One Blood

Chapter Fifty-Two

Chapter Fifty-Two

Monday

New Roads, LA

Roberts’ face brought everything back.

At the prison, Roberts had offered Lincoln his hand, but instead Lincoln took his gun and bashed him over the head with it. Then he took Roberts’ car and drove to the Angola Ferry. Lincoln was practically home free, but for some inexplicable reason he decided to dive off the top deck of the ferry and almost drowned. Roberts was obviously here to finish the job.

“Help!” Lincoln yelled.

Roberts was on him in a flash. “Shut the fuck up, goddamnit!” He pistol-whipped Lincoln in the face.

The pain the morphine had subdued came roaring back. Church bells gonged for Sunday service in Lincoln’s head.

“That’s better,” Roberts said. “Why did yuh run from me? I’m tryin’ ta…”

“Stop and turn around!” Jhonnette commanded.

She’d gotten the drop on Roberts. Standing in the doorway, she had a handgun pointed at his head.

“Give the gun to Lincoln and kneel on the floor,” she ordered.

Snake placed the gun on the bed with a surprised chuckle. “So it was you all along,” he said, dropping to his knees.

 Lincoln brought the butt of the gun down on Roberts’ head with as much force as he could muster. Roberts toppled over like a blow up doll.

“We gotta get the hell out of here,” Lincoln said.

* * * * *

The movies made escape look so easy.

They never showed the blood spraying on the heroine’s favorite summer suit while she jerked I.V.’s out of the hero’s arm. They never showed the heroine struggling to support a man nearly twice her size as they limped, crawled, and rolled their way to freedom. No, movie escapes were infinitely more graceful.

Jhonnette was now navigating the rented Jeep Liberty toward Baton Rouge. The clock on the dashboard read 11:30 a.m. They needed to figure out their next move. She jerked the car across two lanes of highway and brought the vehicle to a halt on the shoulder. Lincoln lay in the backseat glaring at her in the rearview.

“Lincoln, I know you’re in pain but you’ve got to talk to me. The police have probably found your buddy back there and are most likely hot on our trail right now. We’ve got to come up with a plan.”

* * * * *

Before everything went to pieces at Angola, Lincoln had a very specific agenda. Now that everything had gone to shit, Lincoln was rethinking his priorities. According to Jhonnette, Moses was in the Angola infirmary, one of the most dangerous places for any inmate to wind up, much less a civilian.

How the hell am I supposed to get Moses out of there? And where the hell is Amir right now?

Despite the odds, Lincoln refused to believe that it was too late.

“Lincoln, I know you hear me talking to you.”

Lincoln regarded her silently. Jhonnette had shown up mysteriously that morning with information about Moses, claiming to be an ally. But what was in it for her? Sure, she’d saved him from Snake, but could she really be trusted?

“Who are you?” Lincoln asked.

“I know you’re having a hard time trusting me, Lincoln. Believe me, I do. And I’m ready to come clean.”