men know your general vicinity, Maria. They know what kind of car you’re driving. It’s only a matter of time until they find you. It would be healthier for you to cooperate. Please, let’s be reasonable here. No need to sully our relationship.”
“I…” The phone suddenly died. Battery depleted.
Feeling depleted herself, she leaned a cheek against the steering wheel. “God, please help me. I’ve run away from one mess and gotten myself into another. I am the biggest chump on the planet to trust Martin Shell. I don’t know what to do or where to go. Help me.”
Maria stayed in the parking lot until the store clerk locked the door and walked to his car. He shot the Demon a suspicious look. She decided to move along before she got into any further trouble. With a sigh, she started up the car and eased onto the road.
Out of nowhere the sedan roared into sight.
She screamed and stomped on the gas but not soon enough. The car smashed into her rear fender, causing the Demon to skid wildly. She wrenched the steering wheel with all her might and managed to keep the car from careening into the ravine.
The sedan closed in again. Maria could see the two men, leaning forward, their faces intense in the weak light. She pressed the pedal to the floor. The trees and shrubs blurred into a green streak as she sped on. It was useless.
Rigid with fear, she watched the sedan overtake her. The seat belt cut into her neck as the two cars smashed together again. Bits of breaking glass showered around her. This time Maria could not control the car. The Demon skidded on the slick ground, hydroplaning in a half circle until it brought her face-to-face with her pursuers.
The driver slammed on his brakes, a look of shock on his face as his car shimmied across the slick surface.
Maria shook the glass out of her hair and clenched her jaw. “Okay, then. If you’re going to take me out, you’re coming with me.” She floored the gas pedal and sent the Demon plunging directly into the path of the sedan.
The man’s shock turned to alarm as he jockeyed the wheel to avoid a crash. Maria bore down on them, an odd feeling of exhilaration edging through the fear as she closed the gap. Five feet, three, two.
At the last second before impact the sedan pulled sharply to the side, sending the men squealing into the ravine.
Maria didn’t wait to see the damage she’d inflicted. Before the sound of the crash died away, she wheeled the Demon back again and sped off, heart jackhammering in her chest.
The road progressed from bad to worse. The paved surface gave way to gravel and then more or less to mud. With no streetlights to be found, the moon was Maria’s only guide as they bounced over the uneven ground. The borders of the narrow road were crowded with sugar pines and flowering bushes that cast eerie shadows. Something that Maria took to be a bat flittered over the path, making her heart leap into her throat. She waited for the moment when the sedan would careen out of the shrubbery and plow into her again.
Visions of Martin Shell’s cherubic face swam in her mind. She’d been so blind. And stupid. She blinked away tears.
Peering through the darkness, Maria was seized by a deep desire for sandy beaches and sunny afternoons. A place where people asked “How are you?” and honestly wanted to know the answer.
Her gut twisted when she realized she was picturing her childhood home in Southern California, specifically the small seaside town of Tidal Flats where her parents still lived. Why did she ever leave? Because she wanted a new life and to escape the pain of the old one, she reminded herself.
The car hit a bump and she half screamed. “It’s okay, Hank. We’re doing fine. I’m sure this road is going to get us to safety.” Or straight into the clutches of her would be killers. Every curve in the road was a new source of terror as she imagined them waiting to pounce.
Darkness closed around her like a velvet glove and she finally pulled up to a fork in the road. She considered her options. Behind her was the possibility of getting caught by the smugglers. Ahead of her was a set of dubious-looking dirt roads and the possibility of getting caught by smugglers. A lose-lose situation if there ever was one.
“I guess we could stay here and pray they don’t find us, wait it out until morning. Mom always says it’s darkest before the dawn.” Thinking about her mother made her heart sink. Her head sagged against the seat. The woman faced the horrors in her life with such grace, such optimism. How come Maria wasn’t able to do that? Why had she felt the need to run from what happened to her father? It was the coward’s way out, and she knew it.
“Snap out of it, Maria. This isn’t the time for reflection.” She eased the crippled car onto the bumpier of the two roads. The headlights did little to dispel the darkness and the regular bouncing of the tires had a calming effect on her frayed nerves.
The heater lulled Maria into a comfortable haze.
She didn’t see the small sign that swung crookedly from a metal pole.
She didn’t hear the sound of the water that flowed at the bottom of the ravine.
She didn’t feel her eyelids gently close as the car slipped off the side of the road.
THREE
Maria woke with a scream when the car tumbled into the shallow creek. Her head thunked against the door as the vehicle bumped and banged and finally came to rest on the driver’s side in the water with a horrible sound of twisting metal.
After a few moments of shocked immobility, she freed herself from the seat belt, ignoring the violent shuddering of her heart. Her first thought was for her passenger. Fortunately, she’d taken the precaution of belting Hank’s cage in the back when they’d stopped for gas, so the frightened rabbit was tossed, but not hurt. He shot her a confused look, one ear up and one hanging down, from his spot in the corner of the crate.
Duke was going to be furious when he saw his car. Frigid water was already seeping through the door. That problem would have to wait. She turned to Hank. “We’ve got to get out of here before you get wet.”
The rabbit blinked and scrambled to right himself.
Slowly, Maria eased out from under the steering wheel and reached the passenger-side window. With difficulty, she lowered the glass and stuck her head out.
A huge dark face with enormous eyes stared at her.
She screamed.
The man screamed, as well, before he whirled around and darted back into the trees.
Maria yanked her head back into the squashed car.
“Who…who was that?” Her mouth was dry. She waited a full five minutes before cautiously poking her head out again. There was no sign of the man in the moonlight. From her spot in the bottom of the ravine, she couldn’t see much, only a tangle of treetops and a swatch of dark sky overhead.
“I’m going to see if I can crawl out and then I’ll come back in for you, Hank. You just sit tight.”
Using the hand rest as a step, she eased herself out of the car and dropped to the gravel creek bed, tearing her pant leg in the process. “Things keep getting better and better,” she muttered.
Inch
