Free The Hostage by Jonas Saul

Automatic Writer. Someone works through me to author notes about the future. I’ve since learned that that someone is my sister who passed away shortly after I was born. Here, I’ll show you what she told me an hour ago.” Sarah grabbed the note about Drake’s seat number and handed it to him, leaving the rest of the blank papers on the little table between them.
     
    “Wow, I’ve never heard of this kind of thing before. I mean, I know there are psychics and stuff, but this is actually real.”
     
    She could tell Drake was taken aback. Attempting to avoid direct contact with his eyes for fear of being swept away, Sarah told him about herself, some of what had recently happened in Europe and why she had gotten Drake away from Spencer.
     
    “So you think Spencer was in on this somehow?” Drake asked.
     
    “I didn’t say that. The note told me to beware of the cop and that he wants to kill me. Spencer took you to the game where you were supposed to be killed. To be cautious, I thought we needed to be alone.” She stopped and looked at him. “What I mean is …”
     
    “I know what you mean,” Drake said.
     
    There’s that fucking smile again. I feel like butter in the sun. It’s nice, but it fucking sucks too.
     
    Drake went on for a few minutes, explaining what happened to him two weeks ago and what some girl named Monika and her brothers had done to him. Drake had barely survived, but with quick thinking and a lot of luck, he had gotten through his ordeal. Her respect for him went up tenfold.
     
    She sipped at her coffee and watched the door, but no one who came or left paid them any extra attention.
     
    Rod, you are going to be super pissed.
     
    Sarah grinned at the thought.
     
    Fuck him. I’m sitting with a real man.
     
    “Innocent people died,” Drake said. “Monika and her brother Attila were killed. Their father wants revenge. As far as I know, that’s what today was all about. And all this because of falsified immigration documents.”
     
    “I’ve had my share of dealing with immigration fraud. I’m sick of it. We need to do something because this has to stop. You can’t live under this threat.”
     
    What am I saying? We have to do something about this? Since when is it we ? Get it together, Sarah, there can be no we .
     
    Her hand twitched and went numb.
     
    “Oh shit,” Sarah said. “This is embarrassing. I’m about to blackout —”
     
    She opened her eyes and lifted her head off the wall. She had slumped sideways, saving herself from the all-embarrassing kiss-the-floor routine.
     
    Concern and fear clouded his face.
     
    He actually cares. Shit, I need a man in my life like I need a scorpion in my panties.
     
    “You wrote something,” Drake said. “What is it?”
     
    Sarah looked at the paper in her hand and read the one word she had written in capital letters.
     
    RUN!
     

Chapter 12

    Sarah grabbed Drake’s arm and stood.
     
    “You’re coming with me,” she said.
     
    “Great.” He smiled again, the look of concern from a moment ago had disappeared.
     
    “No jokes. This is serious.”
     
    “Whatever you say.”
     
    She walked through the opening in the counter and stepped into the back of the coffee shop, Drake in tow. Two men worked by a donut fryer.
     
    “Is Mike here yet?” Sarah asked.
     
    The bigger man of the two held a tray of uncooked donuts about to go into the fryer. “Who’s Mike? We got no Mike works here.”
     
    “I’m Janet Reeds and this is Kevin Miles,” Sarah said. “We’re from corporate. Mike is meeting us here to discuss the franchisee license infractions and complaints we have received. If he’s not here yet, then we’ll wait in our car in the back.”
     
    She stepped past the steel table in the middle and headed for the back door. No one said anything more or tried to stop them.
     
    Confidence wins any time.
     
    At the back door, Sarah heard a commotion coming from the front. Whoever they were running from had