by A. J. Norris
Grace careened down the steep incline of the ditch and struck the other side. Her car wedged in the ditch. The air bags deployed, knocking her arms away from the steering wheel. Her head rocked forward then back against the headrest. A powdery substance dusted her face and clothing. She coughed and blindly felt for the door handle, and wrenched the door open.
She swung her legs out of the car, expecting the ground would meet her feet. It wasn’t where it should be and she fell to her knees first, then landed face-down in the snow.
Grace scrambled to her hands and knees and crawled up the side of the ditch toward the road. Wind from a few passing cars blew, pelting her with salt from the road. Something poked her eye, and she rolled onto the snow.
Her hands, arms, and face burned. She made fists, gravel stuck to her palms. “Ow, ow, ow!” she cried, tears spilling down her face. Her body ached. She looked up at the blurry stars, wondering what would become of her. Would she die? Who was in that car? Would they be back?
Grace couldn’t wait here to find out. She struggled to her feet, and staggered toward the road. “Help!” she croaked. What happened to her voice? No one heard her and would anyone see her either? Her clothing was black and so was her hair.
She moved too close to pavement.
BEEEP!
Her hair danced in the gust of wind as a truck thundered past.
Another vehicle with a damaged side and dark windows pulled off onto the shoulder and stopped. Brakes squealed and the door swung open.
“No!” Grace spun and ran in the opposite direction, strands of wet hair whipping her in the face.
“Grace!” a man yelled.
She didn’t look at her pursuer. The tip of her boot caught and her hip slammed onto the ground. Her teeth gritted. She gasped for breath.
“Grace, stop!”
“No, please no…”
He closed the gap between them, his footfalls crunching the gravel.
She wanted to flee, but couldn’t make her feet respond quickly enough.
He seized her arm. She swung her other, but he was faster and grabbed her wrist.
“No! Let go!”
“Grace, I won’t hurt you. I’m trying to help.”
Yeah, right. How did he know her name? His features were out of focus, like she was looking through a glass of water. Breathing was out of the question. Her lungs refused to inflate properly. “No, no…no.”
“Grace, its Cam! We’ve met, remember?”
“Cam?”
“Yeah, Cam. Are you all right?”
“How did you…?” She swallowed hard.
“I saw you staggering toward the road, I almost hit you.”
“You did? Oh God, someone, someone…”
“Easy, take some deep breaths.” He knelt and took out a cell phone.
She vaguely heard, “9-1-1, what is your emergency?”
Cam spoke even-toned, calm, like her father. “I’d like to report an accident on Highway 19 at mile marker 38. Please send an ambulance.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
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 sl
ot 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?”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Harry
Harry and Natalie walked to the end of the hallway to the vending and lounge area. There had to be a coffee machine in this place. They rounded the corner. For a moment he truly believed the woman pictured on the front of the coffee dispenser with a mug up to her lips was an angel. He blinked twice, took out his credit card, and swiped the reader. His tension eased just a bit as a paper cup with beans printed on the side dropped and started filling. Steam rose from the cup. He picked it up, switching hands repeatedly. Hot. Hot.
“I’d like one too,” Natalie said.
“Oh, sorry.” Harry swiped his card again.
“Thinking of me, I see.”
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “I think about you all the time.”
“You do?” she asked, covering her heart with a hand.
Harry smirked. “Yeah.” He leaned down, kissed her on the lips, and she blushed.
“Excuse me,” a man with shaggy brown hair said. He had a purple leather purse under his arm.
Harry and Natalie moved away from the coffee machine.
Grace had a bag like that one. Ordinarily, he may not have noticed, however, purple had been Annie’s favorite color, and his daughter had raided her mother’s things after she passed, including her purse collection. It looked familiar, as did the man.
“Nice bag you got there.” Jeez, he sounded like a homophobe. Maybe the man liked purses.
“Thanks, not mine.”
“Who’s—”
Natalie nudged Harry’s elbow.
The guy crinkled his forehead. “You don’t remember me, do you?”
“Now that you mention it…you work for Mikey.”
“Yeah, you’re that cop from the other day asking about a tat.”
Harry sipped his coffee. “That’s awfully specific.”
“What can I say? I’m observant.”
“That’s my daughter’s purse,” Harry pointed to the bag.
“I figured Grace was your daughter.”
“How’s that?”
“The way you and Mikey communicated at the shop. And he mentioned it.”
“You got a name?”
“Cam.” He stuck his hand out, which Harry slighted.
“Can I have the purse? And while you’re at it tell me how you happened to find my daughter.” Harry stared at Cam.
“Are you accusing me of something?” he asked, handing over the purse.
Harry snatched it from his hands. “Is that your car parked out front?”
“What if it is?”
“Got a lot of damage on the right side. Wanna tell me how it got there?”
Natalie inhaled loudly. “Harry…” He shook his head at her.
“I dunno, it was like that when I bought it.” Cam enunciated the ‘T’ in ‘it’.
“Watch your tone. You’re not looking so good right now.”
“How am I looking?”
“Guilty.”
“Of what? I was going to give her back the purse. I forgot it in my trunk.”
“Why was it in your trunk?”
“I put it there.”
Harry handed the purse to Natalie. “Turn around.”
“Why?”
“So I can pat you down.”
“Are you planning on arresting me? On what charge?”
“Attempted murder.”
“Harold Hunter, have you completely lost your mind?” Natalie stomped off.
* * *
Grace
Grace didn’t exactly believe Mikey when he said no one wanted to intentionally hurt her. Still, she held onto the belief, praying he was right. Her nerves settled though, and her heartrate returned to normal.
Natalie poked her head around the curtain. “Hi, guess what I found?” She dangled Grace’s bag by the strap.
“Oh wow. Thank you. Where did you—”
“Cam brought it in. He forgot he left it in his trunk.” Natalie stood at the foot of the bed and put the purse down.
Grace went through everything, verbally checking off the contents. “Looks like everything is here.” She placed her hand over her heart. “The last thing I needed was to have to call my credit card companies or get a new driver’s license.” Grace looked past the curtain. “Is my dad here?”
Natalie sighed. “Yes.”
“Uh oh. What’s he up to?”
“He’s arresting Cam.”
Grace gaped at the other woman. “I’m sorry, did you say my father is arresting Cam?”
“That’s what I said.”
“Cam is the one who saved me and called the police.”
“And he got your purse.”
“Yeah, I left it in my car.” Grace brushed past Mikey.
“Where are you going?” Mikey asked.
“To stop my lunatic father.”
Out in the hallway, Officer Rudy was hauling Cam out of the lounge.
“Wait, wait!” The cop glanced at Grace, although kept heading for the exit. “Cam, I’ll get this straightened out!” she yelled at her savior and Rudy�
��s back. “Thanks for my purse.” She pivoted on her boot. “We have to go to the station.”
Mikey’s face was stony. “Grace, we need to go home.”
“No.”
“They’ll sort it out.”
“Look at your clothes,” Natalie said softly.
Grace didn’t care about her clothes. Not now.
“Your face…”
“I’m fine, I—”
Mikey took a deep breath and held out his hand. “We have to go home, darlin’.”
Grace glanced down the length of her body. Her pants had been torn at the knees. Bruises and small abrasions covered her wrists and forearms. She touched her face and winced. The hair on her head falling forward over her shoulders looked stringy.
Natalie nodded to her unasked question. Did she look at bad as she felt? The answer was worse.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Grace
“I want to see where they took my car.” Grace rested her head on the seat and it lolled to the side.
“Not tonight,” Mikey said, patting her thigh.
“Do I seriously look that scary?”
“You look as if you’ve been in an accident.”
“So, yeah then.”
Grace closed her eyes for the duration of the ride home. When they pulled into the garage, she flipped down the visor mirror. Her eyes widened. “Holy crap…do you think Brayden’s awake?”
“Probably.”
“You might want to tell him to go to his room.” She looked like a raccoon with a gremlin hairdo.
“Grace, you just need a shower.”
“A shower?” She snapped the visor up. “I need more than hot water. Try a couple of ice packs and a week in bed with the covers over my head.”
Mikey chuckled. “Come on, I’ll run you a bath.” He opened the door leading into the kitchen. She stayed behind him.
“Dad!” Brayden ran in from the living room and threw his arms around Mikey.
Grace leaned against the doorjamb directly behind her fiancé.
“Where’s Grace?”
“Right here.” She hid her face with her hair. The kid stepped around his father and hugged her around the waist. She hugged him back.