Page 12 of Redemption in the Dark (The Righteous 5)
“Why what?”
“Why is this a secret? Is it bad,” she asked and pulled the blanket up to her chin, covering her naked body.
“Because I love you, and I told you that Mrs. Fleming would get jealous and stop our playtime. You don’t want to stop our playtime, do you Bug?”
She lifted her shoulder, not sure how to answer. She didn’t really like what he did to her, but this was her home, and she liked Mrs. Fleming. She didn’t want her upset.
“No,” she said and grabbed her teddy bear, holding onto it tight.
“One day, you’re going to blossom into a beautiful butterfly Bug, and by then, you will know all the ways to make a man happy. You want to make a man like me happy, don’t you?”
This was another question he always asked before he left the room. Again, she wasn’t sure how she felt but nodded yes, because she’d learned that was what he wanted.
“You’re such a good girl. What do you say, Bug?”
“I love you, Daddy.”
Maeve jerkedawake and immediately groaned. Her body told her it wasn’t happy that she’d been sitting on a log all night with her knees to her chest. She hadn’t thought about her stay with the Flemings in a long time. Mr. Fleming had been nothing more than a blip in the long list of people that had taken advantage of her. They’d all decided that since she didn’t have family, no one would care enough about what happened to her. Sadly, that was the truth until Morry came along.
The sun was just starting to lighten the sky, but it was up enough that she could see, which meant it was time to get moving. She ate a little more of the toothpaste and drank half the bottle of water before stepping out from under her tent to stretch.
She hurt everywhere. She hadn’t felt this much lactic acid pain in her joints and muscles since her first few months at Morry’s. Taking the shower curtain down, she shook it off and folded it back up. She refilled the water and took the hoodie off, tying it around her waist once more before setting a steady pace along the riverbank. She could only follow it until it started to bend, and then she’d have to find a way to get across the water. The next task would be to scale the large ridge in the distance.
By noon she’d found a place that the water was low enough to cross. She took off her boots and socks before rolling her jeans up to her knees. Having soggy feet when you were trying to run for your life was not wise. There were probably worse things, but that wasn’t the case at the moment.
“Holy geez,” she said as she stepped into the cold rushing water. The going was slow as she stepped from rock to rock, not wanting to fall on her ass. Making it to the other side of the shore, she chugged the remaining water in her bottle and refilled it. She had no idea how much longer she had to go before reaching the next water source, but she couldn’t remember where the water would lead her and she knew that to get to Morry meant she had to veer away to keep heading in the right direction.
The going was much slower as the ground began to grade upward toward the rock face that was on the other side, but it pointed her toward home. She’d thought that going through Utah instead of heading straight into Arizona would be the smarter route. Apparently, that was not the case because she still couldn’t figure out how the Marshal had found her so quickly. It was something to ponder for later.
Maeve plopped down on her butt to catch her breath as the hill became steeper. She was breathing hard, making her heart pound in her chest. She needed food, she needed a solid sleep, and she needed to not feel like every second out here was her last bit of freedom.
The wind picked up, causing the leaves to rustle. Even that small movement seemed threatening. She glanced up the hill, and there was no way around it. She needed to get to the top of it. She wanted the height advantage to see if she was still being tracked. A speck of movement had her sucking in a sharp breath as she paused, waiting to see if it would move again.
“Holy shit. He can’t be that close,” she mumbled as she caught sight of a man with a horse. He seemed very far away, like a tiny speck in the distance, but there was no doubt by the way he was moving that he was inspecting the ground and not out for a leisurely ride. Wolf had found her, tracking her like he was a bloodhound.
Her body shook at the terror of being caught. As slowly as she could, she moved over by one of the large tree trunks so that she would be hidden from his line of sight. If she could make it to the top of this rise, and found a narrow bike path to get down the other side, it would be hard for him to follow her as she made her way down the cliff face. He’d have to go far around, which would take time. Time she could utilize to find a horse of her own or find a truck bed she could lay in to hide.
Turning around on all fours, she continued to climb up the steep slope that felt like it was never going to end. Reaching the top, she found a path used for mountain biking and hiking and picked a pace she knew she could keep, even though every fiber of her being was screaming to run frantically and put as much distance between her and the man chasing her. She kept glancing to the edge of the cliff hoping to see a path down, but there was nothing, not even a skiff in the dirt, and the panic rose another notch.
The sound of the sloshing water bottle helped her keep a steady mind and a rhythm to each foot fall. Her breathing was loud in her ears, her chest hurt, and her legs burned.
Just don’t stop moving. You can lose him, find a phone and call me.
She could picture Morry encouraging her and clapping her hands as she ran beside her.
Yes, all she needed to do was find a way to reach Morry. Maeve sucked in a sharp breath as a stabbing pain in her gut gripped her as a cramp took hold. She slowed to pull out the little tube of toothpaste. She’d just stuck her finger in her mouth when the sound of soft thumping caused a cold dread to snake up her spine. She spun around to see a shiny chestnut-colored horse cantering along the path toward her.
There was no time for slow and easy now. Her eyes met Wolf for a brief second, then she spun on her heel and bolted. She was nearing in on hysteria as the sound of the horse’s hooves got louder. She could see the cliff’s edge coming, forcing her legs to push harder.
“Maeve, stop,” she heard Wolf call out, but she didn’t look back. “Maeve!”
She counted down the feet in her head and skidded to a halt, her arms pinwheeling as she stared down the sheer drop to the water below. There was no path. It was a straight wall and then what looked like the same river she’d been following that wrapped around the massive rock structure. She turned around to face Wolf as he dismounted off the sweaty, lathered horse.
“You made it a hell of a lot further than I ever thought you would,” he said and took a small step toward her.
“Oh yeah, and why’s that?” She looked from side to side, and there was nowhere else to go. She had to choose between allowing herself to be taken in by him or taking her chances with the cliff and the water far below.
“Not many people can run over twenty-five miles in less than two days. Most would’ve given up long ago. I’m impressed.”
