Page 14 of Hide My Heart
Dodo. You’re the one who decided to stay home with your mother. You dropped out of the plan, so she left.
“Beck, where’s your mama?” I brush the back of my glove on the baby’s cheek. “Why’d she have to shack up with your papa?”
Snow starts pelting the windshield hard and furious. I flick the wiper blades and squint through the window.
What’s taking her so long? She’s supposed to pick up a prepaid phone and a few necessities. It’s not like she’s signing a contract. Chills roll over my spine, but the heat’s already cranked to the max.
There are a few cars in the lot. Most have pulled in and gone out. I can tell how long someone’s been in the store by the amount of snow covering their windshield. An elderly couple exits and heads for their sedan which is parked next to a pickup truck with a dented fender.
Funny. I hadn’t noticed that truck before, but after the couple leaves, there’s no one else. The lines can’t be that long.
“I hate to take you out there in this storm, but we gotta go find your mama,” I tuck him down the front of my down coat and zip it up a tiny bit so Beck has some breathing room and step out of the car.
It’s a few short steps to the door. I barge in, the bells clanging and blow out a breath of steam while brushing off the snow.
That’s when I notice the barrel of a handgun—pointed straight at me—at Beck inside my coat.
“No, no!” Amber screams.
“Shut the fuck up.” A big, bearded man backhands her and sends her flying into a stand of chips.
The clerk behind the counter has his hands up.
My body surges, every muscle wanting to rush to Amber’s defense.
But I have to think of Beck. I can’t let this monster shoot him.Please, please, don’t cry, baby. Please don’t make a sound.
I hold on tight to Beck, avoiding the big guy’s eyes. “I didn’t see anything, man. Just stepped in for a pack of smokes. I’m turning toward the wall now.”
“On the floor, or I’ll shoot.” He pokes the gun against Beck, but Amber’s screams overshadow Beck’s squeal of pain.
I kneel to the floor and lie on my side, my arm around the baby inside my coat.
Amber’s screaming and throwing things at the man. Bottles and cans, and this gives the clerk a chance to hit an alarm.
“You idiot!” A gun blast crashes into the mirror behind the counter. I don’t know if the clerk ducked or if he’s dead.
The shooter grabs a paper bag from the counter and stuffs it into his coat. Amber’s coming my way.
I motion her with my eyes.Don’t, don’t draw attention. Run to the back of the store and hide.
She either doesn’t get it, or she doesn’t care. The gunshot scares Beck, and he’s crying. I try my best to quiet him. Once the robber’s gone, we can call the police and get out of here.
“You’re coming with me.” The scruffy man yanks her by the arm.
Beck’s cries grow into a wail. All the blood freezes from my body. I should be the hero. I should be taking the guy on, not cowering on the floor like a weasel. I can’t let him take Amber.
I charge off the floor and bolt for the door, slipping on the ice right outside.
“Hey, get back here. You can’t take her. Hey, you!”
This time, it’s Amber warning me off. She’s shaking her head, her eyes wide and frightened.
Beck screams at the top of his lungs, hungry and scared, but both the clanging alarm and the howling wind keep anyone other than me from hearing him. Amber’s no longer struggling, she’s not even looking back.
She runs through the drifts with the man, and when he opens the door of his pickup truck, she gets in.
I know what she’s doing. It’s like those little birds who lay their eggs on the ground in a field or even a gravel driveway. They fake broken-wings to lure predators away from their nests.
