Nowhere to Run - Chapter 4

Moonlight streamed into the room from the three tall windows at the front of the house. It cast the bedroom in a pale, eerie glow as Evie snuggled down under the warm blanket, her head cushioned on a small pile of clothing. Coming gradually awake, she stretched out her still sore muscles and groaned. Then the pain and stiffness made her remember. The events of the day came tumbling back at her like some cruel nightmare. When reality hit her, Evie sat up straight and swung around. Alone. She was alone in the bedroom where she had laid down just a few minutes ago.  She looked to the darkened windows. Impossible, she must have slept for hours! Scrambling to her feet as the vivid images assaulted her as she remembered the guns, shooting, and especially the blood. There was a dead man in the hall outside her room and another in the alley and she was being held hostage by some half dressed crazy man. Bracing herself, she took a deep breath and tried to get her bearings.  Had Michael come back? Then realized it must have been him who left the blanket and clothing. Evie nudged the clothes with her toe.  Blue jeans, pink tank top and a zip front hoodie with the GIANTS logo across the front.

     “I had to guess your size.” Michael’s voice startled her and she swung around. He was standing in the doorway.

     “But they’re clean and will keep you warmer.  We’d do best to travel in the dark.”

     “T-travel?” Evie echoed fearfully.

     “Get changed and come down stairs. I brought some food. You must be hungry.  Stay away from the windows.”  With that he turned and left Evie staring at the empty doorway.

     She realized she was hungry. The last time she ate was yesterday at the diner. Just the thought of food had her stomach growling.

"I'll change and go down and eat. Then Mr. Connors will have to answer some questions."

Evie was trying to take this whole mess as rationally as she could. When she had been with Scott she got through a lot of days and nights by just taking everything one moment at a time. Putting one foot in front of the other and just taking it step by step. She could do the same thing now. Wash up, get changed and go down and face that man.

“How bad could it be?” She reasoned, “He hasn’t killed me, yet and he had plenty of opportunity to do it.”

He could have dumped her at any time today and those men could have found her, done their worst.

“But he didn’t leave me. He saved my life, twice.” Evie reasoned, “Why would he do all that just to hurt me now?”

Looking down at her uniform, she realized just how bedraggled she had become. Her dress was torn and dirty. Her stockings sagged about her ankles and were torn completely at her knees. She had lost her apron miles ago.  That Connors guy had said the clothes were clean and that sounded great right now.  She locked the bedroom door and changed quickly from her waitress uniform into the sweatshirt and jeans. Keeping one eye on the door in case he decided to try and come back.  So far, he had been a gentleman but how much could she trust him at this point?  Better to play it safe.

The jeans fit well enough even if the sweatshirt was a little big, it was a relief to get out of those stockings. She washed up using her dress as a towel. Thankful that no one had turned off the water.

Without a comb, she used her fingers to put her hair into some semblance of order. It generally hung fairly straight anyway. When she was done, Evie almost felt human again.

     Almost. She still had to face that man down stairs and she wasn't sure how she was going to handle that. They had run from the boarding house so fast she barely had time to think beyond live or die. But she felt, without a doubt, that if she stayed there she would have died. All the shooting, Mrs. Rodriguez screaming, it was bad. Really bad. She was scared to death climbing off that roof, yet Connors went out the window like it was something he did everyday. Not a question or qualm, he just did it. When they were running for hours on end, he seemed like a machine.  A robot that had an endless supply of energy to drag her all over town. She guessed he had some kind of military training, normal people didn’t do that stuff. The only time she had seen any indication he was human at all was in the alley when she had started to cry. He had held her with a tenderness that surprised her. Then he shot that man, his eyes turned to ice and Michael Connors was all business again.

All the time she had seen him about the boarding house Evie had never guessed he led an alternate life. A secret life, where men carried guns and people died. Evie considered that for a moment. What if he was with the mafia? Maybe he was with the witness protection program and the mob finally found him and the police were corrupt, so that’s why he couldn't go to them.  Evie shook her head, she was getting ridicules. Her mother had always said she had a vivid imagination.

     "Okay," Evie said determinedly, "I'll listen. Then I'll leave. He said I wasn't a hostage. So, I'll make him keep his word."

Once she made up her mind to hear him out Evie felt a tiny bit better. At least she had made a decision, something she hadn't been able to do since she first peeked into the hall that morning. Hear what he has to say and then leave and go straight to the police. 

Put as much space between her and Michael as possible. That he was capable of killing a man, no, two men, scared the hell out of her.  She shuddered at the thought. 

Looking around, she wished for a phone to call the boarding house. Find out if Mrs. Rodriguez was okay and learn the truth behind all the chaos. Even a radio or TV would help, anything so she could see if everyone was all right. With the amount of sirens she heard when they left it was sure to be on the news. She thought about Mrs. Rodrigues again and worried. She prayed that dear old woman hadn't been hurt, but deep inside she thought it was a real possibility and tears sprung to her eyes.

“There’s no time for this.” She brushed them away and took a deep, shaky breath. First, she had to go downstairs.

"Okay, let’s go meet the wolf." She said to herself, feeling more like a sheep every minute. Evie headed downstairs.

The living room as dimly lit by moonlight. It took her a minute to find him in the dark, but there he was, sitting on the floor beside a few bags of what smelled like the most delicious fare she ever indulged in.  

Chinese food, her favorite. A six-pack of Pepsi was on the other side of him with two missing. One was in his hand, the other crushed on the floor beside him. A bottle of aspirin, box of bandages and a bottle of iodine were stacked just beyond the Pepsi.

     Michael Connors appeared to be asleep.  Leaning against the wall, sitting with arms crossed over his chest and head back, those startling blue eyes of his closed.  He was wearing a blue t-shirt now and had found a pair of running shoes for his feet. Evie hadn't thought of his feet. This man had run all the way across town barefoot. She cringed to think of how much they must hurt.  It must be why he had the bandages. She remembered he was bleeding from his shoulder, too, but there was no sign of that beneath the t-shirt.

     Not knowing what else to do Evie cleared her throat, "Mr. Connors?"

     “Keep away from the windows.” he said again.

     “I know." said Evie, annoyed that he kept saying that, like she was dull-witted or something. Avoiding the windows, she edged her way around to where he was sitting and sank down next to the bag of food. She couldn’t wait any longer, she was starving. Forgetting her manners, Evie ripped into the bag. Opening the little boxes of food, she helped herself to Lo-Mein, fried rice and dumplings.  There were no forks, but she found chop sticks in one of the bags and made the best of them. When she spared him a glance, Michael was watching her eat without saying a word. His handsome face; impassive, his body relaxed. The gun sat by his side, within easy reach.

How she wished she could read his thoughts. One minute he was ruthless, shooting people and dragging her all over creation and the next he was gently holding her as she cried. It was hard to believe he was the same man.  When she saw him at the boarding house, he would occasionally say hello but never anything else.  The only person she ever saw him talk to was Mrs. Rodriquez and that was usually to find out what she needed fixed.  Evie believed he had exchanged the room for doing work around the boarding house, but she really didn’t know for sure. Glancing back at him again, she saw Michael was still watching her with that imperturbable gaze. Uncomfortable, she turned her attention back to the food.

     He pulled a Pepsi from the plastic rings, popped the top and handed it to her. A gentleman, she thought absently, that’s a plus, but then remembered Scott had been a gentleman at first, too. It didn’t mean anything.  Evie murmured her thanks.  It wasn't until she polished off most of the fried rice and was finally sated that Michael spoke.

     “Sweatshirt’s a little big, but it doesn’t fit bad.” He commented blandly.

     She looked down at the sweatshirt he had found for her. “I’m a Bronco’s fan myself.”

"Broncos? Are you from Denver?" He asked.

"Does someone have to be from Denver to be a Broncos fan?"

Michael chuckled, "No, I guess not. I prefer the Giant's myself and I'm not from New York."

“The Giants are really a New Jersey team.”

“Try telling them that.”

He looked good when he smiled. Those little laugh lines crinkling at the corner of his eyes gave him a warm, friendly look. It took away the icy, mercenary demeanor he had worn for most of the day. Sitting here in the dim light of the empty living room he almost looked like someone she would like to get to know.

As a friend of course, she thought quickly.  She had her fill of relationships with men. After living with her ex, she didn't think she'd ever want a relationship again. She would be happy to live out her life as an old maid. Michael took another Pepsi from the pack and popped the top.

"Ready for another?" He asked, still smiling as he offered it in her direction.

Evie shook her head, "How are you going to sleep with all that caffeine?"

His smile faded as he slowly shook his head. "I'm counting on it keeping me awake. We're leaving here soon."

Michael’s eyes met hers now as he gauged her reaction. 

Evie turned back to the Chinese food for a moment. She closed the little boxes and stuffed them back in the bag. She was gathering her courage.

"Who were those men?” Evie looked him in the eye. “And why are you leaving?"

     Michael raised one eyebrow with a questioning look. Evie couldn't tell if he was trying to figure her out or he didn't understand what she was asking. So, she asked again.

"Who is trying to kill you, me, us? And why?”

Evie looked toward the darkened windows. His answers were going to scare her. No matter what he said, it wasn’t going to be good. Guns and dead people were never a good sign. When he didn’t answer she pushed, “You owe me an explanation and I-I want to know everything.”

She didn’t like the way he was looking at her.

     Michael studied her for the moment, weighing the situation.  She was far enough into this mess that he wasn’t sure he could pull her out unscathed. If they had her name by now, which he assumed they did, there was no way she could go back to her old life. She would be hunted now, too. It looked real bad that he was seen half-dressed and coming out of her room. The men after him would assume they were a couple and that made her just as valuable to the Team as he was. Maybe more so. Evie could be used as leverage against him.  They wouldn't know she meant nothing to him.  That she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The men who knew him best would think he couldn't leave her.  It was his one major fault when he was on the Team. He had compassion.

Compassion enough to feel she didn't deserve this hand that fate had dealt her. Michael felt he had to take care of her. Find her a safe place in this crazy game. She had gone with him, off the roof, down back alleys, and through the seedier parts of town.  She barely complained and considering the day they had, she held up remarkably well. It didn't surprise him when he came back and found her sleeping. He knew she was exhausted. Yet, he was relieved. Part of him had thought, perhaps, she would run. Escape him while she had the chance and he wouldn't blame her if she had.  But when he found her sleeping, curled up in a little ball, shivering, the relief washed though him like a warm wave. She looked like an angel lying there on the floor of the bedroom, a relaxed expression on her face, golden hair spread out like a halo. He was grateful she stayed.  He had tucked the blanket around her as gently as he could, left her a change of clothes and came back downstairs to wait.

This was a day that would have done in stronger men, let alone a sweet little thing like her, yet she had held up like a champ though it all. He could see she was scared and trying bravely to cover it up.

He would have to tell her. She was in so deep she needed to understand the danger. He'd edit his words carefully and give her just enough information to keep her out of trouble.  He took a long drink of the Pepsi before answering her.

     “It's the government.”

     “What?” Evie was shocked.

“That man worked for our government.”

“No way.”

“Yes, and he needs me dead.”

Was he kidding? It was all Evie could do not to ask if he thought she was stupid. The government doesn’t shoot innocent people.

“Yeah, right.” Evie frowned and turned to face him, “Now look me in the eye and tell me the truth.”

“It is the truth and that’s why we can’t go to the cops.”

“That’s ridicules. I don’t believe you.”

“If I told you it was the mob and the witness protection program would you believe it?”

Evie didn’t like the sarcastic tone in his voice. Especially since that’s exactly what she was thinking. “More then our government shooting innocent people. Who are they? CIA? FBI?”

     “Well, actually, it’s a different branch of the government. A certain department that had it’s hand in things that are better left unsaid.”

     “Unsaid?” Evie's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Could he be telling the truth or did he think she would be stupid enough to fall for his lies? “I don’t believe you. You’re just telling me this to cover up whatever you’re really in to. Now tell me the truth!”

     “The less you know the better. Especially if you are going to start a new life.”

     “New Life?” Evie stared at him as the can of Pepsi slipped from her hands. Ice water replaced the blood in her veins as his words sunk in.  This was getting worse and worse.      

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