I wasn’t sure what time it was, but I opened my eyes to complete darkness—with the exception of the blue-and-red lights that were dancing on the walls. I rubbed my eyes, hoping I was just seeing things, but as I focused my vision, the lights were still there. It was like a shock wave surging through my body when it hit me where those lights were coming from.
Cops! Damn! How the fuck did they find me?
I glanced over at the empty space next to me. Tina was gone. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! She’d turned me in. After all I’d gone through to get this far, how the hell could I have been so stupid as to bring her to my safe place? I never should have taken those damn shots.
I slid out of bed, then ducked down and crept over to the window. Leaning my back up against the wall, I slowly pushed the curtain aside and peeked out.
“Crap!” I groaned under my breath, counting five cop cars parked out front before quickly letting the curtain go.
I buried my forehead in my palms as I momentarily contemplated the situation I was in. Fuck it, I decided, I was just going to have to make a run for it, because there was no way I was going back to that damn prison.
As I looked around, making a quick mental note of my options, I grabbed my sweatpants and shirt off the floor. Exiting by the front door was definitely out of the question, so I had only one other way out. I dressed in a hurry and headed barefoot out of the room. There was no time to search for my prison-issued sneakers.
Standing at the back door with my hand on the doorknob, I tried to envision the scene I was about to enter. Would they shoot to kill? If I got four warning shots in the back, then so be it, I decided. I’d rather die than go back to prison, unable to accomplish what I needed to out here in the world.
Just as I was about to run out, I heard voices. They had the back door surrounded too, and they were probably going to kick it in at any minute. Four shots in the back was one thing, but looking a bullet in the eye was something totally different. I let go of the doorknob and then backpedaled into the kitchen.
“Think, Jay, think,” I said.
Within seconds, another plan had popped into my head. I quickly turned and took off for the basement, creeping down the stairs until I was in front of the heavy metal bulkhead doors that led outside. I listened intently but didn’t hear any voices, so I slowly slipped the metal latch open, then pushed the door open an inch to peer outside. There were two cops about fifty feet away, standing on either side of the back door, oblivious to me. I also saw that there was a wooded preserve at the edge of the property.
Gingerly, I pushed open the metal door and slithered through it just as the cops kicked in the back door, yelling, “Police!” as they went into the house. I jumped up and took off toward the woods.
“Hey, you hear that?” I heard someone yell just as I made it to the edge of the woods. “He’s on the move!”
I didn’t waste time looking back to see where the voices were coming from. I just darted through the woods, ignoring all the sticks and leaves that were poking my bare feet. Keeping my arms out in front of me, I ran aimlessly through the darkness, hoping my hands would hit any obstacles before my face did. Unfortunately, my hands couldn’t warn my feet about the trail of stumps and logs I was running up on when I tripped.
“Shit!” I could feel my body falling as if it were all happening in slow motion, but everything was still happening too quickly for me to put my hands out and catch my fall. I closed my eyes and braced myself as I felt my body slam against the ground much harder than expected.
When I opened my eyes, I was lying on the ground, not in the woods, not in someone’s random backyard or even a cell, but… next to the bed. I was breathing heavily and sweating profusely. I took a second to look around as I regained consciousness and understood what was happening. I wasn’t in the woods; I was still in the bedroom. I hadn’t fallen on a mound of rocks or logs and cracked my head open; I’d fallen out of the bed. Hell, it was a dream—or, more accurately, a huge fucking nightmare.
I sat there on the floor and closed my eyes for a moment to clear my mind. I wanted to get rid of all those negative thoughts, but there weren’t too many positive thoughts I could muster up to replace them. Then thoughts of last night came to mind, thoughts of mind-blowing sex with Tina. A smile crept on my face. I’d given a pretty amazing performance, if I did say so myself. Just thinking about my rendezvous with Tina made a brotha stiff. And if I was lucky, perhaps I could have an encore.
I slid up off the floor and climbed back into the bed, throwing the covers over myself. Then I rolled over with an extended arm, ready to pull Tina close to me to see if we could start round two. Imagine my shock when all I felt was a cold, empty spot. I sat up and looked at the empty space. In the predawn light I could see that the pillow had an indentation where her head had been, and there was a little makeup on the pillowcase, so at least I knew she had really been there, but where had she gone?
“Tina?” I called out, thinking she was in the bathroom or something, but she didn’t answer.
A flickering light in the corner caught my attention, and I realized the TV was on with the sound muted. Then I recalled that Tina had asked if it was okay to turn the TV on because she always fell asleep to the television light. At the time, still half-drunk and 100 percent sexually satisfied, I’d said yes without even thinking about it. Now I realized what a mistake that had been. Was it possible that she’d seen the news, a replay of the story about the fugitive on the run? What if my shaved head wasn’t the foolproof disguise I’d thought it was?
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I scolded myself along with a triple thump to the dome. How could I have been so stupid? Pussy was always a man’s downfall. I should have just drunk my damn beer and carried my ass home. Now look at me. Trying to get fucked now had me fucked.
I looked to the nightstand for the TV remote, and that’s when I saw the note she’d left. I picked it up and read it: I really enjoyed last night. Have to work this morning. Sorry I didn’t say good-bye, but you were sleeping like a baby. When you get a chance, give me a call. Her cell phone number was written on the bottom.
I let out a sigh of relief. At least I knew she wasn’t off getting the cops and trying to get reward money for my capture. But did that really mean I was safe? Tina knew my face. It was very possible she’d end up seeing the news report, and she might recognize me. No matter how good the sex was, she could still decide to contact the police, and then she’d know exactly where to bring them to find me. That wasn’t a chance I was willing to take, especially after the nightmare I’d had.
I hopped out of the bed and gathered my clothes. It was time to move on. But where to?