Page 82 of Fought and Freed

She dug it out of her bag and saw Cody’s name on the caller ID.

“Cody?” Jace questioned.

“Yep.” Maddy hit answer. “Hi, Cody, what’s up?”

“Where are you?” he demanded. “Why aren’t you home already?”

“Relax, Cody, you’ll have a heart attack before you’re thirty if you keep worrying about me like this.” She shifted in her seat to get comfortable. “Jace took me to get my driver’s permit, then I drove around an empty parking lot for a while.”

“I can’t relax, not with that asshole still out there.” Tension filled Cody’s voice. “And I wasn’t calling just because I was worried. Grant is here, and he looks like he got jumped.”

“Oh, no.” Maddy stiffened with alarm. “We’re on our way. See you soon.”

“What’s wrong?” Jace asked when she hung up.

Worry filled Maddy. “Grant is at the house, and Cody said he looked like he got beat up.”

“Shit, that’s not good.” Jace sped up. “Don’t worry, baby girl. I’m sure he’s fine.”

What the Hell was Grant up to that got him beat up? And had Maddy given him her address? She couldn’t remember. Suspicion rose, but she pushed it down. This was sweet, innocent Grant, not Mike.

Mike had seriously screwed with her head. She didn’t think she’d ever trust anyone fully ever again. If Grant was hurt, why didn’t he call her?

Jace pulled into their driveway and turned off the Jeep.

Maddy hopped out and ran around to where Jace waited for her. He took her hand and squeezed it, giving her some reassurance.

When they entered the house, voices came from the living room.

She entered, and Cody stood from the couch, heading toward her.

He pulled her into a hug. “Congratulations on passing your driver’s permit, little one. How did the rest of your tests go?”

“Good.” She tried to drum up the enthusiasm from earlier but failed. “I should find out before the end of the week.”

Stepping out of Cody’s arms, she walked over to the couch where Grant sat. His face was a mix of purple and yellow, and his left eye was swollen. His left arm was crossed protectively over his ribs.

“Hi, Maddy.” He gave her a half smile.

She frowned. “What happened?”

“Got jumped by three guys.” He grimaced. “They took my phone and wallet. Beat the shit out of me.”

Maddy sat on the couch. “I guess that’s why you didn’t call me. When did this happen? When I came back, we stopped at Pathway House. They said you weren’t there, and they wouldn’t give us any information.”

“I got jumped on New Year’s Eve.” He hissed as he moved a bit. “I walked into town to watch the peach or whatever drop. When it was over, I took a shortcut through an alley, and that’s when it happened.”

“It looks like they got you good. How did you get home?” Cody asked.

Grant snorted. “I laid there in pain for a day in that disgusting alley. But I couldn’t miss another night at Pathway, so I crawled back there and didn’t move until about three days ago.”

“Why didn’t you go to the hospital, Grant?” Maddy asked worriedly.

“Gee, Maddy, I don’t know. Maybe money?” Grant said snidely.

“Hey, you don’t need to talk to her that way,” Cody scolded. “She spent our whole vacation worrying about you.”

Grant lowered his head. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I don’t deal well with pain. You remember, Maddy.”

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