“I’ll go get some answers.” Callie sat next to her as Jack stormed off.
Jian stood, then bowed low. “You have family now. Here’s my number if you need me.” Handing her a card, he bowed again then left.
She was about to tell him she had his number in her phone, but then remembered Stokinger had taken it. Reaching for her hand, Callie moved closer and kissed her cheek.
“Do you want to talk aboutwhat happened?”
That was Callie. Always a good friend and supportive, but never overbearing. No wonder Jack loved her so much.
“Where’s Jonathan?”
“Believe it or not,” Callie said with a grin, “your sister came over to stay with him. He wasn’t awake yet.”
“Charlotte was up this early? My sister, Charlotte?”
“She was up once I called her. And she wants to know what’s going on as soon as we know anything. She was worried when you didn’t come home last night. She admitted she hoped it was because you were with Scott.”
“I was.” Her lip trembled and she bit it to keep it steady. “But we weren’t doing what she thinks we were.” Telling Callie about Stokinger and what had happened helped build her strength and keep her mind off the lack of information on Scott. Finally, Jack strode across the room, purpose in his step.
“They’re prepping him for surgery. He’s got some internal bleeding that needs to be stopped. They said there’s a separate waiting room forthat. Come on.”
Helping Callie up first, Jack then held his hand out for her. She fell against him and his arms enveloped her. “He’s tough. He’ll make it, Heather.”
She couldn’t do more than nod as she followed him to the new waiting room. It was smaller and more comfortable than the big Emergency Room. One and only one other person sat therereading a book.
“Did they say how long it would take? What his chances were? Is he really going to be fine, or is he on the verge of death? I need to know so I can prepare myself.” She glanced at Callie. “You know how I like things plannedand organized.”
Jack slipped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. Oh, so not good. He was preparing her for the “Scott’s about to die” speech. She didn’t want that one. She wanted the “it’s just a routine procedure and won’t take longat all” speech.
“The doctor said he wouldn’t know until they got inside and took a look. He’s got a few possible fractures and a concussion. But he’s young and healthy and there isn’t any reason he shouldn’tpull through.”
“You’re quoting directly from the doctor, aren’t you? Soundstoo practiced.”
“I’m not all that good with words. I need to borrow themoccasionally.”
They sat in companionable silence and she rested her head against the back of the chair, closing her eyes, but refusing to sleep. She needed to stay alert for when Scott cameout of surgery.
The sound of deep voices woke her. Had she fallen asleep? How could she do that with Scott under the knife?
“Did Stokinger confess once they arrested him?” Jack was asking Drew. When had Drew gotten here? Glancing at the clock, she saw it was after eight. Damn, she’d been tired.
“You got the judge?” she questioned, her nerves shot to hell. That man could not be allowed to roam free. Not after what he’d done to them. Drew moved to sit next to her. Callie had disappeared.
“They picked him up in Florida about an hour ago. How are you feeling? That was quite an experience you had.”
Ignoring his question, she faced Jack. “Anynews on Scott?”
His negative shake had her curling in on herself, resting her head on her knees. Let them think she was still tired.
Drew patted her shoulder, then spoke to Jack. “Stokinger lawyered up once they got him. I still can’t believe what he did. He was a good friend of my dad’s.”
“He pretended to help Scott so he could savehis own skin.”
“The bodies are being autopsied and they should have dental records to identify them soon.”
“They didn’t all explode? I definitely had a few skeleton parts fly on me when the bomb detonated.” Shivering, she tried to get her mind off that gruesome detail.
“Most of the skulls werestill intact.”
