them only happened in the movies or on TV. They were innocents, all ofthem. None more so than Jess and Ava.
A mother out for the morning with her little girl.
A mother and daughter who might never be the same after today, and that fucking crushed me.
It made me want to stand back up and walk right over to the men, take their guns and blow their fucking heads off. But then, an act like that, in front of all these people, would make me no better than them. They shouldn’t have to live with that image for the rest of their lives. I had to find another way. I had to think smarter.
I sat close to Jess, the warmth of her arm against mine reminding me what was important. The sound of Ava’s cries broke my stone-cold heart.
“It’s okay. Don’t cry,” I whispered to her. “Nothing’s gonna happen to you. It’s all gonna be okay.”
If it weren’t for Jess and Ava, I might have fought back just now. But I guess heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and today was my day to prove that. To be a different kind of hero.
Hearing their quiet heartbreak, I couldn’t stop myself from putting an arm around Jess. Pulling both of them to me, just for a while. I wanted them to know they were okay with me. That I’d do anything to keep them safe.
So, I stayed alert, watching every move the men made, listening to their voices, noticing everything I could to help me take them down.
Because I would.
They wouldn’t get away with this.
We were in a shitty situation. The worst. But I’d die before I let anything happen to the two girls beside me. I’d protect them with my body, my life. Whatever happened today, in thismoment, they were getting out of here alive.
“Listen the fuck up, all of you,” the guy who’d just shot a hole into the ceiling shouted. “Here’s how this is gonna go. If you do as you’re told, no one gets hurt. We all go home today. It’s all good. Happy days.” He took a breath, then his tone changed, becoming icier, more threatening. “But I fucking swear, if you fuck about, wewillhave a problem. A BIG, fucking problem. We’re here for a fucking pay day. The mother of all fucking pay days. We couldn’t give a fuck about any of you. You need to remember that. One wrong move and we will shoot.”
The rest of the gunmen started to move into position. One walked over to the side door that led to the back office, where the two bank workers were cowering on the floor. He pointed his gun at the door and fired, blowing the lock off to gain access to where they were, making the other hostages scream.
“Shut the fuck up!” shooter guy roared. “You need to get used to hearing our guns. Stop fucking screaming. All that does is fuck me right off, and you don’t want to see me get mad. Trust me.”
I heard Ava’s quiet whimpers and felt the tension rolling off Jess in tidal waves. But I whispered, “It’s okay. Don’t cry. It’s just a loud noise. No one’s gonna hurt you. We’ll be out of here soon,” to try and soothe her as Jess held back her tears and cradled her baby girl in her arms.
“Are we good?” the guy asked the one standing in the doorway to the back office, as he pointed his gun at the workers behind the desk.
“For now,” he replied, smirking as the bank workers cowered away from his voice like it was an extension of his gun, pointing right against their temples, ready to explode.
