Page 67 of Landon (In Safe Hands)
Landon’svoice stops my hysterics. It’s faint and sounds like he has a throat full ofsand, but it’s him. “Okay, Zo, baby. I’m here.”
Keepingmy hands locked together to ward off the temptation of lifting the tarp, I sitbeside his head and run my fingers through his hair, the only part of him I canreach. “I’m here, Landon. Please hold on.”
“Anambulance is on its way, man,” Jeremy adds. “Do you know who did this?”
“HeatherGeorge. Arlen George’s wife and some speed freak. Knocked me out. Tied mehere.”
Myeyes travel to the tree beside us and the thick ropes at the base. They tiedhim to a tree facing the sunrise. Tears begin to pour again. I only got aglimpse of him, but that’s all I needed to see the big picture. They strippedhim to his boxer briefs, and every inch of skin I saw was an angry red color,not from the cold, but the sun. They used his disease against him.
“Getsecurity to watch Colin. She’s crazy. Blames him too. Been following me.”
Mygaze jumps to Dare. “Ethan is with Colin at my house.”
“Callthem. Tell them someone from Striking Back will be there,” an unfamiliar blondman orders. Dare nods at me, and I comply.
Ethananswers the phone and agrees to let the security guy in. “Is Landon okay?” heasks, quietly.
“Yes,but we’ll be at the hospital for a while. Just stay inside and call 911 ifColin’s mom shows up there. No matter what Colin thinks, understand?”
“Yeah,I will.”
Theambulance shows up just as I hang up. The paramedics have been briefed on hiscondition and assure me a light tight room has been arranged once we arrive atthe hospital, and Landon’s dermatologist and immunologist will be there.
Theywon’t let me ride in the ambulance with him, so Dare follows it to thehospital. “Have you ever seen him like this before? How long have you knownhim, anyway?” I fire the second question before he can even answer the first.
“I’veknown Landon since we were kids.” His hand leaves the steering wheel and runsthrough his hair. “And I’ve never seen him like this. He was diagnosed reallyyoung. I don’t think he’s ever been in the sun for more than a minute or so.”It’s clear he’s as worried as I am.
Wearrive at the hospital and Landon is whisked away before I can see him. Dare,Jeremy, and I are lead to a small waiting room, where we’re joined by Justusand Mason Reed. Mason approaches me. “Two of my security guys are at your houseand everything is fine. They’ll stay there until the attackers are caught.”
“Thankyou,” I murmur.
Helooks at Dare. “Alex is going to stay here while I go put some things inmotion. We’ll catch the bitch.”
Afew minutes later, I’m introduced to Alex, Mason’s brother, and another memberof Striking Back. I recognize him as the blond from the lake. “They’ll let yougo to him soon,” he says, speaking in a low tone. I’ve never met this manbefore today, but he sits beside me and takes my hand.
“Howdo you know Landon?”
“He’sdone some hacking for me. I don’t know him well, but my husband, Ian, hasworked with him before.”
Aslim nurse dressed in scrubs steps in and asks for the family of Landon Clark.“I’m his wife,” I lie, getting to my feet. “How is he?”
“Thedoctor is with him now. I can take you to see him.”
Asmuch as I want to run from the room, I glance around at the four men seated andeager for news. “What about them?”
“Familyonly.”
“They’refamily. Brothers,” I argue.
Witha look of disapproval, the nurse replies, “You can visit two at a time.”
Jeremyand Justus both nod at Dare, who joins me on the endless walk down the whitesterile hall. “You can’t touch him,” the nurse cautions.
Allthe way down the hall, I tell myself that I won’t lose it when I see him, nomatter how bad he looks, I’ll be strong for him. Still, tears fill my eyes assoon as I walk into his dimly lit room. A sheet is thrown across his groin,leaving the rest of his body bare. His skin is an angry red, almost purple insome places, and there’s a gash on the right side of his forehead. The whitesof his eyes match his skin, but those eyes land on me as soon as I enter and asmile spreads across his face.
“Zoe.Don’t cry. I’ll be all right. Tell her, Doc.”
Thedoctor who is coating his legs in a thick white cream peeks up at me. “He’llrecover from the burns and dehydration, but you both need to be hypervigilant,especially for the next few months. Any new growth—even a freckle—or any changein current freckles or moles need to be checked out immediately to reduce thechance of skin cancer.”
