"I'm coming over now. Don't let her leave," Axel said into the phone. He ended the call and headed towards the door. "Something is up, Ma. I have to go. Do me a favor and stay inside tonight. Lock the doors and draw the curtains. I'll have someone come and check on you a little later."
"What on earth is going on?" Mrs. Connelly demanded, clutching at the collar of her shirt.
"I think Marie is in trouble. I need to go to her," he stopped at the door and looked at his mother. There was fear in her eyes, but she clenched her jaw and nodded at him.
"You be careful now," she said.
Axel nodded and stepped out into the warm night. He jogged to the car and started the engine, peeling out of the parking lot and heading to the Hawk's mansion. He sped up as he raced down the back roads going double the limit as his heart began to pound.
Why hadn't she called him? Why was she running without even so much of a goodbye? She was probably doing something crazy like trying to protect him. But he couldn't let her do it. Marie was not going to spend forever on the run. He wouldn't permit it. His engine roared as he skidded onto Main Street. He parked in a red zone in front of the mansion and jogged up the large marble steps before yanking the large wooden doors open.
Chapter Thirty-Six
She raced back to the daycare and grabbed Cate. The five-year-old was furious and demanded to know why she had to leave. Marie tugged on her hand and pulled her down the road as she frantically looked around for a familiar face. He knew she was here, or he would know soon. She had to leave. She had to take Cate and go.
It wasn't supposed to be this hard. She hadn't planned on settling down so quickly. She was going to work a series of odd jobs, hop from town to town for a couple of months before finally settling down. She was supposed to leave a trail that would be impossible for Austin to follow. But instead she had fallen in love with the first town she had stopped at.
She fought back tears as she pulled her daughter down the street. Finally, she had enough and she stop and knelt down in front of her crying daughter. "Cate," she said, trying to keep her voice even, "I know you don't want to do this, but we have to leave. Today."
"Why?" Cate demanded and tears streamed down her face. "I like it here. I don't want to leave. Why do we have to go?"
"Because I said so," Marie said standing back up. What else should she say? Your father's coming and he's dangerous and violent so we're running away? No, Cate was too young. She wouldn't understand. It was easier this way. There would be no more questions or discussions.
She continued to walk while, next to her, Cate's tears dissolved into hiccups as she demanded to know why over and over again. But Marie remained stern and she walked Cate up into the mansion and then their apartment and told her to wait in the living room. Once she had started to move, everything became easier for Marie. This was normal; she remembered how to do this.
She would pack one bag for each of them. They would have to leave a lot behind. Cate's drawings from daycare that were taped up around the walls would have to be left. The giant stuffed panda Axel had won her at a carnival, too, there wouldn't be room for all of it. Marie focused on essentials. Shoes, clothes, coats, nothing else.
Cate refused to look at her as she moved across the living room. She crossed her arms and pouted on the couch and Marie did her best to ignore her. The materials for Elmsworth College sat on her dresser and she dropped them into the trash before grabbing some jewelry. The necklace Axel had given her, her grandmother's ring. She packed only the most essential items. Her fancy dresses from her dates with Axel were left on the hangers.
She called Ingrid from inside the closet. "I'm sorry to do this to you on such short notice. But there's an emergency back home and I have to leave. I won't be able to come back. I'm really sorry," and here she began to cry, though she fought the tears as hard as she could. "I really liked working here." She hung up before Ingrid could say anything.
By then her bags were packed. She grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and took one last look around her little apartment. They had only been there about two months, but already it felt like home. It wasn't Arizona she would long to return to; it was this place, this small town and this mansion that had harbored her for so long.
There was one last thing to do. She grabbed every picture of Axel from every picture frame and pushed them into her bag. If Austin was going to come here, she didn't want him finding out about Axel. Austin would want to go after him; he could kill him. Axel was strong, but he was also honorable. Austin wasn't. He wouldn't bother with a fight; he would just shoot to kill.
"Let's go," Marie said standing at the front door. She couldn't think about what she was doing or what she was leaving behind. She would never meet a man like Axel Connelly again and she knew it, but she couldn't let that stop her.
"No!" Cate screamed and then the little girl jumped off the couch and raced to her room slamming the door behind her and then locking it.
Marie looked aghast at the locked door. She raced over to it, but the knob wouldn't budge. "Catherine DeSantos, you open this door right now young lady. You are in a lot of trouble."
"No! I hate you! I don't want to leave,"
Marie looked around desperately. Not now, she did not have time for Cate to throw a temper tantrum now of all times. Marie dropped the bags and ran to the kitchen where she ripped open drawers in her search for a screwdriver. She knew there was one around. Her one window had been rattling something fierce and Axel had fixed it for her. He told her to leave a screwdriver in the kitchen because she would need it again sooner rather than later.
She found it in the knife drawer and she raced back to the door and took a deep breath. "Cate?" She called out. "Honey, I know you don't want to leave. But we have to. I can't explain right now. You just have to trust me."
"But why?" Cate screamed again.
"Open the door, Cate. This isn't funny. You can't be alone in there. What if something happens? How am I going to get to you through a locked door? Please, baby, please open the door."
"No. I don't care if anything happens to me."
Marie quelled a scream as she got down on her knees and began quickly unscrewing the doorknob. The screw moved slowly and it seemed to go on forever. Patiently Marie continued to spin. What would Axel think when she just disappeared? She had already thrown her phone away. He would have no way to get into contact with her. They would never see each other again. He would go on to have a great career and be a famous fighter and she would be working in some diner off the freeway.
She could already see herself as a worn out old woman working at a greasy spoon regaling the younger girls with the tales of her wild youth. Did I ever tell you about the time I dated a MMA fighter, she would say? What else could he hope for in this life? She would always be running from Austin. She could never really be settled. She could never have a real life and a real family.
The screws moved ever so slowly. Finally, one fell out and she moved onto the next. What if she confronted Austin? What if she took him to court over Cate? She had a job and place to stay; she could win custody. But what if he fought for custody and won, or what if they had to share it? She would have to see him and deal with him all the time. She would need to move back to Arizona. What if he decided not to bother with the courts? Austin had always considered himself above the law. He would never abide by the ruling of some judge. He could grab her and Cate and then what?
The second screw came out and then the third. Her hands were starting to cramp and she could hear Cate quieting herself in the room. If this were any other time she would let Cate tire herself out in there. Eventually the little girl would come out with an apology on her lips ready for her punishment. But Marie didn't have time for that.
Her heart was pounding. She kept glancing over her shoulder thinking a shadow in the corner was a man watching her. She would see it over her shoulder and gasp as her heart sped up, only for her to realize her mistake a minute later. She was driving herself crazy. She needed to leave. She needed to be on the road. She wasn't planning on leaving any clues anyone could find, but they still needed to be gone before Austin arrived.
Finally, the final screw came off and Marie opened the door and Cate looked over at her confused. "Didn't know I could do that, did you?" Marie demanded. "Car. Now."