"I could run." Sounded like a good plan to Lex. "Just get me some clothes and I'm out of here."
"And how far do you think you'd get in your condition? You still have a fractured wrist, numerous bruises and contusions, and a concussion. You need to be under medical supervision, not running the streets."
Tears sprang to Lex's eyes as he slumped back against the pillows. "He's going to kill me."
Dr. Green patted his arm. "Not if I can help it. My brother might not have been able to save Paul, but I'm damn sure going to do everything within my power to save you."
"I appreciate that, Doc, but I'm not sure what you can do. It feels like this psycho has all the power."
"Has all the power…" A frown pulled the doctor's eyebrows together. He started for the door. "I'll be right back. I need to look into something. If anyone comes in, just pretend to be asleep."
"But…" Lex fell silent as he watched the doctor hurry out of the room. It was almost nine o'clock. They didn't have very long to figure out a plan. Visiting hours started in an hour. As the doctor said, Carson would probably start roaming the halls before then. Lex's window of opportunity to escape was quickly closing.
If he didn't get out of here soon, he was a dead man.
Chapter Eight
Tony frowned as he stared down at the screen on his cell phone. That was the second time someone had called his cell phone without leaving a message. The caller ID read private number, which meant he couldn't call them back to see what they wanted, or even who they were.
It was very frustrating.
He probably shouldn't play his music so loud when he was working on a car. He'd have a better chance of hearing his phone when it rang. Forgetting to charge it until the battery went dead wasn't helping either.
He poured himself a cup of coffee then sat down behind his desk. The shop didn't open for another hour, and he had a bit of paperwork to do, invoices and ordering supplies, and such, but he wanted to check in on Lex first. He hadn't heard from the guy in a couple of days, and that wasn't normal. They usually talked or texted at least once a day.
Tony dialed Lex's cell then waited for the man to answer. When it went to voicemail, he left a message, telling Lex to call him when he had a chance. He'd try again later.
After hanging up, Tony plugged his cell phone in so he could be sure it was charged then he got to work. He loved owning his own mechanic shop, working on vehicles, and rebuilding motors. He hated the paperwork, and there always seemed to be so much of it.
He used every bit of the hour before the shop opened to get through the stack of invoices on his desk. He didn't even get to ordering the new car parts he needed, which meant he'd have to stay late tonight to do it. No car parts, no car repair.
Once nine o'clock rolled around, Tony set the paperwork aside, turned on the open sign, then got to work on the repairs he needed to make today. He only had a couple of car repairs to complete, which should just take a couple of hours.
Unless something else came in, he'd spend the rest of his time on the 1955 Chevy Station Wagon he was restoring. He knew most classic car people tended to go for hot rods and such, but he wanted a station wagon, so when he eventually had a family, he could still drive them around in style.
He'd found the Chevy in a junkyard, rusted and dented, missing so many parts, he practically had to start from scratch to restore it. He'd been working on it a little at a time for over four years. It was his baby, but he was ready for it to be done.
They day seemed to go pretty okay. Tony finished up his two repair jobs, then had a third show up before he could start on the restoration of the Chevy. By the time he got done with the third car, he only had an hour left before the shop closed. Instead of working on the Chevy, he used that time to put in his orders for car parts. It meant he got to go home on time.
Tony made sure he had his cell phone on him, shut off the open sign, then walked around and checked all the locks. Cade Creek was a good place to live, and most of the citizens were honest, hard-working people, but there were always one or two who stepped across the line. Tony wasn't about to let his shop be easy pickings.
After locking everything up, Tony climbed the stairs to his loft apartment. He'd lived there when the place was owned by Brody and chose to continue to live there after he bought the place. It meant he didn't have to pay rent, and he could make higher payments to Brody. Hopefully, he'd get the place paid off quicker.
Tony chuckled as he headed directly for the shower, remembering Lex's hatred of grease and gunk and anything that would stain his silk shirts. He'd flip if he actually saw how dirty Tony got on occasion.
He stripped his work overalls off and tossed them into the work hamper then stripped off his normal clothes and tossed them into the regular hamper. He knew not to wash them at the same time. He'd learned that lesson a long time ago. He didn't even use the same washing machine. He had one set up in the shop just for shop rags and work overalls.
Tony took a quick shower, something he did every day after work to get rid of the sweat and grime that built up over the day. After drying off, he grabbed a pair of lounge pants out of his dresser and pulled them on. They were soft and loose, hanging low on his hips.
He padded into his kitchen and opened the fridge, grabbing a beer. He wasn't much of a drinker, but he enjoyed a cold beer at the end of the day. Just not every day.
He took a long swig of his beer then stared into his fridge and tried to figure out what he was going to have for dinner. He had planned to marinate a couple of steaks, but he'd slept through his alarm this morning and had to hurry to get to work on time.
"Man, I wish someone delivered in this town." Cade Creek just wasn't big enough.
He so wasn't looking forward to cooking something for dinner, and he didn't want to get dressed. That did not leave him a lot of options.
He made a couple of sandwiches then went to sit in front of the television while he ate. If he was lucky, he might be able to catch one of his favorite car shows before he had to go to bed.
