Harry
Across the circle of chairs, Mikey bounced his leg on the ball of his foot. Harry rubbed his nape. He filched his phone from his pocket, a taboo during the AA meeting. However, Harry needed to turn it back on and the meeting was almost over. Sam gave him a dirty look.
Business, Harry mouthed. Sam blinked slowly, showing his reluctant understanding. And annoyance.
Two missed calls in a row from Grace and a voice mail waited when the cell came on. He looked at Mikey and pointed to his phone and mouthed, Grace. One call from her wasn’t odd; two meant something was up.
Harry removed himself from the room and went into the hallway. Mikey came out of the library as Harry listened to the message, a loud noise followed by a scream. He yelled “Grace!” as if she could hear him.
“What is it?” Mikey demanded.
“I dunno, I dunno, noise and screaming.” The men gaped at each other stunned then rushed to the exit.
Mikey reached his car, parked in a space closest to the door. Harry jumped in the passenger seat. He’d return for his car later. Grace’s scream still resounded in his head, robbing him of his will to live had the worse happened to her.
The tires squealed as they peeled out of the parking lot. Harry phoned the station. Another call beeped in, he swapped the call, in case it was news of Grace. “Hello?” he gushed.
“Harry, it’s Ellison. Your daughter was in an accident. She’s fine, but being taken to Webster General.”
“She’s fine,” he said to Mikey, “taking her to the hospital.” Mikey made a U-turn.
“…pretty shaken up. Someone found her on Highway 19.”
“What happened?”
“Some guy named Cam called 9-1-1. Says she was run off the road.”
“Goddammit! Tell me what happened,” Harry growled.
His phone beeped in his ear again. He held the phone away from his face. Hanging up on Ellison, he answered Natalie’s call. “We’re on our way.”
“Can you pick up some milk? I forgot earlier when—”
“Nat, I meant we’re heading to the hospital.”
“Oh no. Why?”
“Grace was in an accident. That’s all we know.”
“We? Mikey’s with you?”
“Yes, can you meet us there?”
“Of course, I’m on my way.”
Harry’s panic subsided after Ellison said Grace was fine. He’d chosen the wrong week to cut back on the caffeine. Jesus, he needed coffee. As urgent as it was to reach the hospital, he wondered how shitty a father he’d be deemed if he asked Mikey to stop off at a Starbucks. He kept a hand over his mouth because he feared blurting out the question.
Natalie pulled into the circular emergency drive behind them. Security told Mikey to park in the temporary spaces to the side, next to a squad car.
Mikey got out of the car before Harry and left the keys in the ignition with the motor running. Next to Mikey’s SUV was an older navy car with tinted windows. Harry snagged the keys and got out. He walked around the Chevy Impala, and noticed it had California plates. Now, who from California would come to Webster and need medical attention? Man, he was cynical. He peered in the back seat. An overstuffed leather brief bag sat on the floor behind the front passenger seat. A brown folder stuck out of the side pocket, which was monogrammed with the letters ADK. The right side of the vehicle was dented. Harry squatted and inspected the damage.
What am I doing? What would the guy that ran Grace off the road be doing parked here?
“Harry, get it together,” he muttered to himself. He tensed when Natalie spoke, interrupting his thoughts.
“What are you doing? Shouldn’t we be inside?”
“Ellison said she was fine and Mikey should be the one looking after her now.”
“Wow. Are you feeling okay? That’s not like—”
He silenced her with a wave. “Let’s get inside.” Coffee was on his brain among other things. Maybe he was losing it.
* * *
Mikey
The ER triage station seemed a hundred miles away. A nurse greeted Mikey with a smile.
“Grace Bell. Is she back there, can I see her?”
“What’s she being seen for?” the nurse asked, yet talked more to herself than Mikey. “Let me see if you can go back. And you are…?”
“Mikey Hardin, she’s my fiancé.”
“One moment.”
Harry and Natalie came up behind him. He texted Andrea, letting her know what happened. She opted to keep Brayden at home. His son had already been through so much trauma.
The nurse put the phone down. “You can go back now, Mr. Hardin.”
He looked at Harry. “Aren’t you coming?”
“I need some coffee. I’ll just upset her with my questions right now. Go on, take care of my daughter.” Harry shoved Mikey’s car keys at him.
Another nurse escorted him through the double doors. Grace was in the first slot on the left. She sat on the bed, dangling her feet off the side. She stared at the floor, her hair shielding her face. Cam sat on a chair in the corner. What was he doing here?
“Grace?” Mikey said.
Her head snapped up and she popped off the gurney, eyes full of tears, and swollen as if she’d been punched. He slid toward her and wrapped his arms around her. She sagged into him, sobbing. Mikey stroked her hair and held her up. “I got this,” he said to Cam over her head. “Thanks.” He hadn’t known why he’d thanked him or why the guy was there to begin with, it seemed like the right thing to do though. The other man nodded and slipped out. They stood there a long time before either spoke.
“I think my car is totaled,” Grace said.
“What happened?”
“Someone ran me off the road.”
Mikey stomach churned. “What? Who?”
“I don’t know, it was dark.”
“Did he beat you up too, your face—”
“I think this is from the airbag. My arms and…my wrists are all bruised.” She pushed away from him, so she could stand on her feet with her full weight.
“Are you okay? What did the doctor say?”
“That I could go home if someone picked me up.”
“What was Cam doing here?”
“He found me.”
“He took you to the hospital?”
“No, he followed the ambulance. Oh, Mikey, I don’t know what would’ve happened if he hadn’t been driving by.”
“Convenient,” he mumbled. Now he was as paranoid as Harry.
“I could’ve have died if he hadn’t been there.” Her body quivered.
He took her trembling hands. “You’re safe now.”
“Am I?” Tears spilled from her eyes.
“Yes.” He held her to his chest, rubbing her back in circles. His insides quaked. Spikes of dread jabbed at his gut. He barely breathed so he wouldn’t hyperventilate. Cody/Lance whatever was still in prison, paralyzed from the waist down. Mikey squeezed his eyes shut. This was some random loser having a road rage episode.
“Why did this guy run you off the road, did you cut him off accidently?”
“Like this was my fault. No. He followed me from the library and hit me. I tried changing lanes to get away from the guy, that’s when he slammed into me.” She sobbed. “I can’t believe you think this is my—”
“Shhh, sorry, sorry, I don’t.” Mikey secretly hoped it was her fault, so he could relax a bit. Why would someone want to hurt her without a reason? The reality was someone did want to scare her. “You don’t do the books for any mafia members, do you?”
“Wha…” Confusion crossed her face.
Mikey smiled, covering his worst fears with humor. “Just kidding. Whoever it was just thought you were someone else, that’s all.”
“You think so?”
No. “Yeah. Who’d want to hurt you?”