Chapter 39

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Mr. Hanley stood in front of the door. Ingrid paced the living room. It was after two o'clock in the morning, and Glen hadn't shown up to take her back to his house like he'd promised. Even on a search or protecting her, Notus members worked in shifts during the work week, allowing them each a few hours of sleep, before they had to return to their job at Port Loaders during the day.

"Mom, I'm going to call him from your phone?" Ingrid changed direction and picked up the landline phone. "Maybe it's my cell phone not going through."

"Your phone's working, honey. He's probably busy." Her mom approached her and reached out.

Ingrid shrugged off the contact, wanting nothing to stop her. "No, there's something wrong. He'd at least pick up my calls or call me."

Mr. Hanley cleared his throat. "He could be involved with the police because of the search. If the missing person was found, a lot of times things get hectic getting the person back to their family or to the hospital if the situation calls for it."

She shook her head, sick to her stomach. All the reasons were voiced to make her complacent, but she could tell Mr. Hanley was making excuses and her mom only wanted her to calm down.

"Maybe he decided to go home and get some rest. He knows you're safe here and this is your home." Her mom picked up a blanket off the couch and offered it to her. "Why don't you curl up in the recliner or in your bed for a couple hours? You can try calling Glen in the morning before he goes to work."

She pressed her hand to her stomach. Her whole body shook. She couldn't explain why she believed Glen needed her. She couldn't find enough energy to care what Mr. Hanley and her mom thought about her or how she was acting. His last words on the phone played on repeat in her head.

Fight for us.

Fight for us.

Fight for us.

Of course, she would fight for them, she'd been doing that from day one, but his request was made without any explanation, and then he'd disconnected the call. None of it made any sense unless he needed her. Whatever was happening tonight had him reaching out to her for support. Something he'd never done before.

He'd always taken care of her. Infallible, strong, and bossy.

"I want to go to Glen's house." She looked to Mr. Hanley. "Do you know anyone who can take me there and stay until I find out what is going on?"

Mr. Hanley's gaze softened. "My job is to keep you here, with your parents, until Notus tells me otherwise."

"Okay. Okay." She plopped down on the couch and curled her upper body, cradling her head in her hands. "I know Glen wants me to stay here."

There had to be another way to contact him. She'd exhausted leaving messages on his cell. Her head snapped up. "Do you have Wayne's phone number?"

"I have no reason to contact him." Mr. Hanley widened his stance.

God, the man was unmovable. It wasn't as if she was asking Mr. Hanley to leave her parents unprotected and go with her. She'd never do that. There had to be another way. She bit her lip. Clara lived with Wayne, who could contact Glen. She looked at her phone. Two-thirty in the morning. She groaned. Vavoom's would be closed, and Clara would be at home, and Ingrid couldn't even find her number if she looked because she didn't know Clara's last name.

She scrolled through the contacts on her phone hoping Glen had put his MC brother's numbers in the cell. Then, she checked the call log, remembering Wayne had called her before. Finding his number, she pushed connect.

The call rang. And, rang. And, rang.

"Dammit," she muttered, disconnecting when voicemail came on.

"I need to check on your dad." Her mom leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "Then, I'm going to get you some tea."

"No, mom. I don't want any tea. But...thank you. I'm sorry. I thought Glen would be here before now. I just..." I want Glen.

Her mom stroked the side of Ingrid's face. "Have faith. If Glen promised to come get you, he'll show up. Worrying won't get him here any sooner."

She nodded, hoping her mom was right. Rubbing her face, she needed to get a grip. The added stress on her mom from dealing with her wasn't helping the situation. Her mom had enough to do caring for her father.

The silence in the house heightened her anxiety. She looked over at Mr. Hanley. "I'm sorry for being demanding."

"You're concerned. I get it," said Mr. Hanley. "If it helps, it's not uncommon for the Notus members to go without sleep if a search calls for everyone to continue looking. I have helped in the past when extra hands are needed to find someone, and time slips away from you when you're concentrating on saving another person."

"You're right," whispered Ingrid, slouching on the couch.

A teenager never ran away from home because his or her life was good. There was a reason Glen wasn't with her. Her stomach rolled. She darted up from the couch and hurried to the bathroom. The contents of her stomach rebelled, and she threw up in the toilet.

Holding on to the edge of the counter, she sucked in air, trying to catch her breath. Why couldn't she believe everything was okay? She spent time away from Glen when she worked at Pauly's and had spent evenings by herself with only Daisy to keep her company. She could handle one night away from him.

Fight for us.

What had he meant?

She washed her face, gargled with mouthwash, and opened the bathroom door. As was her habit, she stopped in the hallway and listened. The constant hiss of her dad's oxygen assured her that he was sleeping and her mom had everything under control.

She walked toward the living room, determined to stay awake and wait for Glen when the hiss turned to a rumble and continued to grow. Stepping into the living room, she looked to Mr. Hanley who stood by the front window.

"It's Notus." Mr. Hanley turned to her and put his hands up. "Stay inside. Glen will come to you."

Her mom walked into the room. Ingrid rushed over and grabbed her mom's hands. "Glen's here. Thank you for staying up with me. Go get in bed and rest. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yes, and you relax. Take a big breath. Glen doesn't seem like a man who would want you to worry. He came for you, just like he promised." Her mom kissed both Ingrid's cheeks. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Ingrid hurried over and grabbed her purse, squealing inside.

Mr. Hanley even smiled at her, something she'd never seen him do before. She waited at the door, bouncing on her toes. All night, she'd worried for nothing.

The anticipated knock came. Mr. Hanley looked through the peephole and unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door. Ingrid lunged forward and stopped at the sight of Wayne standing outside the house.

Wayne's intense expression distracted her from seeing Thad and Chuck standing behind him right away. She looked at each biker. Wayne had blood down the front of his shirt. Thad's hands were coated dark red, almost black. Chuck looked away from her.

Her heart raced, and she looked through the broad shoulders for Glen. "Where is—?"

"Can we come in?" asked Wayne.

Her mom grabbed Ingrid's shoulders from behind and pulled her back out of the doorway. Her pulse pounded, echoing in her ears. She planted her feet not wanting to sit down. Glen was supposed to take her back to his house. He would come for her unless something happened.

Her gaze went over Glen's MC brothers again. She reached out for her mom. "Wh-what happened? Where is Glen?"

Wayne stepped up to her. "Ingrid, there's no easy way to say this. Glen's at St. John's Hospital. He's been shot. We don't know all the details or his condition yet."

She covered her throat with her hand. "What do you mean he was shot?"

"He's in bad shape." Wayne inhaled swiftly. "He's at the hospital..."

The men floated in front of her, and she could no longer hear any voices. She leaned into her mom, unable to draw air into her lungs. "He's alive?"

"He was when the paramedics put him in the ambulance, but it isn't looking good." The skin around Wayne's eyes tightened. "It's been almost five hours since I heard he went into surgery. Lieutenant Gomez contacted Glen's parents. They're at the hospital now."

"Five hours ago?" She swallowed. "Why didn't anyone come sooner?"

Wayne glanced at the others. "We were at the police department being questioned. We came here as soon as possible. Glen, well, he'd want you to know."

She stepped forward. "I need to go to the hospital."

"We can take you," said Wayne.

Ingrid's mom grabbed her arm. "Take my car. You're in no condition to ride on the back of a motorcycle."

"I can drive her in your car and leave my bike here." Chuck looked at the others. "We have to be back at the P.D. at nine o'clock. I can bring Ingrid back here at that time, pick up my bike, and meet everyone there."

The police. Questioned. Shot. Glen.

There were too many details she couldn't follow. All she wanted was to get to the hospital and see Glen and make sure he was going to be okay. He had to be okay.

After getting the keys from her mom, handing them to Chuck, and going in the garage, Ingrid buckled herself into the passenger seat. She'd known something was wrong. Her mom and Mr. Hanley thought she'd acted unreasonable, but she knew.

Fight for us.

Glen had known there was a chance of him being shot. That had to be why he said she had to fight for both of them.

She stared straight ahead out the windshield. Numbed from the news, she tried to piece together the fractured conversations she'd heard between Glen and the Notus members before last night. Glen had spoken of a plan. Deep in her heart, she'd known that Glen wanted Evan dead and would do anything to protect her. His honor toward her was one of the many reasons she'd fallen in love with him. She should've known. She should've done more to stop him.

"Evan Kingsley shot Glen, didn't he?" she asked.

Chuck turned at the intersection. "Yes."

She looked at Chuck. "Is Evan dead?"

"Yeah, he is," said Chuck.

She closed her eyes at the onslaught of emotions battling in her. None of them included Evan. She was glad he was dead.