A Contract of Hearts

CHAPTER7

A Door About to Close

"Get the girl or lose her forever."

The queue is dead.

I keep the phone pressed to my ear, as if the voice will come back if I don't move. No, it doesn't.

The store is quiet in a way that doesn't feel right.

"Amara?"

I jump.

Not her.

My mind is just playing tricks on me.

I slowly put the phone down.

"Who was that?" one of the men asks.

I don't say anything.

I carefully put the phone on the counter, as if it matters. Like everything else here still does.

I turn next.

They are still moving. Still stealing things.

Books going into boxes. Papers piled up like they don't mean anything.

"Stop," I say.

No, they don't.

I scream, "Stop!"

This time they stop.

Every one of them.

The man with the file comes closer.

"You need to relax."

"My sister is gone."

Silence falls hard.

"Is it gone?" he asks again.

"They took her."

His eyes get a little smaller.

"Who?"

I let out a quick laugh that didn't sound like me.

"You tell me." "This is your mess."

"It isn't."

I point around and say, "Everything here is yours." "The store." The money owed. The threats.

"We make sure orders are followed," he says. "We don't take kids."

I look at him.

Trying to see a falsehood.

I don't.

That makes me more scared.

If it wasn't them, then it'd be worse.

"They called me," I say softly. "Bring her," they said.

"To who?"

I swallow.

"Alexander Vaughn."

The name is in the air between us.

A lot.

True.

There is a change in the way he looks. There, but small.

"You have to go," he says all of a sudden.

I blink. "What?"

"Take what you can and leave."

"That's all?"

"This isn't our problem anymore."

I feel a chill.

"What does that mean?"

He says, closing the file, "It means you're dealing with something above enforcement."

My chest feels tight.

"Get out, everyone," he says.

The others are unsure.

"Now."

They move around.

Quick.

Be quiet.

They are gone in a matter of seconds.

Boxes that are only half full.

The drawers are open.

Like they weren't even here.

The man stays for a little while longer.

Looking at me.

He says, lowering his voice, "You didn't hear this from me, but Vaughn doesn't give people who owe him a second chance."

"I'm not asking for one."

"Then you're already too late."

He turns around and leaves.

The door is still open.

I stand there by myself again.

The quiet is getting louder.

My hands are shaking, but I don't let that stop me.

I took my bag.

Put the folder inside. The picture. Anything that seems important.

I don't think.

Thinking makes you move slower.

And I don't have time.

My eyes go to the cash drawer.

Still open.

Still not full.

I close it hard.

The sound bounces back.

Last.

Then I go for a run.

Out the door.

Into the dark.

The street doesn't feel right.

Not loud enough.

Like something is about to happen.

I take out my phone.

Gone.

Of course.

"Think," I say quietly. "Think."

The picture.

My fingers reach into my bag and pull it out.

Mom.

And that guy.

Vaughn Alexander.

He started this.

He is the end.

I look up.

The city goes on and on.

Buildings that are tall. Lights that are cold.

Not my world.

But I’m going anyway.

I can't stop my feet from moving.

More quickly.

Quicker.

I don't stop until I see it.

Glass.

Steel.

Strength.

Vaughn Holdings.

It stands out above everything else.

Not able to be touched.

I move closer.

There is a guard at the door.

Looking.

I tell them, "I need to see Alexander Vaughn."

He doesn't move.

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No."

"Then you can't—" "They have my sister."

That makes him stop.

For just a second.

That's enough.

"Let him know Amara Cole is here."

Be quiet.

Then—

The doors behind him open.

Not by his own hand.

By themselves.

The guard looks unhappy.

Slowly step aside.

I don't wait.

I go in.

There is no one in the lobby.

No employees.

No sounds.

Only light and quiet.

The doors shut behind me.

Then there is a sharp click.

Closed.

My chest feels tight.

I turn.

There is no way out.

A soft noise breaks the quiet.

Ding.

The lift.

I look up.

The doors open up.

Slow.

Waiting.

Inside— No one.

Only light.

And a black envelope on the ground.

It has my name on it.

Once more.

My heart is racing.

This isn't helping.

It's a trick.

I know.

I can feel it.

But Zara, I go inside.

The doors started to shut.

And right before they close, I hear a voice behind me.

It's cold. Almost.

"Amara, you made the wrong choice."

I spin, but the doors slam shut.

The lift shakes.

And instead of going up, it goes down