Page 74 (1/2)
ONE
What kind of person robbed a hardware store?
That was Ari’s first thought as she lay on the cold dirty floor Her second was to keep her eyes down and away from the armed robbers
The linoleum floor felt cool under Ari’s cheek Once white, it now had a filthy, grayish tint She tried not to think about the last ti worry at the h the store, shouting orders anddemands
Ari took a deep breath, exhaling hot air across the slick floor producing a light sheen of fog The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on her Ari spent her days working with the criminals of this city, and now, on her day off, she walked into the hborhood hardware store It was only a matter of tih criain
A noise nearby reminded her that she wasn’t alone in her position on the floor She looked at the customer closest to her His panicked eyes darted around, while he clutched a sliver wrench in his hand Great, she thought, this guy was going to get killed over a leaky pipe
She’d been shopping in the tool aisle, looking for a Phillips head screwdriver when the ar demands Like everyone else, she dropped to the floor, never looking back at thewith a full caseload of juvenile delinquents had taught her anything, it was to never be able to identify an attacker Instead, she put her head down, allowing her short hair to obscure her face, and she listened to the robbers demand money from shoppers
They roamed the aisles Well, at least some of the aisles Multiple voices had shouted when they’d entered the store and Ari had caught a glih, it seemed clear there werewith an eh the aisles
“Give me your wallet”
“Here…take it…” said a tre voice on the other side of the shelf
Ari heard feet shuffling and raised voices near the counter The cashier cried out, so a key to the safe A loud thwack echoed through the store Ari flinched at the sound of ainst flesh
As the struggle continued over the locked safe, the otherat each custo for their money and jewelry The escalation in violence kick-started Ari’s heart and she began to panic, too As the men ca on her right hand, and with a resolved ‘hell no’ under her breath, slipped the ring off her finger and shoved it in her ue
She nudged her purse in front of her face They could take her et out of here alive For five years Ari worked as a caseworker for Glory City The job had taught her several things: always pay attention; never turn her back, not even for a minute; and alear shoes she can run in She flexed her toes in her black leather boots and cursed the blind spot she had froratulations Ari, at least you have two of the three…
Her self-congratulatory thoughts dissipated and her heartbeat quickened as the footsteps caht of the stocking cap and shaggy hair hanging out from underneath She knew that kid Jace Watkins He wasn’t on her caseload but he’d been in the office He had a reputation and Ari could have sworn he’d been remanded over to the adult system and had been in prison Obviously not, because he was definitely one of the robbers He turned his head, and for a brief moment, their eyes locked
Crap
She’d broken rule one
Trying not to freak, Ari braced herself for Jace’s approach, running her tongue along her grandainst the floor Maybe he didn’t recognize her
That thought was short-lived as a pair of boots kicked her bag aside and warrabbed onto the waist of her jeans froht back, twisting and kicking, trying toand very fast
The four rules Ari just thought about vanished because there was one rule that trumped all the others
Never get moved to a second location
Past the point of panic, Ari bit the inside of her attacker’s palm He cursed but didn’t move his hand She heard a lohisper in her ear, “Trust me”
“Screw you!” Ari yelled, or tried to, into his hand
A commotion across the store h in baseball caps and sunglasses Jace held a gun to an elderly man’s head and asked him for keys to the office