by Nikki Ashton
“Now who’s being a stalker?”
His grin and the word stalker sent a combined shiver down my spine. I physically shook myself to fling it from my body.
“I need some for my mum.” I reached for the two closest to me.
Adam laughed. “Your Mum into cars and…” he stooped to take a look at the cover. “Fishing?”
I looked up at him to see a huge smile on his face. A smile that crinkled his eyes. He looked happy and carefree with the arms of his soft wool jumper over a white t-shirt pushed up to display his strong, veined forearms.
“She might do.” I bit on my lip to stop my own smile. “You should see her cast a line.”
Adam laughed loudly and dropped the football magazine back on the rack and reached for another.
“Here, try this one,” he said and handed it to me.
“Adam! Really you think my mum would want this?”
We both started to laugh, and it felt good not to be in a standoff with him or trading insults. To feel like a normal teenager who could flirt with a hot boy in the Tesco Express.
Still giggling I stared at Pole Dancing for Beginners, wondering whether to take it for her as a joke, when the sound of gunshot rang out and a man’s voice close to us yelled out.
“Get that fucking door locked now.”
Without any hesitancy, Adam moved to me and grabbed my hand, pushing both our trolleys to one side.
“Come on,” he whispered and pulled at my arm.
I couldn’t move. Fear and panic were setting in as I started to shake. The sound of the gun ricocheted around my head, pulling back memories that I didn’t want there.
“Sarah, please, we need to hide.”
I just stood there, staring at him, as those unwanted recollections and reminders of the worst night of my life continued to punch through my brain.
Adam looked up towards the ceiling before his gaze landed back on me. “It’s okay, Sarah,” he said softly. “I can see in the security mirror, there’s just one man and he’s over by the tills.” He moved closer to me and placed both his hands on my shoulders and looked me directly in the eyes. “The manager and assistant are up there, but I don’t think he knows we’re here, so we can hide. There’s an office just down the end of this aisle. Do you think you can come with me? If it’s unlocked, we can hide in there.”
I looked over his shoulder to where he wanted us to go and sucked in a breath. It was only a small store, but we were in the last aisle, so could possibly get there without being spotted.
“I’m scared, Adam,” I whimpered.
“I know. And I know this must be the worst thing to happen to you, but we will be okay. I promise, I’ll take care of you.” His voice was soft and cajoling and when his hand cupped my cheek, I couldn’t help but lean into his touch. “Okay take it really slow and be as quiet as you can.” He looked down at my feet and smiled. “Thank fuck you’re a girl who likes trainers and not those fucking high hooker shoes.”
I couldn’t even smile at his attempt at a joke, I was so petrified. Adam gave me a nod of encouragement and then took my hand in his and started to lead me down the aisle towards the door where he said the office was. We were almost there when the man shouted again, and another gun shot went off. I shuddered to a halt and screamed, howling as if I’d been the one shot.
Adam slapped a hand over my mouth and wrapped an arm around me as my body began to convulse with sobs. He pulled me close and I sagged against his broad chest, grateful for the small sense of comfort it brought me, despite the fear still clawing at me.
With my whole body shaking and my chest heaving, there was no way I was going to be able to walk. Adam must have realised it too because he hauled me into his arms and we started to move again.
“Fucking stop where you are.” A voice boomed behind us.
The air left my lungs as Adam’s arms tightened around me, his big hand shielding my head.
“I’ll take care of you,” he whispered against my ear. “We’ll be okay.”
“Get up here now.”
“Okay, okay,” Adam ground out. “We’re coming.”
He started to move slowly, his arms still cocooning me in the safety of his body.
“Move it and put her down. She needs to walk up here.”
“She’s scared man,” Adam’s deep voice rumbled. “Can’t you see that?”
“I don’t fucking care. Put her down.”
Adam stopped walking and whispered into my ear. “I’ll be with you, I’ll hold your hand, but you have to walk, Sarah, okay?”
“Don’t let me go, please.” I moved my face away from his chest to look up at him. His eyes were so soft and caring I inhaled sharply on a sob and my chest heaved.
“I’ll hold your hand the whole time, I swear.”
He slowly dropped me to my feet and placed a steadying hand on my waist as he raised his brows in a silent question. I nodded and felt his hand wrap around mine. When I turned to face the gunman, I was surprised to see how slight he was, but my eyes soon left his body and his masked face to focus on the gun in his hand.
“No,” I cried, when I saw it pointing at me. “No don’t shoot us, please.” The noise started off small in the pit of my stomach, but as the gun wavered in front of me, it built and built until it became huge; ear piercing and earth shattering.
As I screamed out my fear and the culmination of the pain I’d experienced for the last year, I heard Adam shouting behind me. His voice was anxious and loud, and I felt myself being dragged behind him. Through my tears I saw his back and felt his arm wrapped around my waist and my body being pulled against his.
There was more shouting and then Adam turned, grabbed my shoulders and gave me a shake. “Sarah you have to stop,” he yelled. “You have to be quiet.”
“I don’t want to die, Adam,” I screamed. “I don’t want to go the same way as my dad. My mum, what will my mum do?”
Adam closed his eyes and breathed in. Once again he pulled me against him and dropped a long kiss to my forehead.
“Please, Sarah,” he whispered. “Please try and stop. I swear we will be home soon, but your crying is making him anxious. You have to be quiet.”
“I mean it, man,” the masked man bellowed. “Shut her the fuck up, or I will.”
Adam turned sharply. “Okay, can’t you see how fucking scared she is? I’m trying.” He turned back to me and shook me as he stared right at me. “You have to stop, Sarah. I mean it, stop now, okay.”
His voice wasn’t harsh, but it was hard enough to make me realise that I needed to listen to him. Slowly my cries quieted to hiccups and once the noise had almost stopped, Adam stooped down and cupped my face.
“I’ve seen you counting your breathing, so do it with me now, okay?” He nodded and started to count in time with each bob of his head.
“Nine. Ten. That’s it,” he said with pride as though I’d just taken my first steps. “Keep going, slow and deep that’s it.”
“Get over here,” the gunman shouted. “Now.”
Adam let out a deep breath and his nostrils flared. He was holding on by an edge to his patience, any other situation I’m pretty sure he’d have lost it. Just like he had in the sports hall with Davies the boy who’d been rude about the keepers’ sister.
“Now, I said.”
“We’re coming, okay. Let’s go,” he said to me and grabbed my hand tightly in his own, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
As we walked towards the man in the mask, my feet started to drag, but Adam was there encouraging me to take each step. When we finally reached the front of the store, the man pushed us forward to where an elderly couple, the manager and an assistant were sitting on the floor, their backs against a wall.
“Get down there with them.” He gestured with his gun.
The assistant flinched and let out a squeal, but the manager placed a comforting chubby hand on her shoulder. She looked at him and reached up to link her fingers with his. I was glad he was able to
comfort her. My dad had been alone when he lost his life and that was one of the things that haunted me the most. He’d died without anyone to hold him while the life drained from his body. If I was going to die in a Tesco Express, at least I’d have Adam with me.
As he led me to sit on the other side of the elderly couple, I looked up at him and smiled. “Thank you,” I whispered.
He gave me a soft smile back, which made his eyes sparkle, and gave his response by squeezing my hand again. When we dropped onto the floor, he turned to the old couple who both looked pale and gaunt.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’m so scared,” the lady said. “He doesn’t seem stable.”
“Joyce, we’ll be fine. Just stay quiet and do what he says, love and it’ll all be over soon.” Her husband took her hand in his.
My throat constricted with the feeling that I was going to puke. I knew it would only cause the man to get angrier, so I took a few deep breaths to try and abate it. I placed my hands flat on the floor to steady myself and immediately Adam’s little finger linked with mine. It was his way of telling me he was there without saying the words.
“Where’s the money kept?” the man growled at the manager.
“There’s only what’s in the till,” he replied. “I go to the night safe at eight every night.”
“It’s true,” the assistant said with a small nod. “Every night.”
“You’re fucking lying,” he snapped.
“I swear, I’m not. You can check the office.”
The man looked down the shop towards the office where Adam and I had been going to hide. Then he looked back at us and then finally at the locked door. He seemed to be thinking about his best plan of action and I hoped that didn’t include killing us.
“You,” he said, and pointed the gun at the assistant. “Get the money from the till.”
“I’ll do it,” the manager said, moving to get to his feet.
“No, she does it.” He pointed the gun at her again. “Now.”
The assistant who was wearing a badge which said ‘Rita’ on it, struggled to her feet and moved to the till. It struck me how slow and calm she was considering there was a gun pointing at her. I looked up at the gunman and saw him wipe a bead of sweat from the part of his forehead which wasn’t covered by the mask which was actually just a wool scarf tied around his face.
As Rita opened up the till and pulled out all the money, throwing it into a plastic bag, a car horn sounded outside and we all jumped, the gunman more than the rest of us. He moved to the window and looked through, peering at the small car park outside.
Adam leaned closer to me. “He has no clue what he’s doing,” he whispered from the side of his mouth.
My mouth dropped open with shock. I knew instinctively what he was thinking.
“Adam no.” I shook my head with wide begging eyes. “Please.”
“I can take him, Sarah. I’m bigger than him, he’s wired and he’s fucking stupid.”
“Shut the fuck up,” the gunman bellowed. “I’ve told you, no talking.” He turned to Rita. “What the fuck is taking you so long, hurry up.”
“I’m coming,” she said, her voice quaking. “Here you go.”
She passed the money to the man who lowered his gun to his side while he peered inside the bag. Adam shifted beside me and I knew he was going to try and jump him, but I couldn’t let him. How could I watch him get shot and die? I’d never get over someone else in my life being killed for the sake of a few hundred quid.
“Just go.” My voice came out louder than I expected and gained his attention. “You have the money, so go.”
As the man lifted his gun again and stared at me, I heard Adam groan beside me.
“You really think I’m just going to leave you all to call the coppers on me?” he replied. “Do you think I’m stupid?”
I shrank back against the wall and Adam’s hand grabbed mine.
“I’m sorry,” I said and clutched his bicep. “I couldn’t let you try. I couldn’t watch him shoot you.”
He exhaled slowly and kissed my temple. “It’s okay. I understand.”
“I hope so, because you saved me tonight and I just wanted to save you.”
The way his eyes shone as he looked at me made my insides warm with a depth of feeling that I could only assume came from the fear that was swamping me. I could only see good in him and all the things that I’d thought might be possible if he were a better person suddenly seemed more attainable.
I reached up and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for taking care of me.”
“We’re not going to die, Sarah,” he said with a small laugh. “We’re going home soon.”
“I said no fucking talking.” The gunman stalked toward us with the bag in one hand and the gun pointing at Adam in his other. “You need to be quiet unless you want me to take you out first.”
“No,” I cried holding my hands up to him, palms forward. “Please no. We’ll be quiet.”
The man pulled back the trigger and pointed it, his shaking hand making it wobble between the two of us. There was defiance in his bloodshot stare, and I knew he’d already made his mind up.
I closed my eyes, held my breath, and waited to join my dad.
Whereas not so long ago I’d wanted to be there with him, I’d wanted to die, now I was getting better each day. I wanted to live, and to grow and to continue losing the pain around my heart. My eyes were tightly closed but I could feel it in my bones that the cold steel of the gun was pointed at me. I knew without any doubt that the bullet would leave the barrel and go straight to my heart. I was the one he would choose to kill first.
I held my breath and imagined my dad’s face as I readied myself for oblivion, but the pain and blackness never came, instead Adam’s arm was wrenched away from my hold. My eyes flashed open and I screamed as he hurled himself at the legs of the man holding the damn gun with the barrel cocked.
When the gunshot sounded, I was sure Adam must have been shot. My heart stalled and everything around me sounded elongated and distorted; like the world slowed down as they both flew through the air toward me. Then without warning, my pulse thudded back into action and the screaming and shouting became crystal clear as a pair of dead eyes stared up at me. Rita and Joyce were both screaming, the store Manager shouted “Fuck” over and over, while all I could do was silently scream and grip my hair as I looked down at the two bodies that had landed next to me.
After an eternity of time that hung in the air, Adam finally rolled over and onto his back, breathing heavily as he let his arms flop to the floor at the side of his body. My chest heaved as I stared at him, desperately waiting for him to speak, or move again, to show me that he wasn’t hurt.
When he did an ab roll to sit up, I finally extinguished the anguish from my lungs.
“Adam.” I scrambled over to him and literally threw myself on top of him. “You stupid idiot, why did you do that? Oh my God.”
I clung to him and let out a sob, tightening my arms around his neck as he shifted forward.
“I’m okay,” he said against my hair. “Except I can’t breathe.”
I loosened my grip. “I’m sorry, but I was so scared. I thought…” I turned to look at the prone body of the gunman.
“No, don’t look.” He immediately pulled me to his chest, shielding my view. “I don’t want you to look. Keep your face close to me.” He manoeuvred us both to our feet, with his hands strong and tight on me all the time.
“I think we should get everyone to the back of the store,” I heard the Manager say.
“Yeah,” Adam replied and with my face still cradled against him, he slowly walked us down the aisle in the direction of our abandoned trolleys.
Once we were all gathered together, Joyce started to cry.
“I thought he was going to kill us all,” she sobbed as her husband pulled her into his arms.
“Thank you, son,” the elderly man said to Adam. “But it was a bloody stupid thi
ng to do.”
“I couldn’t risk not doing it.” Adam looked down at me and swallowed. “He was getting too desperate.”
“The police should be here soon,” Rita offered slumping to sit down on the floor. “I pressed the panic alarm when I went to get the money.”
The Manager rubbed a hand over his face. “Shit, Rita, if he’d seen you.”
“Well he didn’t, so you can let me have tomorrow off as thanks.” She grinned at him, but I noticed the wobble in her chin.
“It’s the least I can do.”
Only seconds later we heard sirens and saw the flash of blue illuminating the walls and ceiling; the police had arrived.
I was still in Adam’s arms when we finally walked outside into the car park that was a buzz of activity of police and paramedics. As soon as I felt the cool night air on my skin, he gently pushed me away and looked down at me.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his hands running over my hair, my shoulders and my arms.
With tears rolling down my cheeks, I nodded. “I’m fine, you made sure I was okay. You made sure we were all okay. Thank you.”
He pulled me closer again and wrapped me into a hug. I shivered at the press of his lips against my forehead.
“Hey, you two kids need to come and get checked out,” a police officer said. “Just go to the paramedics, but then we’ll need to ask you some questions, is that okay?”
“Yeah sure,” Adam replied and when I shivered again, he hugged me tighter. “Do you have something to warm my friend up, she’s had a big shock, her dad died at the scene of a jewellery shop robbery.”
“Oh, sweetheart, I’m so sorry.” The police officer ran a hand over my back and the weird thing I noticed was that I didn’t shrink from his touch.
“Come on,” he continued, “let’s get you both warmed up, take your statements and then you can go home.”
