Page 378 of A Matter of Time

“No, I won’t.”

“I’m still gonna go now, so⁠—”

“No, just wait for me.”

“I can’t—I mean, what if there’s something there that can help answer the question of who tried to kill Sam? I have to know.”

“So now it’s about Sam instead of Dane?”

“I don’t think the guy’s ever gonna hurt Dane. I think it’s about making Dane suffer, not killing him. He wants to kill me and you and Aja and now Sam… How long are we gonna let this go on, C?”

“C?”

“That’s you, asshole.”

He chuckled. “You’re the only one who likes me this much.”

“Shut up, everybody’s crazy about you, but listen…I’ll call you in, like, an hour when I get inside the house, all right?”

“You are completely deranged, you know that?”

“I do know that.”

“I really think you should wait for me to get there before you go back.”

“I can’t.”

“Fine. Call me in an hour.”

After I hung up with him, I continued driving toward Oak Lawn. Dane’s number flashed across my display a few minutes later, and then the number for the hospital. I answered that call.

“Hello?”

“Jory, where are you?” my brother snapped at me.

“Pretty smart, using the hospital phone. I thought you were Sam.”

“I was hoping you would.”

“Is Sam up?”

“No, he’s still sleeping. All the drama this morning exhausted him. Where are you?”

“I’m running down another lead.”

“Jory!” he barked at me. “Get your ass back here now.”

“If you were in my place and Aja was the one in the hospital, you would be doing whatever you could to keep her safe, so don’t gimme shit about this.”

“Jory, it’s not the same. You’re⁠—”

“Doing spectacularly well? I know. Thank you.”

“Jory, come⁠—”

“I am not a dog, and I won’t be back tonight. Just take care of Sam for me. I’ll call and check in.”

“Jory, what makes you think that the house where you’re going won’t be absolutely swarming with police? Think about it. And they probably have several people waiting just for you to show up. Be logical about this.”