AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“There were several police cars, fire trucks, and a couple of ambulances surrounding Mia’s friends’ house this morning. It took me awhile to get a story, but from what I and the neighbors were able to get the home was broken into and the couple was attacked. They took both of them away on stretchers. Shit, Mia. I’m so sorry to break the news to you like this. I wish I had more details, but the cops weren’t talking. I don’t know more than this. I’m so sorry. I’ll keep working to try and find out exactly what happened, but you may want to come home.”
Mia could hardly breathe, her heart slamming against her ribs. Lane and Mike? Attacked and taken to the hospital? She hadn’t heard from either of them this morning, but she hadn’t been worried, assuming they were busy. Instead, it was because they probably couldn’t reach out.
They were injured and in the hospital. It was hard to wrap her mind around it. She’d talked to them both last night when she and Grant had arrived. Everything had been just fine.
The text she’d received had threatened her friends.
This might be all her fault.
20
Their return flight had originally been booked for two days later so that wasn’t an option. They’d also rented a car, and they decided to use it to drive back after making a quick call to the rental agency. If they didn’t make any unnecessary stops, they’d be back home in about six hours, give or take because of traffic.
Mia hadn’t said much during the trip, spending most of the time staring out of the window. Grant was at the wheel and trying to concentrate on the road, considering that he was exceeding the speed limit by quite a bit. He wanted to get her home quickly, but he didn’t want to end up in jail or with a four-figure ticket.
There had been rain around Gainesville that had slowed traffic to a crawl due to an earlier accident on the side of the highway. They were able to speed up again once they’d passed it, but they’d lost about forty-five minutes.
When he finally took the exit to Mia’s home, he heard her take in a shaky breath.
“I’m scared, Grant. I’m scared of what we’re going to find out when we get there. I’m scared that this is all my fault. Shit, no. I’m not scared. I’m angry that this might be my fault. That someone might have broken into their home because they were looking for me. I’m furious that I’m running and hiding from some asshole who wants to fuck up my life. And now my friends may have paid the price for simply being my friends.”
By the time she’d finished speaking, her voice had gone up an octave and her cheeks were bright red.
“You may not believe this, sweetheart, but I think your anger is a healthy response. You’ve been pretty calm and rational through all of this, but you haven’t been mad. You should be a little bit pissed off. You’re right that someone is messing with your life, and possibly in Lane and Mike’s too. You can’t keep all of it inside. It’s not good for you. You need to let it out. If you want to scream, rant, and cry, I’m here for you.”
“I’m not really a screamer,” Mia said, a small smile playing on her lips.
It was good to see her showing some emotion after several hours of her morose silence.
“You want to express yourself, it’s fine by me. I’d be angry, too. And I know that you’re afraid for your friends. Let’s hope that the trip to the hospital was just an overreaction and that they’re going to be fine. Maybe the EMTs were just being cautious.”
“I hope so.”
It didn’t take long before he was pulling into Mia’s neighborhood. They slowly drove by Lane and Mike’s home which was surrounded by yellow crime tape. There was a forensics van in the driveway and a police car parked behind.
“They’re still there?” Mia said, craning her neck to see around Grant. “That’s not a good sign, is it?”
“It depends. It may be that they simply had to wait for the forensics team. If your city doesn’t have their own, then they have to call the county. That can take time. That’s what my little town has to do, and I can assure you that I’m not high on their priority list. It can take hours. And an officer has to be at the scene the entire time to make sure nothing is tampered with or changed. It sucks but that’s the way it is.”
“That’s a relief then,” Mia sighed. “My mind was thinking up worst case scenarios.”
“My advice is don’t borrow trouble. Don’t worry about something unless it actually happens.”
“Good advice. I hope I can follow it.”
Grant pulled into the driveway, and he’d barely stopped when Mia hopped out the car and headed straight for the front door. Trey must have been watching for them because it opened immediately.
His brother’s expression was bland and neutral, but Grant knew Trey inside and out. They weren’t going to hear good news when they went inside.
Trey gave Mia a hug before she went inside to freshen up.
“I want to hear the latest,” she said, disappearing down the hall to the bathroom. “I’ll be right back.”
That left Grant and Trey alone. His brother wasn’t bothering to hide anything anymore, his features a grim mask.
“She’s gone,” he said. “He’s alive and is supposed to be released tomorrow if he continues to improve.”
The news hit Grant like a sucker punch to the gut, knocking all the air from his lungs. He’d liked Mia’s friends. They’d been happy and lively, and quite protective of her which he also liked.
