Page 54 of Mercy & Malice

Micah waits for a second before he gradually steps back, each one away from me feels increasingly wrong.

Warden unlocks the gate, opening it barely enough for me to fit through as he orders me, “Come here. Now.”

I cautiously walk over, slowly approaching the opening. When I see the vile smile rise on his face and the way his shoulders relax and fall, I summon every ounce of strength and adrenaline I have and rush forward, my hands slamming into the gate as it knocks into him.

Warden stumbles, his shock clear as he shouts, “You stupid fucking bitch,” then goes for me. But Micah is already smashing past the gate, heading straight for Warden. I didn’t have to look back. I knew he’d be there to keep the vile animal away from me just as we planned.

Quickly, I pull on my clothes while watching as Micah and Warden struggle for control of the knife. Warden headbutts Micah as he stumbles back but quickly regains his footing.

Warden charges at Micah, slashing the knife through the air as he gets closer to me. Micah yells, “Get the fuck out of here.”

Yeah, that was the plan. For me to not stop running as Micah took care of the asshat. But I can’t leave him behind. I just counter every one of Warden’s steps closer with one in the opposite direction. He’s battling Micah and trying to get to me.

“I’m gonna enjoy mutilating that pretty pussy and fucking her on your corpse,” Warden hollers.

Instead of finding his threat sobering, it works to send Micah into a rage as he full-on charges straight at Warden.

The knife slashes across Micah’s left forearm, but his right quickly comes up, knocking into Warden’s temple, throwing him off balance as they go to the floor. Micah wails on him, his fist bloody before he picks up the knife off the floor. He hovers over him, plunging the knife into Warden’s gut, holding it in place for a few seconds before twisting the handle. “You deserve a slower fucking death so be grateful you got off easy.”

Warden gargles, coughing up blood as he claws at Micah, who remains on top of him. His only movement is the twisting of his wrist every few seconds until Warden passes out.

Micah pats Warden’s pockets as he says, “I told you to run and get the fuck out of here.”

I don’t answer and just watch as Micah pulls out a phone then holds it up to the guy’s face for a few seconds.

I should’ve followed the plan. “I was scared to leave you and go out there alone. We don’t even know where we are.”

“We have to get out of here now.” Micah clasps my hand, and we cautiously move to the door. He peeks around the corner before leading me through a hallway. When we reach the front door, Micah checks around, then pushes it open and hauls me along. My feet are numb and cold as I try to keep up on the slippery grass as we run along a shoreline of a small canal.

Once we’re a good distance away, Micah pulls me into the thick brush as he asks, “Do you know Luca’s phone number?”

“No. Luca? Why do you need his number?”

“What about Ivy’s number? Do you know it?”

“Yes.” I recite it as he dials then speaks into the phone. “Is Luca with you? Yes, it’s me. Put him on the phone. Yes, she’s with me. Put him on the goddamn phone.”

There’s a beat of silence before he says, “I just sent you my location. I need you to come here and don’t say a fucking word to anyone.”

Seconds later, he ends the call and we remain in place.

“Why did you call your brother? What about 911? We need to call and get help. Micah,” I whisper-yell as he glances around. We’re still in darkness, and I still feel so out of control. “Where are we? Tell me why you called your brother. You hate him. What’s going on?”

His hands cup my face as he says, “You’re safe.” Then he pulls me to his chest. “We just need to stay out of sight until he gets here.”

“You called your brother instead of the police. Why?” I don’t even care. I just don’t know what to think. Is it really over? Are we really free?

“He’s the only one I trust right now.” Micah keeps scanning the area while his hand strokes over my back. “He’ll help keep you safe. I know he will.” His mumblings are low and don’t make much sense, but I don’t ask any more questions.

Minutes later, I spot headlights approaching and start to panic that Judge is back.

The phone rings and I see Ivy’s number on the screen. Micah holds it to his ear. “Yeah.”

The headlights flash then Micah says, “Yes, I see you. Drive straight ahead.”

He guides me out of our hiding place and towards the car. It’s barely stopped when Ivy opens the passenger door and runs to me. That’s when I break, collapsing to the ground as she keeps her arms around me.

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