Page 38 of Escape

“Hey, Mrs. D.”

With pleasantries out of the way, my mom gave me one final look before she turned and walked away. I started to pace.

Then I sat down.

Then I was up and pacing again.

Time just continued to tick by, and I had no clue what was happening to Josie.

Knowing my mom, she probably jumped in to help care for Josie. I could only assume that no news was good news, but that didn’t mean it was any easier to wait around.

Needing to do something to occupy my mind, I pulled out my phone and called the office.

“Harper Security Ops, this is Avalon.”

“Avalon, it’s Huck. Is Landen around?”

“Uh, I think so. Hang tight, and I’ll transfer you,” she returned.

I waited while Avalon transferred me. Greyson was watching me curiously. I looked away from him as Landen’s voice came through the line. “Hello?”

“Landen, it’s Huck.”

“Hey, what’s going on?”

I inhaled deeply and blew it out before I asked, “If I give you an address, can you look up the owner and find out everything you can about him?”

“Sure. That’s easy enough.”

Relief swept through me. Landen was one of the private investigators at Harper Security Ops. I knew if I wanted to find out about the guy who did this to Josie, I could have done it on my own. But I didn’t trust I wouldn’t overlook something, and since this was Landen’s area of expertise, I figured it was best to leave it up to him.

“The address is 646 Jefferson Street. Here in Steel Ridge.”

“Okay. Is there anything specific I should be looking for?” he questioned me.

“I don’t know yet. But I want anything and everything you can find.”

“You’ve got it. I’ll give you a call back once I have some information for you.”

More relief. “Thanks, man.”

“No problem. Talk to you later.”

Landen and I disconnected our call. I went back to alternating between pacing and sitting, doing it all while fretting over Josie.

I felt like I was going out of my mind with worry.

Hours passed.

Hours.

It was agony, even if I knew it was nothing compared to whatever Josie had been through this morning. I tried so hard not to think about it, to not allow the visions of her beaten and battered body on the floor to flash in my mind.

But my efforts were futile.

I couldn’t stop thinking about seeing her like that. And when those memories flooded my vision, it required superhuman strength not to walk out of the hospital to seek revenge before I knew the truth about Josie’s injuries.

How horrible was it that I was standing in a hospital waiting room wanting her injuries to not be that bad? She shouldn’t have been hurt at all. Nobody should have ever laid a hand on her.