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a few hours’ notice.
    “It’s different,” he answered, “when we ship out, we’ll be on a mission. That means stress and long meetings and a whole bunch of other stuff. This is our last chance to just...hang out normally.”
    I looked at him and felt guilty when he looked entirely sincere. He was looking back at me as though waiting for my permission.
    “All right,” I said, “we can have a few drinks with your buddies. But, you’ve got to promise me that we’ll talk afterward.”
    “I promise,” he said.
    When we got to the bar, there wasn’t much time for talking or much ability. A live band was playing music so loud that I could hardly hear the people Mike was introducing me to. One, a tall guy with freckles and bleached blonde hair was the untimely Zach.
    He greeted me warmly and his enthusiastic smile made me begrudgingly re-think my animosity towards him.
    There were two slightly older men; one with black hair named Tom, and another with graying hair named Greg. The last of the bunch was a guy named Dave who was tall with light red hair, glasses, and blue eyes.
    Zach led us all to a table near the bar with high-backed chairs that I had to climb to get into.
    Even amid the loud music and my desperate desire to talk with Mike alone, the welcoming laughs and hugs shared between Mike and these men made me think that the evening might not be so bad. It was almost like being pulled into a family reunion.
    I even found myself smiling after I’d been introduced. My smile faded however when I heard Mike say it.
    “Yeah, Sabrina’s my little stepsister,” he told the men around him, “I’m just looking after her until we get back to Mom and Fred’s place for Christmas.”
    And then, as though out of habit, he reached out and ruffled my hair.
    The guys around me were laughing and I felt my face grow red. I ducked out from under his hand and slapped him lightly in the chest. I hopped it came off to the others as playful and good-natured. When I looked at Mike’s friends, they were still smiling and talking as though nothing was amiss.
    Mike too had started a completely different conversation with Zach, without so much as a glance towards me.
    So, I’d been right. Mike thought that last night was a mistake. A moment of weakness. He wanted to forget it ever happened and go back to the way things were.
    Back to me as the annoying little sister and him as the protective big brother.
    I felt my heart constrict in my chest. Suddenly, I knew I couldn’t be near him. I had to get away.
    “Sorry, do any of you know where the restrooms are?” I asked the table at large, afraid to look Mike in the eye.
    “Yeah,” Zach answered, “they’re straight back and to the left.”
    He pointed me in the direction.
    “Thanks,” I said, hopping down from my seat and moving in that direction. I felt a hand touch my arm as I passed Mike’s seat.
    “Hey,” he said, “are you ok?”
    I forced a smile as I turned back to him.
    “I’m fine,” I answered.
    “Ok,” he said still looking cautious.
    I gave him a small half-smile again before hurrying off to the restroom. I found it exactly where Zach said it would be. As I moved to open the door, I suddenly gasped as I felt someone step immediately behind me.
    “Don’t move,” a low quiet voice that I could barely make out told me. I fought back a scream as I felt something blunt and decidedly gun-like push into my back.
    “Sabrina,” the voice I did not recognize said, “there’s a loaded pistol at your back. You scream I shoot. And don’t test me, because I won’t hesitate. Do you understand?”
    I swallowed hard and nodded. My eyes flicked around my surroundings as my brain raced to think about what to do next.
    “Good,” the low voice said. “Now, you’re going to do exactly as I say…”
    *****
    The man with the low voice forced me out a back door marked emergency exit only. We walked out into a freezing dark alley. It was only then that I remembered I