Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Deep growl. “It’s lucky you’re funny. What do you want?”
“I wanna know where you are,” Kola answered, waggling his eyebrows at me.
“Well, I would’ve been home on time, but we had an emergency with an FBI fugitive, and when that was finally done and I got in the car, there’s a fire downtown in one of those old warehouses the city is tearing down, and the traffic had to be diverted. I’m still sitting in it.”
“Okay, then we’ll see ya as soon as you get here.”
“Is your father there?”
“I’m here,” I chimed in. “I’m glad you’re on your way home.”
“It’s a stupid day, but you know I love you, right?”
“Yes, dear, I know.”
He grunted.
“See you soon. Dinner is here waiting.”
“Looking forward to it,” Sam rumbled and then hung up.
Seconds later, my phone rang. It was a number I didn’t know, but local, not from a place that wanted to talk to me about an extended service warranty for my car. I put it on speaker.
“Hello?”
“May I speak with Jory Harcourt, please?”
“This is he.”
“Oh, Mr. Harcourt, this is Lieutenant Duffy with the Chicago Fire Department. Are you Hannah Kage’s father?”
Kola caught his breath, and with that, my heart dropped to my stomach. “Yes.”
“Sir, she was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for smoke inhalation, as well as, I suspect, a broken arm. She should be in the ER when you arrive.”
“But she’s fine?” I asked shakily.
“Yessir, she’s good,” he told me. “And may I say, you have a very brave daughter there who was a rock under pressure. She’s very impressive.”
“Thank you.”
“She saved a lot of people, and that boyfriend of hers was right there when she needed him the most.”
Boyfriend? “Thank you.”
“If she ever decides she wants to join the department, you have her give me a call.”
“Yessir,” I said, and he hung up.
Kola already had his car keys in his hand and was standing by the back door waiting for me while on the phone with his father. I was ready to go in seconds.
When we finally made it to the hospital and the zoo that the emergency room was, finding Hannah was impossible until a nurse asked who we were looking for.
“I heard that girl of yours saved not only her friends, but lots of other people as well.”
“That would be her,” Kola told the nurse.
She grimaced then.
“Ma’am?” I asked, because I’d caught the face she made even as we were moving. “Is everything all right?”
“It’s fine, she’s going to be okay, but I will tell you that she’s in shock. I’ve never had anyone not make a peep between X-rays and the rest of the exam. She’s answering yes-and-no questions, but if it wasn’t for that sweet boyfriend of hers, I wouldn’t even know her name.”
When we reached her, surprisingly, we found Jake standing beside her as she sat on the bed, which answered the question of who the boyfriend was. He was holding her hand and speaking softly to her. It was strange that she didn’t spark to life, and from the glazed look in her eyes, I wasn’t even certain she recognized us.
“Hey, B,” Kola murmured, hand in her hair, curling a stray piece around her ear. “You doin’ all right?”
She tried to give him a smile, but all she managed was a grimace.
“Love,” I said gently, and as soon as I was beside her, she bumped her head onto my shoulder and shuddered. She didn’t cry, didn’t make a sound, but immediately let go of Jake’s hand and took hold of mine. I looked to Jake for answers.
“So we ended up at the same party,” Jake began with a groan. “How funny is that?”
“It’s a riot,” I assured him.
They both appeared to have rolled around in soot. Hannah’s right arm was in a cast in a sling, her sweater was ripped, and her sneakers looked like she’d been standing in sludge. They were goners; there was no saving them. Jake’s clothes were in much the same shape. In addition, there was a cut over his right eye that had been taped up, and his left arm was bandaged.
Apparently, it was a rave. There was a DJ, very loud music, lots of alcohol and drugs, and it was a great time up until one of the generators caught fire. Because the building was condemned, there was no electricity, so many old generators had been brought in to make the magic happen. One went from sitting there to being a fireball in moments, and as there was trash everywhere, cardboard, paper and everything else flammable, it was all ablaze in a matter of minutes. The issue was also that most of the marked exits were sealed up or buried in rubble, and so everyone tried to go back out with people still trying to come in, clogging the exit, unaware of the danger. That was when the panic set in.