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“There’s no fire in here,” Chess yelled out even as her brain worked extra-hard to figure out a way to get the man into the room or at least let him know about their little hostage situation.
“I’m sure there isn’t.” The man added, “But we’re required to check it out anyway. Please open the door.”
Yes, keep insisting that we open the door, Chess silently cheered him on.
“Say something.” Evie frantically gestured towards the door with the gun. “Make him leave.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Chess whispered while subtly setting Kendall’s head back on the floor so could rush at Evie if the opportunity arose.
Evie frantically gestured at Chess to say something… anything… to keep the man from walking into their little hostage situation.
“I’ll shoot you if he comes in,” Evie whispered as she held the gun with two hands. She looked completely crazed as she ordered, “Make him go away.”
“You really don’t have to come in,” Chess yelled out. “There’s no fire in here.”
“Ma’am, I have a key.” The man insisted, “If you don’t open the door, I’ll open it myself.”
Immediately, Chess realized that even with a key the man wouldn’t be able to get in. Apart from the lock, the door also came with a security chain.
However, Chess figured that Evie was too dumb to have realized that very important fact. To Evie, she whispered, “He’s not going away. We need to let him in.”
For a moment, it looked like Evie might refuse. Her nervous gaze shifted from the door to Chess and back again several times before she made her decision. She ordered, “Stand up.”
Working hard to hide her elation, Chess slowly stood.
“Come here.” Evie gestured for her to come closer. When Chess did as instructed, Evie moved behind her and pressed the gun firmly into the small of her back. “You’ll open the door and you’ll convince him to go away, okay?”
“Okay.” Chess nodded, but inside she was thinking of ways to let the man know that she was in trouble. Should she just mouth ‘help’? Or maybe once the door was open, she’d find a way to catch Evie unawares and grab the gun from her? It would be dangerous, but if that was the only way to get out of this situation then she’d do it.
But Chess never got the chance to put any plans in motion.
As soon as she took the chain off then unlocked the door, the door was shoved open. Everything that happened next happened so fast that Chess didn’t see any of it coming. The person shoving the door did it so forcefully that it knocked Chess backward. With a yelp, she stumbled back into Evie.
If Evie had known what was coming, she likely would’ve pulled the trigger. But she was caught unawares too. Chess’s weight drove her straight to the ground, back first. With a scream, the younger woman connected with the floor, and Chess fell right over her. Their fall was so forceful that the gun slipped from Evie’s hold.
“Police!” Several people flooded into the room, shouting all sorts of things. Before either Chess or Evie could catch their breath they were swarmed.
Chess found herself being aggressively hauled off Evie. Seconds later, she was lying on her front being ordered to keep her hands behind her.
“It’s not me. It’s not me,” Chess yelped in panic as they handcuffed her. She gestured with her mouth towards Evie who was getting the same rough treatment as her. “It’s her. It’s her. It’s her.”
29
“S
MILE FOR ME,” CHESS TEASED Tazeem. “You haven’t smiled since we got here.”
“How can I smile when-” His voice broke as his eyes lowered to her bandaged knee. “You’re hurt.”
The space the couple was cloistered in wasn’t a typical cold medical exam room. Whoever was in charge had gone to the trouble of making it look a little cheery. The walls were painted a cheerful beige, there were colorful pictures everywhere, and cold metallic furniture had been replaced by warm light wood where possible.
It was very welcoming, but Tazeem would’ve still preferred not to be here at all.
Tazeem had arrived at the motel just a few minutes after the cops breached the motel room. His statement was what had kept Chess from being hauled off in handcuffs along with Evie. Still, he wished that he could’ve done more to keep her from getting hurt.
Though the paramedics had offered to tend to her injuries on site, Tazeem insisted that Chess goes to the hospital just like Kendall. He wanted to make sure that other than her knee and the few scrapes she’d gotten from being manhandled by Evie and, to a lesser extent, the cops, she had no more injuries.
“I’m not eventhathurt.” Chess gingerly swung her leg around to show him. “See, it’s not even that painful at all. I’m okay.”
