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

going to be something. Then all we need is a pair of shades and then poof, it’s like we never existed.”

“Shit.” Josie snapped back to the reality of the situation. “I haven’t even let my parents know I’m okay. There is no way I’m calling them. I’m just going to send a message.”

“You should use a VPN so they can’t track our IP address.” Aleksander suggested, as if he only just realized the implication of harboring two potential fugitives. “So Michael. Tomorrow I go to the hotel?”

“Yeah. I don’t think you should be driving tonight.” Michael looked over at the row of bottles on the window-sill.

Chapter Twenty Five

Michael sat in the back seat with Josie, wondering how Aleksander managed to talk them into joining him, although, as he thought about it, he realized they were probably safer in Arelanes than they were in Chetumal. Hopefully, their change of appearance would be enough for them to stay in the back of the car unnoticed while Aleksander did his thing.

Michael glanced over at Josie. The harsh bleach had taken away some of the straightness, and her hair now fell in beachy waves. She looked like she’d fit in perfectly with Aleksander’s diving buddies. The thought crossed his mind that they may not return from Arelanes today, or that they’d finish the day locked in some jail cell. As they reached the outskirts of town, Michael’s hands grew clammy as he tried to keep his breathing and heart rate in check. He closed his eyes as he took in deep, controlled breaths. In. And out. In. And out. All he had to do was sit in the back of the car while Alex went to the hotel, but he felt sick, and his stomach groaned. The bumpy road didn’t help. Looking for ways to distract himself, he decided to brief Alex. “Okay. So, why are you here?”

Aleksander turned the steering wheel, getting closer to the hotel. “I’m just stopping by. I came from Cancún, wanted somewhere to overnight before I go to Oaxaca.”

“Good. Good. And why wouldn’t you stay somewhere with more going on, like Chiapas.”

“I’ve already been there. I want to get off the beaten track.” Alex popped a piece of gum in his mouth and looked in the mirror, making sure his fringe was in check.

“Good.” Michael’s heart rate steadied. “And you remember what our bags look like? And what locker my package is in?”

“Yes, Michael.” He rolled his eyes. “We’ve been through this a million times.”

“I was thinking. What if we call you and leave it connected the whole time? You can put it in your front pocket. It’ll make me feel better than us just sitting here wondering what’s going on.”

“As long as it’s Josie’s phone bill, not mine.” Aleksander grinned like a kid playing cops and robbers, a game of pretend.

“And Alex. If you get the hint of anything being wrong. A gut feeling, even. Get out of there. You should stop here, don’t want to be too close to the hotel.”

Aleksander slowed down and parked up at the side of the road. “Relax. It’s all good. Here you go.” He passed Michael the keys to the car… just in case.

Michael held the keys in his hand, looking at them—the only belonging he now had. The fact that Alex would just hand them over to him, a basic stranger. He just couldn’t  make sense of it. Why did the people in this car trust him implicitly? What had he done to earn it? He looked at them both and smiled. The strange feeling that he would do anything for these people he had only known a few days was so intense it made him feel something he hadn’t felt before, a sense of purpose, maybe. He tried to make sense of it.

“If we need to get away for any reason, we should agree a meeting place.” Josie suggested, her hands clutched in front of her as if she was subconsciously praying.

“Don’t worry.” Aleksander dismissively waved his hand at them before getting out of the car. “Oh.” He jumped a little as his phone buzzed in his chest pocket and he pulled it out, putting the phone to his ear. “Hello Josie.” He waved to her through the window.

“Can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear. Over and out.” He slipped the phone back in his pocket and saluted them, as he strode confidently in the direction of the hotel.

“Crazy son of a bitch.” Michael said as he watched him disappear down the road.

“I can’t believe he’s doing this for us.” Josie said as she put her phone on loud speaker so they could both hear.

It was too far to see the hotel, but Michael could see the churro man stood at his cart. His stomach protested at not having been fed for hours, but there was no way he could handle eating anything.

***

After about five minutes, they started to hear voices at the other end of the phone. They could only make out every other word. The speaker must have been muffled in his shirt pocket. Josie held the phone closer. A few rustling noises later, the voices became clearer.

“Do you have a locker for my stuff before I check in?” Josie stared at the phone as she listened as Aleksander’s voice, surprisingly loud at the other end. Unfortunately, they couldn’t make out any other voices. The next fifteen minutes crawled by painfully slowly. They couldn’t hear anything at the other end of the phone except for clanging and rustling. Huddled around the phone in deep concentration, a knock at the window made Michael’s stomach lurch. The churro guy stood beaming through the glass at them.

Michael shrunk in his seat, wondering if the man had recognized him from the other day, but how could he? He and Josie looked completely different with their new haircuts and colors. Maybe this guy was just this friendly with everyone.

Josie opened the car door, and Michael’s heart skipped a beat. The