Fin turned and found two masked gunmen in the doorway of the bank.Well, fuck!How the hell was it possible there was a bank robbery happening in Ryker Falls? To his knowledge, that had never happened.
“Down!”
He dropped to his knees and turned to reassure Maggs.
“I said down!”
She was still standing. Grabbing her hand, Fin gave it a yank.
“Get down here, Maggs!” She stumbled to her knees. “Are you crazy? They have guns,” Fin hissed as he tugged her onto her belly like she was a child and unable to move herself. “Unless you’re Wonder Woman, I’m fairly sure you can’t stop bullets.”
Her movements were stilted, and her fingers gripped his hard.
“Now stay down and don’t move,” he whispered.
Her head had been turned away from him, but then she moved, and suddenly the breath lodged in his throat. Her brown eyes were wide, fear etched in every corner, and her face was white. She was shaking, tremors rocking her body.
“Hey, it’s okay. Stay down, it’ll be over soon.”
“Don’t let them shoot me, Fin.” Her words were raspy.
“They’re not going to hurt you,” He moved closer to her, so their bodies were touching. “Quiet now, and this will be over soon.”
She was shaking hard. Shock, he knew, and she’d be crazy not to be, but this was one hell of a reaction.
“I don’t want to be shot again, Fin.” She’d inched closer until her face was pressed into his shoulder. “Promise you won’t let them shoot me.”
Again?
He rolled slightly, pulling her under him, and then lay half over her like a blanket.
“Sssh now. I have you, and no one is hurting you.”
Lifting his head, he saw one man was still at the door, the other up with the teller.
“It’ll be over soon, Mags.”
She whimpered.
“This is going to be on the gossip airways for years to come. I don’t think this town has ever had a bank robbery,” he whispered. She didn’t say anything, just kept her face pressed into his shoulder.
“It’s okay.” He reached over her head and gripped her hands in his. They were trembling. “No one’s going to hurt you.”
As far as bank heists went, it was fairly uneventful. Not that he had much experience in that area, but still. Everyone behaved, the bad guys got their money, left, and suddenly the building seemed alive with noise and people.
“Everyone quiet down now!” Chief Blake had arrived. Fit, with steely determination, the man ruled the town of Ryker Falls with patience. When that didn’t work, he was a hardass. “No one leaves. I want all your names and any details you can remember.”
“Okay, it’s done now, Maggs. Up you get.” Regaining his feet, he lifted her to stand before him.
She mumbled something.
“It’s over, Maggs.” He pushed the hair from her face so he could look at her. She was still in the grip of something. “It’s safe now, sweetheart. You don’t need to be scared anymore.”
She clenched her eyes shut, dragged in a deep breath, then released it slowly.
“I-I’m okay. Thanks, Fin.”
She didn’t sound okay. Her voice was high-pitched. Her breathing was still rapid.
