Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 75193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
The hospital had been on divert for well over a week, and the community was in chaos without its ER.
The other floors of the hospital had been affected as well, but none anywhere near as bad as the ER had.
I looked at my phone, smiling this time when it alerted me about the party I’d planned for my brother.
I’d canceled it, of course, for obvious reasons.
But the idea of my brother realizing that I’d thrown one was funny, to say the least.
He hated parties.
He hated surprises even more.
And the image of the look on his face had the first genuine smile splitting mine in well over two weeks.
Sighing with exhaustion, I fell back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
It had brown stains on it.
Grimacing, I rolled to my side and stared out the window.
It overlooked a bayou, and about forty yards away was an alligator sunning himself on a log laying along the opposite bank.
Shivering, I rolled over once more to face the opposite wall.
The mirror on it showed my pitiful state.
I was a mess.
My eyes had bags under them, and I looked terrible.
***
The next week went off without a hitch.
I started working, this time with a bunch of people who I liked and who liked me back, and I never felt one ounce of frustration.
It wasn’t like high school where there were certain cliques that liked me and some that didn’t.
Everyone liked everyone else.
There wasn’t an ounce of turmoil.
We ran like a well-oiled machine, and I found that I really liked working this way.
If only everything was meant to be.
If only…
Chapter 13
The face you make before you sneeze. Yeah, nobody’s is pretty.
-Freya’s secret thoughts
Ridley
My first day back at work was back to the same old business.
I had a shit ton of work to catch up on, and my boss had a look of absolute glee on his face when I walked through the doors.
“What are you smiling about?” I growled, frustrated after a long night of little to no sleep.
“I’m glad you’re back,” he said, his eyes lit up with happiness.
He never looked happy. In fact, he reminded me more of a rabid badger at the best of times. To see him actually smiling meant he either had a really bad time without me and was glad I was back, or he had made a major bust.
I was betting on the former, seeing as I hadn’t heard about any busts in the paper.
“Got a huge bust,” he said, surprising me. “And I’m glad you’re back. The past two months have been fuckin’ shit.” Not surprising.
“What was the bust for?” I asked.
“Your crew’s been working with Randall and Leffron since you left, and they’ve uncovered a whole slew of charges from racketeering to prostitution. We’ve got nearly everyone but three of the main crew. Broke up the ‘try outs’ that were being held, and anyone with a patch on their back connecting them to the Collers was arrested. We have about ten of them in the hold still,” he said, standing up and adjusting his gun belt. “And I’m leaving for three days. This place is making my head hurt.”
I blinked, surprised.
“Okay,” I said. “You’re leaving it to Leffron then?”
It was a hopeful question, but I knew just by the look on the sheriff’s face that it wasn’t going to happen.
“You know me better than that,” he said. “Don’t call me unless you get shot.”
“What about if someone else gets shot?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Write the report and let the Texas Rangers handle it.”
Then he was gone without another word, leaving me with nothing to do but figure out just how much I missed the last few months.
***
By lunchtime, two weeks later, I was fairly caught up on the comings and goings of the department since I’d been gone.
It didn’t help that during that time my sister had had two more episodes, and I’d been needed to watch Emily all night long for two nights straight each time.
Apple had been called in by the National Guard for his mandatory two weeks of training that happened twice a year, and Kitt was left alone with Emily.
Which, in turn, meant that while Kitt slept off her episodes for eighteen hours, I was the only one left to care for Emily.
Luckily, he was now back and feeling terrible for having to leave them, giving me the chance to catch up on what was left of my paperwork.
I glanced at my phone again, brows furrowing when I saw that I still hadn’t gotten any more messages from Freya, but was distracted by the radio squawking at my side.
I gathered my things, about to head to lunch, when what was being said on the radio finally caught my attention.
“Medics needed at the intersection of 805 and 43. Late model grey sedan with serious injuries. Two medics needed.”