Page 38 of Home Town

“So we’ll know if the person had a key or broke in,” she said, completing his thought.

“Exactly,” he agreed.

“This might actually work,” she said, afraid to let the hope inside her grow.

“It might. But if it doesn’t—” There was warning in his tone.

“I know. We’ll have to tell them.”

He nodded. “But we have a lot to do before then so come on. Let’s get started.”

And with that, it looked like Josie had entered into a deal with the devil. Only at the moment Corey seemed somehow less evil. Just as he had while cuddling the kittens. Just like he had when he’d told his mother he loved her.

Dammit. She hated when she had to change her opinion of something. But there was no doubt, it was getting harder to hate Corey Jacobs.

Chapter Seventeen

Things were still shit in the compass arena, hence the PT shorts and sneakers he’d donned to head out for a run and try and forget it all for a little while.

The manager of the gas station had already left for the day. No surprise, the bored-looking pimply teenager on the night shift didn’t have the authority to grant them access to the security footage so they’d have to go back in the morning.

That meant both Corey and Josie had to cool their heels and just wait. Today, Corey didn’t have the patience to sit around and do nothing.

Physical exertion always cleared his head. So he drove home, changed, told his mother he’d be back in a bit, and took off for a good long run…

And that was part of the problem right now. He didn’t know how long he’d been gone or how many miles he’d covered. All he did know was that the street he was on didn’t look at all familiar.

Racking his brain, he tried to place where he was.

Which base was this?

It took him only a second to know that thought was wrong. To remember he wasn’t in Florida. Wasn’t on any base.

He was home in upstate New York.

But where the hell was he?

Pulse racing, and not from exercise, he spun slowly in a circle, looking for something familiar. Anything that would jog his memory. Give him some indication of where he was and how to get home.

Nothing seemed familiar.

His heart-pounding fear turned into a full-on panic attack. Bad enough that remaining upright seemed beyond his abilities.

He sank to the curb. Hanging his head between his bent knees he gasped for breath.

What would happen if he passed out right there in the street?

Someone would likely see him—eventually—and call the cops. First responders would check the dog tags around his neck and call his mother.

She’d panic and worry about him incessantly. She wouldn’t let him out of her sight for the rest of his time home. No way would she let him use the car to go anywhere?—

He pushed aside a niggling concern that maybe he shouldn’t be driving with this injury and went back to worrying about his mother.

It would be like when he was a teen who’d been grounded all over again. Except this time he didn't trust his body enough to climb onto the roof to sneak out while she was sleeping.

As black spots tinged the edges of his vision and the air seemed to be too thin to breathe as his gasps got faster, he managed to wrestle the cell out of the pocket of his shorts.

He hit the number of the one person he knew wouldn’t baby him. And who would keep his secret… because he was currently keeping hers.

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