Far Series | Book 3 | Far From Lost

by Mary, Kate L.

  Rowan’s frown deepened at the mention of her father, and I couldn’t think of a single thing to say that would comfort her. She’d been upset about the situation when I arrived, unhappy about how her dad had been acting, uncertain about the things he’d said, and I’d thought she was overreacting or maybe even once again letting her emotions get the better of her. The fact that hours had gone by, and her father still hadn’t come see her, however, told me her concern was legitimate. Something wasn’t right with him.

  “I hope so,” I said. “Lane was pretty bad off.”

  My eyes hadn’t strayed from the door, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rowan’s head bob in response.

  The footsteps drew closer, and I stood. My stomach was as tense as a boulder, and being on my feet tricked me into feeling like I was more prepared for what was about to happen even though I had no clue what it would be. I just knew I couldn’t sit still.

  Rowan stood, too, and we were side by side when Heath finally appeared, pausing in the doorway.

  His gaze swept over Rowan for a brief moment before switching to me, then he took a step inside. “It seems you were telling the truth about the radio.”

  He held it up, waving it in the air.

  “I had no reason to lie.”

  “That’s true,” he replied, his tone even and unreadable, but his brown eyes hard, making one thing very clear. Now that we didn’t have an audience, he had no intention of playing nice. “Even if you have some ulterior motive for being here, there’s no reason not to tell me about the radio so I can make contact with your friends.”

  “You talked to them?” Rowan asked, her tone a little too anxious to hide her feelings on the subject. “What did Devon say? Did you come up with a plan?”

  Heath turned his focus to her, his lips pressing together for a moment as he took in her words. Then he shook his head. “Not yet.”

  “The radio won’t work this far away,” I said, knowing he was aware of that fact and wondering what he was planning. “I’m assuming you found the note from Lane as well?”

  “I did and I’m aware of the distance limitations.” He paused, smirking like he knew he was stringing us along, and he was enjoying himself.

  I curled my hands into fists, digging my nails into my palms the way I did whenever I could feel my emotions threatening to break free. “Tell me your plan.”

  At this, Heath’s smile grew. “Ms. Summers likes to ask questions, you like to give orders. How very interesting.”

  “I don’t see what’s so interesting about it when we’re only trying to figure out what’s going on,” I snapped then sucked in a deep breath. “And we want to know how Lane’s doing, too. No one has come to tell us.”

  Heath waved my words away. “I haven’t checked on her and, as you well know, I honestly don’t care how she’s doing.”

  “I’m very aware of the fact that had it been up to you, she would be dead right now.”

  “I have my priorities, and my ex-wife isn’t one of them,” he replied with a small shrug that illustrated how little he cared.

  It was on the tip of my tongue to ask what his priorities were, but that would lead the conversation in the wrong direction, and I had other, more pressing things to discuss.

  “I think,” I said, waving to the couches, “we need to sit down and have a conversation.”

  Heath’s lips twitched. “I do like how forward you are.”

  “No point in pretending we don’t understand each other,” I said, already moving to the couch. When I stopped in front of it, I motioned to the chair. “Sit.”

  I made sure not to frame it as a question.

  Heath chuckled as he crossed the room, acting almost like he was enjoying himself. His mood shifts were unpredictable, which made me uneasy. Typically, I was good at reading other people, but Heath was all over the place, and it had me feeling unprepared. Which was something I hated.

  Rowan had already taken a seat, and I lowered myself onto the couch at her side while across from me, Heath took the chair. His brown eyes stayed focused on me as he sat, the radio still in his hand like he wanted us to be able to see it at all times and know he alone controlled what would happen next.

  “You’re waiting to call our people,” I said, once again refusing to frame it as a question.

  His head dipped once as his grin stretched wider. “I am.”

  “Why?” Rowan jumped in.

  Despite the cold glint in his eyes, they twinkled in amusement. “I think making them sweat a little will go a long way toward getting me what I want.”

  This time, I couldn’t hold my question in. “Which is?”

  “No need to get into that at the moment.” He batted my question away, once again switching gears. “I want to know why you’re really here.”

  “For Rowan,” I said. “And because Lane was hurt.”

  “Gabe didn’t send you?” Heath asked, clearly not believing me.

  “No. If it were up to him, we wouldn’t have come.”

  “Interesting,” Heath replied, nodding again as he thought it through. “I take it he’s told you about me?”

  “His version of the story,” I replied, “yes. But from what Rowan has told me, your version of events contradicts his.”

  “Because he’s a liar,” Heath hissed, his smile melting away and his eyes flashing.

  “I only know what he told me,” I said. “You were all friends and went to the same gym, which is where you met Anie.”

  At the mention of her name, Heath’s expression grew harder.

  I went on. “You two had an affair, you and Lane split up, Gabe and the other guys stopped talking to you. When all this started, you were together until Lane showed up, but you didn’t want her around. Gabe took her side, so you left.”

  “He does have an imagination,” Heath said, frowning.

  “It’s not the truth?” I lifted my eyebrows, challenging him.

  “It’s a version of it, of course, but details can be skewed based on perspective.”

  Rowan shook her head, and her long, blonde hair swished across her shoulders. “You say Lane cheated on you with Gabe. Gabe and Lane say you cheated on her. There’s no world where perspective can change that.”

  “Of course, there is,” Heath said. “Our marriage was over, but we hadn’t split up. Lane and Gabe were spending a lot of time together, too much, and although they’ve always denied it, I knew they were sleeping together. I turned to a friend for comfort, and we fell in love.”

  He said it all so simply, as if his explanation should have answered every question we had, but the cold expression in his eyes didn’t change. He was lying. I was sure of it.

  “And the supplies?” I asked. “Gabe and the others—Rick and Ari and Brian—all claim they sent you off with supplies, yet everyone here seems to think they sent you off to die.”

  “Just because I had supplies doesn’t mean they gave them to me,” Heath said, his tone lower, his words hissing through his teeth. “It was their way or nothing. That was why I had to leave.”

  “Their way or nothing?” I repeated, lifting my eyebrows as I waved to the shock collar around my neck. “Are you serious?”

  “That’s for everyone’s protection,” Heath said with a wave of his hand, his tone once again even and detached. “There are dangerous people out there.”

  “There are dangerous people in here,” Rowan muttered.

  At that, Heath laughed.

  All three of us glanced toward the door at the sound of approaching footsteps.

  Heath got to his feet. “That will be your dinner.”

  “Wait!” Rowan jumped up. “Where’s my dad? You said I could eat with him.”

  “He’ll come see you when he can. In the meantime, you’ll be staying here. The sudden appearance of two of your friends has convinced everyone that we need to be diligent when it comes to our probation period. We don’t want to put the general population in danger.”

  “What about th
e radio?” I asked. “When will you call our group?”

  The footsteps grew closer, and Heath glanced that way. “Soon.”

  “When is soon?” I said, more firmly this time.

  Heath looked back at me, a small smirk on his face. “I’ll let you know when I decide.”

  I was just about to say something else when Ryan appeared in the doorway, a tray in each hand.

  “Oh. Sorry.” He looked from Heath to Rowan and me. “Am I interrupting?”

  “I was just leaving.” Heath moved for the door, pausing at Ryan’s side. “How’s my dear ex-wife?”

  The doctor studied him, his gaze uncertain. “I think she’s going to pull through.”

  “Wonderful,” Heath said, but his flat tone made it clear he thought it was anything but wonderful. “I’ll be sure to stop by and pay my respects.”

  “Yeah,” Ryan said, “okay.”

  Heath looked back at us one more time, smiled, then headed out.

  Once we were alone, Ryan shook his head and continued into the room. “I came to give you dinner and tell you how Lane is doing.” He set the trays on a table and turned to face us, smiling. “She had some internal bleeding, but Dr. Summers and I were able to stop it and get her patched up.”

  “So, she’s going to be okay?” I asked.

  “She’s not out of the woods yet, and she’s still out of it from the anesthesia, but I think so.”

  “You need to keep a close eye on her,” Rowan said.

  Ryan frowned. “What? Why?”

  “Heath wants her dead,” she replied. “I tried to tell you that.”

  “I just can’t see that happening,” the doctor said. “Heath is angry and hurt about what she did, but he’s not a killer.”

  “I think you’re overestimating him,” I said. “Plus, I have it on good authority that Lane isn’t the one who cheated. Heath did. Not only that, but he chose to leave the other group, and they didn’t send him away with nothing.”

  “This is what Gabe told you?” Ryan asked, his frown growing more exaggerated and making it clear he didn’t believe me.

  “It is,” I said.

  “Lane told us about her ex-husband before we ever met Heath,” Rowan jumped in.

  Ryan stared at the floor, saying nothing as he thought it through, but after a few seconds, he looked up. “It’s Gabe’s word against Heath’s.”

  “And Lane’s,” Rowan said. “Plus, a bunch of other guys who knew all three of them way before this. They all back up Gabe’s story.”

  Ryan still didn’t look convinced.

  “Look,” I said, jumping in because I had a feeling nothing we could say was going to convince this guy. Not until he saw some proof with his own eyes. “You don’t have to believe us. Fine. But will you at least promise to keep an eye on Lane? I don’t know Heath that well, so I don’t know if he’s the type who will murder in cold blood. I do, however, know that if there had been no witnesses today when we showed up, he would have let Lane die. I think you at least suspect I’m right.”

  “I didn’t like the way he hesitated,” Ryan said, “but that doesn’t mean he’s a killer.”

  “But does it provide reasonable doubt?” I asked.

  At that, Ryan blew out a long breath. “Yeah, okay. I get what you’re saying. I’ll make sure someone is watching Lane at all times.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  Ryan nodded, but he still didn’t look happy about it.

  “Where’s my dad?” Rowan asked. “I thought he’d come see me by now.”

  “He was with me in surgery, and then he had some other things to do, but I’m sure—”

  “Ryan,” Rowan said, her voice quivering. “What’s going on? Tell me. I hadn’t seen him in months, and he thought I was dead, but I feel like he’s avoiding me. I don’t understand.”

  The doctor looked down. “He’s having a rough time, Rowan. That’s all I can really say.”

  “So, he isn’t coming to see me?”

  Ryan lifted his gaze. “He will. Eventually.”

  “Eventually,” she repeated as her eyes filled with tears.

  I stepped in front of her. “I think we could use some privacy.”

  “Yeah.” Ryan exhaled. “I’ll see you in the morning when I bring breakfast.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  His head dipped once, his gaze focused on Rowan, then the doctor shook his head and left the room. His shoulders were hunched, his head down, and every line of his body giving away that he was carrying some kind of burden on his shoulders. What, though? Did it have to do with Heath, or with Rowan’s dad? Or was there something else going on here?

  Rowan slumped to the couch, tugging on her braid as she stared at the food wordlessly.

  “He’ll come,” I said, taking a seat at her side.

  “I know,” she replied, not looking away from the food although I got the impression she wasn’t actually seeing it. “Except it won’t be him. He’s different. Changed.”

  “Who hasn’t changed since all this started?”

  Rowan lifted her gaze to meet mine. “This is different, Kiaya. I’m telling you.”

  “I’m sorry.” I put a hand on her knee. “Maybe he’s in shock? Maybe he just needs time?”

  She nodded, but she didn’t look convinced.

  After a second, Rowan sighed and sat forward. “We can’t afford to waste food even if eating is the last thing on my mind right now.”

  “Yeah,” I said, grabbing my own tray.

  It was some kind of chicken and rice concoction with a creamy white sauce poured over it and a side of mixed vegetables. We’d been eating pretty well, thanks to the women at the school—I would have to go easier on them in the future—but compared to this, it was like we’d been living on scraps. Powdered eggs and other processed foods that didn’t require refrigeration. Since the hospital had never run out of power, they had all the food in the kitchen at their disposal, along with anything else Heath and his people had managed to get their hands on.

  “This place is pretty amazing,” I said, scooping up a forkful of the food.

  “I know.” Rowan chewed, her expression still twisted in pain, but thoughtful as well. “I knew before coming here that the school wasn’t ideal, but I hadn’t fully grasped just how bad it was.”

  I swallowed my food and said, “Gabe has made some improvements.”

  “That’s good, at least.”

  “He listened to me, too.”

  Rowan snorted like she didn’t believe it.

  Outside, the rain had gotten heavier, pounding against the window and wall, the howl of the wind audible even in the room. Good. It would blow the rain around and put out every flame. At least something was finally going right.

  After dinner, we curled up on the couch, Rowan on one end and me on the other, waiting. For her dad or Heath, or anything else, really. It got later, and the rain went on, the rhythmic ping of the drops against the window mixing with the utter silence in the hospital. It was almost relaxing.

  The tranquility was broken by footsteps.

  Rowan stood.

  I got up as well, having to wiggle a couple toes that had started to fall asleep when I did. The pins and needles feeling of the blood rushing back into the digits followed, and I wiggled them more as the footsteps grew closer.

  They were slow, almost hesitant, and even before he appeared in the doorway, I knew it was her father.

  I’d seen pictures of Dr. Summers at Rowan’s house, but the person who stood in front of me now looked like a remnant of that man. He was thinner, his face almost gaunt, and there were bags under his eyes, which seemed blank as they took in the room. His hair was more white than gray now, and the wrinkles on his face looked like canyons of sorrow, as if they’d been etched there by the hand of Death himself.

  “Dad.” Rowan didn’t rush to greet him. She didn’t even move. “This is my friend, Kiaya.”

  Her father’s gaze moved to me, but it seemed as if he wasn
’t really seeing me. “Kiaya.”

  There was nothing natural about the sound of my name on his lips, almost like a recording rather than something a man had said.

  “Nice to meet you, Dr. Summers.”

  He didn’t react.

  A silence followed that stretched on until I finally cleared my throat. “I’m going to step out. Let you guys talk in private.”

  Rowan turned her wide eyes on me, looking torn by the idea of being alone with her dad. She didn’t ask me to stay, though, so I moved for the door, practically having to squeeze by her dad when he didn’t move. Rowan hadn’t been exaggerating. Whatever had happened to this man had killed him, had wiped away the person he’d been and left nothing but a shell behind. I wasn’t sure if it was fixable, either.

  The conversation would be a short one, I was sure, so I slid to the floor just outside the room, not wanting to go far. Rowan was going to need my support. As sensitive as she was, this was going to feel like a knife to her heart. It felt like that to me, and I wasn’t half as emotional as she was.

  The scrape of footsteps told me Rowan’s dad had moved into the room, but he didn’t make it far before stopping. There was a pause, then he said, “You’re okay?”

  There was no inflection in his voice.

  “Why didn’t you come earlier?”

  Of course, Rowan would answer the question with one of her own.

  “I told you I was busy,” he said. “I have responsibilities, Rowan.”

  “I’m your responsibility. Your daughter. That’s me.”

  There was a sigh, but like when he’d asked Rowan if she was okay, there was no real emotion in if. “You’re an adult now. It’s time for you to start acting like one.”

  “You mean traveling across the country and fighting the dead to make it home? Is that what an adult does? Because I did that. I came all the way here to be with my family, but Mom is dead, and you’re—” She paused. “I don’t know!”

  “I’m a doctor who has patients.” Something scraped against the floor. Was he leaving already? “You’re being selfish and unreasonable.”

  “No, I’m frustrated and hurt because my father acts like he doesn’t care about me anymore!”

  “I care.” His flat tone contradicted the statement.