The One who got Away
your grandfather, but we’ll get this all sorted out, I promise.”
My fists shook, and I only calmed down a little when Kelly wrapped a hand around mine and pulled me along. I pulled her to me, staring angrily at the Sheriff.
“I’ll see you in the morning, Sheriff,” I said. “But if Heath’s gone by the time you get your ass off your seat, I’m not going to be this calm.”
“Good night, Mr. Logan,” the Sheriff nodded. “Jenni.”
“Sheriff,” Jenni replied and gently pushed me along.
We walked out, the cool night air failing to calm me down as I led Kelly to the car and opened the door for her to get in. I turned back to the hospital, with half the mind to go back in and give the Sheriff hell, but quickly fought back the urge. I looked at Jenni and shook my head in frustration.
“Can you fucking believe this?”
Jenni wrapped her arms around Kelly’s and looked at the hospital. “Actually, I can,” she said. “I told you before, Baker’s useless.”
“And what do you suggest I do?”
Jenni sighed. “I don’t know,” she said, looking at Kelly. “Go home for starters. In the morning, we’ll pick up where we left off.”
I ran a hand through my hair and clenched my teeth. I wanted to punch someone, badly. If I didn’t I was going to go fucking insane. Jenni rested a hand on my arm and squeezed.
“Fine,” I gave in, my frustration boiling inside me. “Come on, I’ll drive you home.”
“I’d rather stay with Kelly,” she replied.
“You don’t have to do that,” I said.
“Actually, I do,” she said. “I want to.”
I looked at her for a beat, wanting to take her in my arms and kiss her if it weren’t for how pissed off I was. She rubbed my arm and opened the passenger door.
“Come on,” she said.
I closed the door, took another look at the hospital, then got into the car and drove us home.
Chapter 16: Alex
I woke up the next morning feeling worse than I had when I went to sleep. The image of my father lying in the ICU stayed with me through the night. I had nightmares of him crawling out of his bed, calling out my name and searching for me while a dozen or so Heath’s laughed all around him. It made me sick in the stomach.
I got dressed quickly, eager to get to the police station and really take out my frustration on the Sheriff, and made my way downstairs. The aroma of scrambled eggs and bacon mixed with the gentle giggling coming from the kitchen.
Kelly was at the kitchen table, stuffing her face with what looked like the breakfast for champions. Jenni was sitting across from her, hair tied back in a loose ponytail and eyes still drooping with sleep. She looked gorgeous nevertheless. My mouth watered as the aroma of breakfast filled my nostrils.
“Morning,” I said with a smile, opening the fridge and taking out the orange juice.
“You sure took your time,” Kelly said, frowning at me. “We should have been at the hospital by now.”
“You look like you woke up five minutes ago,” I replied, grabbing a glass and sitting down beside her.
“And I’m ready to go,” she said. “So, let’s go.”
“In a minute,” I replied, taking the fork from her hands and tossing a bite of eggs and bacon into my mouth. She elbowed me in the side, took her fork back and pointed it at me angrily.
Jenni laughed and held up her mug. “Fresh pot,” she said, gesturing to the coffee machine.
“That’s okay,” I said. “Seems like the chipmunk’s in a hurry.”
And so was I. Ever since our meeting with the Sheriff at the hospital, I wanted to give the bastard a piece of my mind. I had contemplated finding Heath myself, making him pay for what he did, but I knew that wasn’t the right solution. What good was my badge if I didn’t follow the laws I had sworn to uphold? Besides, the Sheriff’s incompetence would give me an excuse to make his life a living hell. If shit like this went down around Kent and he was doing nothing about it, then he shouldn’t be the man for the job in the first place.