Page 108 of Elusion

Pete and I repeat.

Looking at Trey’s eye, the doctor squints. “You should get a stitch or two in that.”

“Maybe.” Nothing about Trey’s answer indicates he will.

He gives a nod and heads down the hall. “A nurse will be out shortly to take one of you back.”

All of us blow out a synchronized exhale. Instead of the shallow breaths sustaining me since my parents’ house, the air refills my lungs, and I breathe easier.

Shit. Connor.

“Can her brother see her, too?” I call down the hall.

The doctor spins but keeps backing up. “How old is he?”

“Fifteen.”

His head tilts side to side while he deliberates. “That should be fine, but someone should accompany him.” He turns in time to swipe his badge and pushes through a set of double doors.

I follow the other two into the waiting room. Cate looks up from the floor where she’s coloring and sticks her tongue out at me before returning to her masterpiece. Whatever Connor told her to calm her down has worked wonders—or she’s forgotten what scared her in the first place.

Wait.My head jerks around the room. “Where’s Connor?”

Pete glances up from the stack of magazines he was sifting through. “He went to use the phone charger in my truck.”

I drop into the chair next to him and massage my forehead with the heels of my hands. Tension there, across my shoulders, and in my neck persists but scarcely registers at this point. I consider the tight muscles my new state of being for at least the next several hours, if not longer. Maybe Cate will jump around on my back if I ask.

A nurse walks in, and I shoot out of my chair. Already standing, Trey beats me to her.

Her eyes dart back and forth between us. “Who’s going first?”

By the look on Trey’s face, I know he plans on pulling rank. He clears his throat to make sure I pay attention to the hand slowly moving to rest on his gun. A dick move, but I don’t blame him for using it to his advantage in this situation.

“Whatever. I’ll take Connor with me then.”

A strategic move. The kid’s sanity depends on seeing Callie as much as mine does. Once in her room, he’ll help me devise a plan so they can’t make us leave. Maybe after we barricade ourselves in, he will tell me what the hell happened.

Trey glances back with a smirk as he follows the nurse. I flip him off.

Ten minutes. I only need to wait ten more minutes. To keep from pacing, I go to bring Connor in from Pete’s truck. The last few hours have been absolute torment, but the fresh night air helps lessen my anxiety. All signs point to Callie waking up. That thought alone almost makes me smile. Cate and Connor have calmed down and are safe. According to Trey, Graham is rotting in a jail cell where he belongs. As crazy as it sounds, at the end of all this, everyone will be all right.

It’s a nice thought but short-lived.

I stand in the now-empty parking spot next to my Jeep.

Pete’s truck is nowhere in sight.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.

My thoughts stay rather consistent the entire way back to the waiting room.

“He’s gone,” I say, charging through the door. “Connor’s fucking gone.”

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