Page 25 of In Hiding

“I’m Julie, Magnus’s wife. We met this morning.”

Putting a name to the face helped. “Can Will ride along?”

She gave him a reassuring smile but shook her head. “You can follow us to the hospital. She’ll need emergency surgery.”

“Let’s go,” insisted Julie’s partner. “Now.”

With a nod, Julie closed the rear doors of the ambulance. She looked at Jake then toward the house. On the veranda, Will stood, a picture of devastation. In his wet clothes with his hands covered in blood, he hugged himself and shook his head.

“Dry off and change,” Julie instructed. “Both of you. Then come to the hospital.”

About to protest, Jake saw the wisdom of her words. Neither he nor the boy were any help to them. Getting to the hospital with the ambulance served no purpose. Accepting her words, he sighed and nodded. Will ran toward them.

“Her blood type is O negative,” he cried. “She has no spleen. She can’t die.”

Julie took the boy by the shoulders and met his eyes. “Thank you for the information. She’s in good hands, Will. Change into clean clothes and then you both come to the hospital.”

He sniffed. “Her name is Sarah Andersen. She’s my mother.”

“We’ll take good care of her.”

Jake took the boy by the shoulder and pulled him aside so the ambulance could turn around and go. He followed Will up to the veranda.

“Go and change. Can you pack some of your mum’s clothes for her to wear at the hospital?”

The kid nodded.

“She’ll be alright.”

“You don’t know that!” The explosion of fury sent Jake back a step. “She almost died before. Her body can’t take it, not after what he did. I didn’t mean to make her fall.”

The terror in the young man’s eyes struck Jake deep in his gut. “Of course, you didn’t. It was an accident.”

“I need to be more careful with her.” His shoulders sagged in defeat and the tears flowed freely. “I’m such a screw up.”

“No.” Shaking his head, Jake stepped toward him. “She doesn’t think that, and neither should you.”

“I couldn’t help her last time, and today was the same.”

Unsure what else to say, Jake stepped closer and opened his arms. Will threw himself against Jake and sobbed. Holding the kid with all his strength, his heart broke for the torture he’d lived through. It was evident he hadn’t confronted the past. He probably didn’t know how—a feeling Jake understood all too well.

“Come on,” he patted the kid on the shoulder, noting the smears of blood on his clothes. “We need to get it together. Clean up and put on some dry clothes. Pack her a bag. We leave in twenty.”

Sucking in a breath, Will stepped back, and nodded. “Twenty minutes.”

They were away in ten, hurtling through the heavy rain down the mountain toward Wills Crossing. Will directed him toward the hospital and Jake did his best to stay under the speed limit, but every fiber of his being urged him to floor it.

The fading light of the early evening cast a gloomy mood over the cab of the ute he had on loan from Magnus. A glance over at Will didn’t help. The kid was beyond distraught. Wracked by guilt, he stared out through the windshield with his jaw clenched so hard Jake worried he’d break a tooth.

At the hospital, he’d barely parked the vehicle before Will was gone. The quiet was broken only but the rain hitting the roof. Jake sighed and shut off the engine. He ran a hand through his wet hair and dared to think what Erik would say about this turn of events. Nah. Not now. He grabbed Sarah’s bag of clothes and pushed open the door. The relentless rain pummeled him on his way into the emergency department. Between it and the plummeting temperature, he felt a sense of dread roll through him.

At the reception desk, Julie stood with a nurse who accepted Sarah’s bag. “She’s in surgery. It’s going to be a while.”

The nurse handed him a clipboard with a form and pen. “We need some details.”

“I’ll do my best,” he offered. “I’ve only known her three days.”

Julie smiled. “Whatever you can give is fine. Can I call Magnus for you?”

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