Room twelve sat at the far end, with the truck parked directly in front of it and the office on the other side of the lot. I unlocked the door, pushed it open, and reached inside to turn on the light before I let Crystal cross the threshold.
The lamp beside the bed clicked on and filled the space with dull amber.
One queen bed. Brown coverlet. Scratched nightstand. A square table with two chairs near the window. A dresser with a scarred top and a television bolted to it. The window unit shovedcool air through the stale motel air with a rattle that sounded like loose coins in a dryer. The curtains were thick enough to block the parking lot but old enough that light bled around the edges.
I checked the bathroom first.
Crystal stopped just inside the door and looked around. “I’ve made mistakes with better decor than this.”
“The decor isn’t in charge of keeping you contained.”
“Neither are you, if we’re being philosophical.”
“I’m not.”
“That’s a shame. You’d look good brooding over a tragic thesis.”
I pushed the small bathroom window up half an inch, then shut it and tested the latch. It held. The glass opened toward a narrow drop behind the motel, where a trash bin sat under a security light and a strip of weeds pressed against the cinderblock.
Crystal appeared in the doorway behind me. “Are you worried I’ll squeeze through that?”
“I’m worried you’ll try.”
“Would that impress you?”
“It’d annoy me.”
“That’s not a no.”
I looked over my shoulder. Her pale hair had slipped forward, half hiding her face. Dust streaked one cheek. Her tank clung to her in places I had no business noticing. She was tired, hungry, and still lit up from the inside with pure, stubborn fight.
“It’s a no,” I said.
“Liar.”
The word came softly.
Not a tease that time.
I stepped past her before the bathroom got too small.
“You can clean up,” I said. “Door stays unlocked. I’ll be right outside. I won’t open it unless you give me a reason.”
“Do I get my hands back?”
“You get enough room to wash your face.”
“That sounds like something printed in a hostage handbook.”
“That sounds like you want to argue instead of wash.”
Crystal held my gaze for a beat. Then she lifted her hands. “This is where you have to come closer, Tolliver.”
My last name in her mouth did something dirty to the air.
I moved in anyway and kept my touch controlled. I adjusted the restraint so she had the reach she needed, nothing more. Her skin was warm beneath my fingers. The pulse at the inside of her wrist beat fast and steady, like she was scared and furious about being scared.
She didn’t look away.
