Page 5 of Until Tomorrow Comes
“Yes,” I say, cutting him off.
He chuckles, but it sounds weak and half-assed, definitely not like the Alan I know.
Alan is the type of guy who could lighten any situation with a laugh, and is always fun to be around. And while he could occasionally be a bit crazy, he is also a genuinely good person.
Which tells me something must be seriously wrong if he isn’t cracking jokes to get whatever favor he needs.
“While I appreciate the lack of hesitation, I need you to actually listen to me before saying yes.”
The steady beeping of the monitor in the background grows slightly louder.
“It’s…it’sKat,” Alan’s voice cracks.
Shit.
I close my eyes, letting out a long exhale. Alan’s sister means the world to him. Hell, she meant a lot to our entire unit while overseas and she probably didn’t even know it.
Kat knew us all by name and would send each of us personalized care packages every month. And while I’ve never met her in person, I’ve chatted with her a few times when she would video call with Alan.
The two of them always made sure that we all had reasons to smile.
At leastbeforeshe met her husband and got married anyway.
Al didn’t take the news of a guy in his sister’s life, let alone her marriage to the prick, very well. Last I heard, there had been some big family blow up, and he hadn’t seen her for a while.
Instinct suddenly takes over.
“Status?”
“Broken ribs. Two broken fingers, a hell of a lot of cuts and bruises. Cut next to her eye needed six stitches, and the one on her hip needed twelve,” he says, the frustration evident in his voice. “They’re waiting for her to wake up before they go over everything else.”
“Any major internal damage?” I question.
“Aside from the broken ribs?” He takes a deep breath, “Not that they’ll disclose. Damn HIPAA laws.”
“How long has she been out?”
Another sigh.
“Eleven hours. She woke briefly when I found her, and once more when we got to the hospital, but they gave her some pain meds that knocked her out.”
“Who?” I ask, already knowing the answer.
“Her husband.” He growls.
“In custody?”
“Fucker hasn’t been seen since last night.”
I’ve only seen Al angry once before. Maybe twice. Normally, he’s the one to de-escalate a situation and respond calmly. But in this rare form of anger, I know Al has tunnel vision and my fear is he might do whatever he deems “necessary” without thinking things through.
“What can I do?” I question while pacing back to the kitchen island.
He’s quiet for a minute before finally answering, his voice quiet but determined.
“I need to get her out of here. Somewhere Zack won’t find her while I clear this shit up and make sure he’s taken care of.”
I raise an eyebrow at his statement.
