Sophia did not want to find out what he was willing to do to ramp up everyone’s fear. She forced herself to move and pushed up. “I’ll do it. I’m sorry.”
The monkey robber stepped away from the nice man. “Ah, now that’s what I like to hear.”
Still shaking, Sophia began stuffing the bag with wallets and jewelry just like the teller was filling the bank robbers’ duffel bag with cash.
“We’d like to thank you for your cooperation, ladies and gentlemen,” the giraffe said, zipping up the duffel bag and sliding the strap over his shoulder.
“Let’s move,” the lion said. “Cops will be here any minute.”
Sophia felt someone behind her. The man in the monkey mask snatched the drawstring bag away from her. He brushed his gloved hand against her cheek. “Until we meet again, sweetheart.”
Sophia felt sick and terrified. The only time she wanted to see him again was when he was in handcuffs and on his way to jail.
He glanced back at her. The grinning monkey mask made her skin crawl. As he slung the bag over his shoulder, a thought struck Sophia like a bolt of lightning. He had their wallets—wallets filled with credit cards they could cancel and cash, at least in her case, that couldn’t pay for more than a large coffee. However, her wallet also held her driver’s license. The one she got about three weeks ago. The one with her new address on it.
She dropped to her knees. What if he truly meant he planned to see her again? The thought struck fear in her heart. Arms wrapped around her, causing her to flinch slightly.
“You’re okay. It’s over. They’re gone. They can’t hurt us.” The man who had tried to protect her may have been a stranger, but he made her feel safe and she needed that right now. She allowed herself to lean into him.
Rising to their feet, she said what she was thinking, her voice trembling like the rest of her. “They have our wallets, our IDs.”
He placed gentle hands on her shoulders. “I know. We’ll tell the cops everything. I’m sure all they want is the cash and the credit cards. Maybe they’ll get caught because they use our credit cards somewhere. This could be a good thing.”
“But he said—” Her fear had to be palpable. She could feel it coming off her like heat.
“Listen, that jerk clearly enjoys being scary. He just wanted you to be afraid. Don’t give him the satisfaction.”
“You’re not afraid?”
The man shook his head. “Something tells me that Monkey Man wouldn’t act so tough without a mask on and a gun in his hand.” The sound of sirens blared outside. The police were here a little too late. “Hopefully the police catch them quickly.”
He stepped back and his hands slid down her arms and held her hands.
“I wish I felt the same way.” She tightened her grip on his hands. “Thank you for helping me.”
“Of course.”
She let him go and felt less steady as soon as she broke contact. “I don’t even know your name.”
One side of his mouth smiled. “Evan,” he said, holding out his hand in greeting.
She shook it. “Sophia. Nice to meet you, Evan.”
“Nice to meet you, too. Although, I wish we had met any other way than this.”
Sophia felt herself smile. “Me, too.”
The police entered the bank and Sophia was placed in a cubicle to wait for a detective. She texted Fallon that she was alive and well but wouldn’t be coming back to work. She couldn’t think straight and wasn’t sure how long she’d be stuck answering questions.
When she sat back in her chair and craned her neck just a bit to the left, she could see Evan sitting in the cubicle across from hers. He was giving his statement to someone and was using his hands to emphasize whatever point he was making.
“Miss Reed?” A female detective walked in and sat behind the banker’s desk. Sophia nodded and the detective continued. “My name is Detective Gibson. I am going to ask you some questions and then we’re going to get you on your way. I’m sure you didn’t plan to spend your day at the bank.”
Sophia answered all of the detective’s questions. Told her everything she could think of about the robbers, even though there didn’t seem like much to tell. She couldn’t see their faces, they wore gloves and she was still in quite a bit of shock.
“You didn’t notice any distinguishing marks, tattoos, jewelry, anything on any of the men?”
Sophia closed her eyes and searched her memory for something. She shook her head. “No. I’m sorry. All I remember is their masks and their voices.”
The detective slid a business card across the desk. “Don’t apologize. You’ve been through one heck of a traumatic event. Once the shock wears off, if something comes to you, anything, give me a call, okay?”
Sophia took the card and promised to do so. Evan exited his cubicle at the same time. Seeing him immediately relieved some of her anxiety, and she seemed to bring a small smile to his face at the same time.
“All done?” he asked.
“Yeah. You?”
He ran a hand through his dark hair. “Yeah, I really should go back to work, but I feel like I’m going to be useless.”
“I already texted my business partner that I’m not coming back today. I want to go home, but I’m also terrified to go home.”
Concern etched his face. He reached out and touched her arm. “I don’t blame you for feeling like that. But I’m going trust the police will do their job and find these guys before they can do any more harm.”
She wanted to believe that. “Since neither one of us wants to go to work, maybe we should grab a drink and pretend we didn’t meet during a
