Page 124 of Fracture

“And then we’ll leave?” Her voice is small and hopeful. It shatters my heart.

“Yes. We’ll get out of here.”

The door swings open, and Levi steps into the room. The scowl on his face is instantly replaced by a smile as his eyes land on Stella and me.

“Hey, baby girl,” he says, perching on the other side of the bed. “How’re you feeling?”

“Better.” She lifts her head and turns in my arms to look at Levi, reaching out a hand to him. “A little sore.”

“The doctors said you’re a real fighter.” Levi takes her hand in his, raising it to his lips. “Like I didn’t already know that.”

Stella sniffles and laughs softly. “Yeah well, I’ve dealt with worse.”

Levi’s eyes flash to mine for a split second, and he sighs.

“Dylan said we can leave,” Stella goes on, shuffling a little closer to Levi as he puts an arm around her shoulders. “We’re going to go, the three of us. Right?” She looks at me, her eyes brightening a little.

I smile and nod. “That’s right. We’re going to get the fuck out of here, and we’re going to be so happy.”

“Sounds good to me.” Levi kisses Stella’s temple. “Anywhere you want to go, you name it.”

“Hmmm, good.” She nuzzles into the crook of his neck, eyes fluttering closed. “We can start looking at places soon, then.”

“Yes, we can.” Levi’s jaw feathers slightly, and I’m relieved Stella can’t see it.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I excuse myself to the hallway to answer it.

“Thanks to you, my shitty basement got a full upgrade,” Flea says down the line, hacking out a laugh.

“Glad you’re happy, man.”

“You wanted a schedule, I got you one.” Keys tap in the background, and Flea coughs loudly so I jerk the phone away from my ear. “Sorry, I got a cold.”

“No problem, those summer colds are vicious.”

“OK, so, Perlmann-Langford schedule shows they’re having dinner tomorrow night.” Flea’s chair creaks audibly, and he sniffles. “They will be convening at the Fenton family home, 7pm sharp.”

“Great, I appreciate it.”

“Yeah, no problem.”

I move the phone from my ear to hang up, but hear Flea’s “Aht-aht-aht” over the line, and raise the phone back.

“What?”

“You OK, man? You seem stressed.”

“I-I’m in the hospital, with someone I care about.”

Flea sucks on his teeth. “Sorry to hear that. I just wanted you to know that Oswald has been in touch with someone. A Michael Gray, ex-Marine. It would appear he’s hired muscle.”

“Of course he has.” I grunt out a laugh. “Thanks for letting me know.”

“Listen, I don’t usually give a fuck, whatever you do, you do. “ Flea’s voice changes tenor, and it’s unsettling to hear anything like concern coming from him. “This guy, this Michael Gray, he got a dishonorable discharge for war crimes. He didn’t go to prison because Oswald stepped in and pulled some senatorial bullshit.”

“War crimes?”

“This guy is a psycho.” Flea’s voice drops to an almost whisper. “He killed women and kids, man. With zero remorse. Just opened up on ‘em. This guy doesn’t have a conscience. Just… Be careful, OK?”

---