Before I Go: A dark and tense psychological crime thriller. by Marie Reyes (reading strategies book txt) 📕

the floor. Their faces changed in a micro-second. Something had put the fear of god into them. The pair ran, taking off around the corner.

Chapter Fifteen

“Josie!” Michael grabbed her by the arm and yanked her in the direction of the alley in front of them.“What?” she cried with surprise as she got dragged along. She glanced back and saw him, dressed in black, marching towards them with purpose. He reached behind his back and they dived into the alley, weaving past a streetlight that leaned to one side. Josie scream and a cracking sound pierced Michael’s eardrums.

He was incapable of making a sound now, except panting as he ran. The wall next to them splintered as the brick obliterated into an explosion of powder. His ears rang as the blood pounded around his head. Gravel shot up near his feet as another shot fired. They turned the corner. Michael had never run for his life before. Surprised at how fast his body could take him. Sprinting so quickly, lactic acid already built up in his legs and they tried to drag him down.

The wall to their right was short. If they had a few seconds, they could probably scale it and put a few inches of concrete between them and him. A split second decision, there wasn’t time. They turned to the left. If they did a loop, maybe they could get back to the hotel. Would they even be safe there? His heart and lungs pounded and burned in his chest, and he wondered how long he could keep up this pace. He daren’t look back, as there was no time.

Back on the main street, they clung close to the walls as they ran. Barely able to breathe, Michael ducked behind a large stone building, shielded by the wall for a few seconds. They stood in front of a small dull-yellow house set back from the rest. Michael put his foot on the crumbling front wall and levered himself up to the roof with an unstable rusty pipe and helped Josie up the way he had come, pulling her up by her arm and onto the concrete roof. From the top of the house he could see telegraph wires, palm trees and the other rooftops.

They climbed up onto the roof of the house next door, only slightly higher than the one they were standing on. Rough debris and rocks grazed his knees as he scrambled up. They looked down the other side to see a row of small gardens between the parallel lines of houses. If they lowered themselves down into one of the gardens, they might end up trapped.

“We should jump over.” Michael wasn’t even aware if this guy was still on their tail any more or if he had ran off. All he knew is he didn’t want to wait around to find out. “We can jump over.”

“No way we can make that,” She panted as she knelt down to catch her breath, chest heaving.

They found a break in the gardens and walked across the roof of one of the larger buildings that joined the two rows. The street with their hotel on devoid of people. The guy could be anywhere now.

“The hotel is really close. We should just make a run for it,” Josie said as her eyes scanned the street below.

“Agreed.” Michael prepared to drop to the ground.

***

As they rushed through the front door, Julio looked up from his phone. They both spoke over each other at the same time, incomprehensible and panicked. Michael tried to get a hold of himself, to make sense, and the harder he tried, the harder he failed.

“Policia!” Josie demanded. One simple word that got their point across.

Julio stood up from his chair, a look of confusion, or maybe hesitation.

“Police. We got shot at.” She stomped to the front desk and reached for the phone. Julio snatched the phone away before she could pick up the receiver, so she grabbed her cell-phone from her pocket.

“No,” he said. “I take you. We must get away from here. Come.”

Josie and Michael looked at each other. Were they going to go with him? All they knew was they wanted to get as far away as possible. “Come. I will explain.” He held his car keys in his hand and ushered them out of the door. They ran around the back of the hotel to Julio’s Chevy. They got in the back and Julio started up the engine, taking off in a hurry.

“Do you know what’s going on?” Josie asked as she looked out the back window for any sign of the shooter.

“I can take you to police, but not a good idea.” He cruised along, not stopping at the intersection.

“Why not? Do you know who tried to kill us? Is it to do with my sister?” She banded out questions faster than Julio could answer them.

“The police will do nothing; it is not in their interests to go against him.”

“Against who?”

“Listen, I don’t know about your sister, but you’ve pissed someone off.”

“Him. You said him. Can you take us to the police station? I want this on the record. In case something happens.”

“Okay. I take you.”

Josie stopped with the stream of questions and sat in silence, deep in thought. Michael wondered yet again what they had gotten themselves into. Before agreeing to help her, he thought the biggest danger they would probably face would be getting mugged or something. Ultimately, he had pictured her leaving the country alive, but had no idea what to think now. He was due to take his pentobarbital in just a few days. The bottle was still in a locker in the hotel reception. He supposed he could always buy more if his bag were to be stolen, or if he was unable to return to the hotel for it. No matter how out of hand things got here—he would make it back to Tulum—he had to.

The thought of going to the police did not