Chapter 3

"Okay… Good." The man sighed in relief when the red-haired woman beneath him stopped struggling. "Now keep quiet and listen." He let go of her mouth hesitantly and Petra took the chance to take a few shaky breaths to try and get some much needed oxygen. She hadn't been able to get enough from just being able to breathe through her nose. The man then returned his hand to her arm when she did not make any other noise. He also shifted a little so that he wasn't digging his knee into her back as painfully.

Petra's mouth and jaw ached where the intruder had gripped it even after he removed his hand. She spent a few moments debating if she should try to break free but decided to wait until a better time. Maybe when the man above her was distracted or maybe when she didn't feel like she was going to soil herself in fright. Her heart still beat fast and hard in her chest and Petra didn't say anything or crane her neck to look the man above her as he steadied his own breathing.

"How the fuck do I end up in these situations…" The man muttered to himself. Petra waited as the man seemed to consider what he wanted to say. Finally he continued. "Look, I'm not going to hurt you. I got into a shit ton of trouble and just need a place to lay low for a few hours. That's all. Let me do that and I'll be gone from your hair forever, alright?"

"You expect me to believe that?" Petra voiced her bewilderment before she could stop herself. She bit her tongue before she could say anything else that could provoke her captor further. Oluo had told her she needed to learn hold her tongue at times and it seemed it was true in this situation. She cringed expecting a some sort of violence against her. The man did nothing but continue talking.

"I don't fucking care whether you believe me or not. You will stay quiet until I am able to leave. I don't trust you to not to rat me out and we're both screwed if that happens."

"I won't help someone the police are after!" Petra didn't know what he meant by them both being in trouble but she did not want to help a criminal. How could she look her friends and father in the eye if she did? He could be a killer!

"Its not the cops who are looking for me, kid." He retorted and her words did not seem to anger him. Petra resisted the urge to tell him she was not a kid. "For my safety, and your own, its in your best interest to cooperate." Petra hesitated. She didn't know this man but she was at a disadvantage here. The young woman did not want to know what he would do if she said no. He had a knife after all, though Petra was surprised he had not pulled it on her yet. Maybe he wasn't the one that killed those people? But why did he have a knife and why was there blood on him? And if he was telling the truth and it was not the police after him then who was? A gang? She was terrified and didn't know what was going on. How she wished she had gone home sooner!

"If you say yes, I'll let you go. If not, we can just keep this nice and comfortable position until I feel I can leave." The man interrupted Petra's panicked thoughts. A small part of her wanted to point out that the sarcasm was unneeded but, thankfully, she refrained from doing so.

Petra closed her eyes and took a deep breathe. She had no choice here. She released her breathe and nodded, letting the man know she would cooperate. She didn't like the position she was in and if he let her go, she might be able to find some way to escape or call for help.

"Good. Now get up and don't try anything or you're just going to end up on the floor again." The intruder warned. He moved off of her and let go of her wrists. Petra turned her head to see him observing her. She slowly got up by pushing herself off the floor, not wanting to provoke her captor, which she guessed he was now.

Petra got to her feet and saw the man turn and step away to lock the entrance door. The woman could not find it in herself to do anything even though the intruder had turned away. Petra's racing heart began to slow and sweat began to form on her body. She could also feel a few tremors run through her body as the after effects of her attempted escape and struggle began to catch up with her. An unpleasant ache began to form in the pit of her stomach and her legs felt weak. She felt the need to sit down for a few minutes but instead stood in place to watch the intruder's actions.

The man moved to the glass wall to scan the streets through transparent surface, likely making sure no one had seen anything or was coming. Petra was relieved he still had the knife in the sheath but then saw something else. As the intruder moved, Petra caught sight of the hilt of a gun not fully covered by his shirt or hoodie. She stopped and stared, hoping it was a toy as he had not pulled that on her either. Her captor turned to look at her as she had her eyes on his weapon. He looked down at himself to see that the gun was visible.

"I'm not going to use it on you. I took it for protection." He said, noticing her discomfort and fright of the weapon. He then moved away from the glass wall when she said nothing and surveyed the inside of the coffee shop. Petra found it hard to be reassured by a man keeping her captive and carrying both a knife and a gun. He also had blood on him and, looking at the ground, Petra could see a few places where it had been smeared onto the ground. She focused more closely and found that the man's hoodie had a dark stain on the side. Was that blood too? There was some on his hands and, looking at her own arms, Petra found that some had transferred onto her as well, with some disgust.

Petra returned her attention back to the man to find that he was looking at her. Her eyes met his own intense ones and she turned away quickly. Petra felt very intimidated by those eyes that seemed to hold no warmth. The young woman then remembered about her purse. It had flown from her hands and fell to the ground as she was pushed inside the building. Trying to be nonchalant, Petra glanced and found it underneath one of the tables.

If I reach it maybe I could call the police? She didn't know whether to believe this man's story or not. As if reading her thoughts the man noticed her eyes on something. He followed her gaze to the purse and strode over to pick it up.

"That's m-mine!" Petra couldn't help but stutter and take a few steps closer. His sharp gaze on her and the thought of the gun stopped her in her tracks. She watched as he rifled through her belongings and pulled out her phone. The device was pink with rhinestones and stickers of Hello Kitty and princesses adorning its back. It had been a joke by Eld, Gunther and Oluo to decorate her phone in the girliest things possible on her birthday two months ago. Petra hadn't changed it since and was now quite embarrassed by it in the hands of the intruder. He stared at it for longer than she was comfortable with.

"I'll be keeping this for a bit. You'll get it back when I'm able to leave." The man said as he pocketed her phone. Petra wished she had been able to keep hold of her purse. If she had, she may have been able to call the police by now. There was another phone in the building but it was in full view on the counter in case customers needed to use it. The man would be able to see her if she tried to use it.

"Go sit over there." The man ordered, startling Petra from her thoughts and making her flinch. He was pointing to a table in the corner that would not be seen from the outside even if you went right up to the glass. "And calm down, I told you I'm not going to hurt you."

"O-okay." Petra stuttered though she tried hard not to. She followed his order and headed to the table. She needed to cooperate for now.

"Wait. You should have an office or some shit like that here, right?"

Petra paused a moment thinking but then dismissed lying to him. He would find out anyway and that might make him angry. The office was in the back near the emergency exit, but Petra was sure she would not make it to the exit and out the door before the man caught up with her.

"...Yeah."

"Show me where it is." Her captor commanded.

Sorry for the delay! RL issues have been keeping me from writing and editing my stuff.

Thank you again for the reviews!

I've also been having a hard time finding a Beta reader for my works, including some that I haven't even published yet, so I thought I might as well just ask here. If anyone would like to help me out please send me a PM!