Page 8 of Redemption in the Dark (The Righteous 5)
“Fuck,” he hollered.
Releasing his head, she used her booted foot and clocked him as hard as she could in the jaw. He stumbled back. Leaping to her feet, she grabbed the small clip of keys. Gripping the headboard with her handcuffed hand, she used it as support to jump up and slam both of her soles into his chest.
Any other time she may have laughed as she watched him fly backward and land in the chair he’d been sitting in. The weight and momentum sent the chair flipping over backward, and he yelled as he was taken for the ride.
She spun the keys in her palm and found the small handcuff key, and with an accuracy that even surprised her, she got the key in the tiny hole and unlocked it. Rolling over the bed, she grabbed the plastic water bottle and pills that had been laid out. Spotting a folded sweater and a candy bar on the dresser, she snatched them as well before dashing into the bathroom and locking the door.
It wouldn’t hold long once he got up, so she had to act fast. Gripping the shower curtain, she yanked hard, pulling it off the cheap metal clasps. She palmed the toothpaste and tiny bar of soap to shove into her pocket. She hated leaving all her shit behind, but there was no time to sneak in next door. If he had more Marshals on the way, that meant she’d never escape.
“Maeve! Fuck,” Wolf hollered, and she could hear him crashing around.
She hoped he was fucking dizzy. She finished with the last fold of the shower curtain, stuffed it into her back pocket, and hopped on the toilet to unlatch the narrow window. Pushing it open, she stared at the tiny space. It was going to be tough no matter what she did. Anyone bigger wouldn’t fit through at all.
She tossed the sweater through the hole, and then with a great deal of effort, she hoisted herself up. She pushed through as far as she could before a loud bang came from the door.
“Maeve, open up. You have nowhere to go. Don’t make this any more difficult. It will only add to your sentence.”
She ignored Wolf if that was even his real name. It seemed far too cool for a pig of any kind. The drop was farther than she imagined. There was a steep grade on the backside of the motel. Eyeing up the landing, she rolled out and landed in a crouch as the door slammed open.
Maeve bolted for the treeline and stopped as she heard her name being yelled again. Looking back, she could only see the top half of Wolf’s face in the open window.
“I didn’t kill that detective,” she yelled.
“Then let me take you in so you can tell your side.”
“You think I’m stupid?” She shook her head. “You’re just like that judge and jury. You were convinced I did it as soon as you saw my file, and you don’t care what happens once I’m in custody. That’s your job, right? Find and return me like a stray dog. Well, you can forget it. I’m not going back, at least not alive.”
With that, she turned and dashed into the trees.
“Keep movin’!”A hard shove from behind kept her feet moving but barely. She’d lost all feeling in her legs and feet a long time ago. It was starting to rain. The already hard terrain was slick, and her blistered feet were slipping under her. Her chest hurt so bad that it felt like it was on fire, and she would swear that she was going to keel over from a heart attack at any moment.
She collapsed to her knees.
“I can’t, I can’t run anymore,” she cried out.
Strong hands lifted her up, and she continued to cry and gasp for breath as she stared into Morry’s serious face. She’d thought that coming to Morry’s place for treatment would help her with her issues, but now she wasn’t sure she’d survive the therapy sessions.
Morry shook her by the front of her soaked T-shirt, her fists clenched into tight balls as she held on, pulling her nose to nose. “You say you want to live? You say you want to break free of the chains that have you?”
“Yes, but I can’t. I can’t run anymore.”
“Then you’re already dead, and I can’t help you. I’ll leave you out here for the buzzards to pick at your bones.” Morry dropped Maeve to her knees, and Maeve watched her booted feet march away.
She held out her hand, “No!”
Morry paused and looked at her.
“No?” Morry turned and put her hands on her hips. “If you want to live, then learn to run when you can’t. Learn to push on when you think all is lost. Your body is not the issue. Your mind is, and you need to treat it like every challenge from now on is a live-or-die choice. Now get up and keep going. It’s the only way I will continue to help you.”
Anger at her own pathetic nature had her slamming her fists on the ground. She sent a smattering of mud in all directions, and the annoying rain continued to fall but did nothing to cool her skin.
How had she gotten here? How had she gotten to the point that she needed someone like Morry to pull her out of the abyss she’d been trapped in?
She didn’t know where the strength came from, but with every muscle screaming, she forced herself to her feet. Then, she stumbled onward with one foot in front of the other.
Maybe Morry alwaysknew there would come a time that her teachings would come down to a moment like this. One in which she would need to know how to pace herself, regulate her breathing, and push past the fatigue that wanted her to lay down and let him take her. She paused long enough to throw up and then took a sip of the water before jogging on.
She’d learned many things from Morry and wished more than anything to see the harsh and sometimes scary woman again. Wolf wouldn’t stand a chance facing Morry, and that thought made her smile.
