ransoms and five million dollars’ worth of diamonds didn’t exist.
“There were so many people around me,” Kate said, going back to his question. “I remember I could hardly breathe, and I can still smell the sewer and garbage from that moment. I stood there, my eyes closed, trying to hold my breath, and when I opened them the doors of the subway were shutting and my parents were gone.”
“You lost them?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been so frightened—until the past few days, at least. It was dark in the car and lights kept flashing while people kept pushing into me.”
“What did you do?”
“I found a seat and sat down in that car until the end of the line, terrified. Somehow I finally got off and was found by a police officer, who made some calls and was eventually able to find my very frantic parents. But since then...”
“You’ve managed to avoid underground transportation.”
She nodded, hearing the foolishness of her actions in his words.
“It will take longer, but we could walk,” he offered.
“No, you’re right. The subway is quicker.” She wanted to be back in that safe house as soon as possible. But she also didn’t want to be defeated by fear. “It will be fine.”
Kate tried to shake off the feeling. She wasn’t ten. And this time she had Marcus.
She shook her head as she took in a deep breath. “I told you it was silly.”
“And like I said, considering the way you’re handling what’s going on right now, I still say you’re brave.”
Marcus pressed his hand against the small of her back as they took the narrow flight of stairs into the belly of the city. He had somehow become her constant in a world that seemed to have spun out of control. The one person who seemed to stand between her and the terror awaiting her on the other side. Someone jostled against her and she grabbed Marcus’s arm as he bought her ticket, then guided her toward the turnstile.
The subway on the other side of the platform zoomed down the tunnel while they waited for theirs to arrive among the dozens of passengers. She didn’t feel brave. Part of her still felt like the ten-year-old who’d somehow managed to lose her parents in the middle of New York City.
Even now, everyone seemed to know exactly where they were going. Except for her. She still remembered studying the map of the underground city on her tiptoes until a police officer had approached her. For months after that, getting lost had been a constant fear.
Today fear wrapped around her from a different source. Marcus seemed to know the system as well as any Parisian, but this time it was more than her panic over the city’s subway. Someone was still after her. She was certain of it. She studied the growing crowd, aware of every person in the growing crowd. Of every person exiting their subway car, certain she would find him lurking in the shadows.
She watched for him as they crowded onto the subway, and as the doors swished closed behind them with Marcus’s arm now wrapped tightly around her waist. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shake the reality that someone was determined to find her. And that there was nothing they could do to stop it.
With no place to sit, they stood beside one of the metal poles in the middle of the train. Marcus drew his arm tighter around her waist as the car pulled out of the station and plunged them into the darkness of the tunnel. Lights flickered above them. Panic threatened to take over.
She studied a young woman with two children. A baby cried in the back. An older man dozed in one of the seats. The train was packed with commuters on their way home from work. Most ignored those around them, reading a newspaper or dozing. None of them seemed to notice she was standing in the middle of the train screaming on the inside. They’d found her before, but she was safe now. All they needed to do was find the diamonds—and Sophie—and this nightmare would be over.
“You okay?”
“There were so many people around me,” Kate said, going back to his question. “I remember I could hardly breathe, and I can still smell the sewer and garbage from that moment. I stood there, my eyes closed, trying to hold my breath, and when I opened them the doors of the subway were shutting and my parents were gone.”
“You lost them?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been so frightened—until the past few days, at least. It was dark in the car and lights kept flashing while people kept pushing into me.”
“What did you do?”
“I found a seat and sat down in that car until the end of the line, terrified. Somehow I finally got off and was found by a police officer, who made some calls and was eventually able to find my very frantic parents. But since then...”
“You’ve managed to avoid underground transportation.”
She nodded, hearing the foolishness of her actions in his words.
“It will take longer, but we could walk,” he offered.
“No, you’re right. The subway is quicker.” She wanted to be back in that safe house as soon as possible. But she also didn’t want to be defeated by fear. “It will be fine.”
Kate tried to shake off the feeling. She wasn’t ten. And this time she had Marcus.
She shook her head as she took in a deep breath. “I told you it was silly.”
“And like I said, considering the way you’re handling what’s going on right now, I still say you’re brave.”
Marcus pressed his hand against the small of her back as they took the narrow flight of stairs into the belly of the city. He had somehow become her constant in a world that seemed to have spun out of control. The one person who seemed to stand between her and the terror awaiting her on the other side. Someone jostled against her and she grabbed Marcus’s arm as he bought her ticket, then guided her toward the turnstile.
The subway on the other side of the platform zoomed down the tunnel while they waited for theirs to arrive among the dozens of passengers. She didn’t feel brave. Part of her still felt like the ten-year-old who’d somehow managed to lose her parents in the middle of New York City.
Even now, everyone seemed to know exactly where they were going. Except for her. She still remembered studying the map of the underground city on her tiptoes until a police officer had approached her. For months after that, getting lost had been a constant fear.
Today fear wrapped around her from a different source. Marcus seemed to know the system as well as any Parisian, but this time it was more than her panic over the city’s subway. Someone was still after her. She was certain of it. She studied the growing crowd, aware of every person in the growing crowd. Of every person exiting their subway car, certain she would find him lurking in the shadows.
She watched for him as they crowded onto the subway, and as the doors swished closed behind them with Marcus’s arm now wrapped tightly around her waist. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shake the reality that someone was determined to find her. And that there was nothing they could do to stop it.
With no place to sit, they stood beside one of the metal poles in the middle of the train. Marcus drew his arm tighter around her waist as the car pulled out of the station and plunged them into the darkness of the tunnel. Lights flickered above them. Panic threatened to take over.
She studied a young woman with two children. A baby cried in the back. An older man dozed in one of the seats. The train was packed with commuters on their way home from work. Most ignored those around them, reading a newspaper or dozing. None of them seemed to notice she was standing in the middle of the train screaming on the inside. They’d found her before, but she was safe now. All they needed to do was find the diamonds—and Sophie—and this nightmare would be over.
“You okay?”
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