harder,” I said, goading him for fun. “The Boeing facility in Everett has whole planes, great big ones, inside. It’s probably even better. You should take a tour.”
“I’ll remember that for next time,” Van said, grinning.
I think he liked me.
If Cliff and Jim were expecting an exuberant greeting from Huff, they were sorely disappointed. He was nowhere in sight. And believe me, it was obvious everyone was looking for him.
“Someone’s missing,” War said, suddenly realizing the group was small.
“Huff didn’t show up for the bus,” I said.
War didn’t look happy. “No one’s seen him?”
We all shook our heads.
War wrinkled his brow in consternation and excused himself to call Huff’s cell and then the hotel.
“We already tried that. No answer,” Steve called after him.
War simply waved him off. He returned a few minutes later. “If anybody hears from H, let me know immediately.” Then he launched right into the program, giving a brief overview of the day ahead.
Boiled down to its essence, the day was equipment issue—helmets, body armor, radio, pistol, ammo, and MP-5 submachine gun. Instruction on handling the equipment. Lunch. Weapons firing and classes. Bus ride back to the hotel. Free time. And a whole lot of eager anticipation and speculation about Huff. Not that War mentioned that.
I’d been fitted for my body armor and helmet and was feeling a bit like Bat Girl, cool, black, and invincible, when my cell phone played “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” from my pocket.
War shot me a dirty look.
I shrugged. “Guess I should have remembered to put it on vibrate.”
His glare didn’t stop me from stepping away from the group and answering it. “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” meant a call from one of the group of girlfriends I used to hang with at Ket’s gym back in the day. We’d been a tight group. We kept in touch.
I looked at my screen. Julie White. Hadn’t heard from her in a while. It figured she’d catch me at a bad time.
“Jules, hey! It’s been a long time—”
“He’s out,” Julie said, no preamble necessary. The fear in her voice told me who.
“What?” My suddenly hammering heart must have interfered with my normally wicked hearing. I clutched the phone until my knuckles went white, trying to maintain control over something.
“Ket’s out.” Julie sounded worried and incredibly apologetic, like, hey don’t shoot the messenger. “I just hung up with him.”
I cursed under my breath.
“Rei, I’m worried,” Julie said. “He sounded, you know…charmingly pissed. Like he was just calling to chat and catch up, find out who you’d been seeing—”
“Out? How in the world did he get out? Did he finally talk?”
“Some kind of legal snafu,” Julie said, trying to sound calming. “I’d just heard it on the local news and was going to call you when he called me. The court didn’t confirm the contempt order within the required number of days after jailing him.”
I cursed inept court officials under my breath, hoping it would make me feel brave and tough.
“If the court affirms the contempt order, they can still throw Ket back in.” Julie’s voice wavered, giving away her optimism as false.
“If they can find him.” I balled my fists, feeling like hitting something and crying at the same time. I’d hoped he’d rot in jail until his anabolic steroid use sent him to an early grave. Shot his liver or ruined his heart like prolonged use was supposed to do.
“He asked me to deliver a message to you,” Julie said softly, timidly.
My mouth went dry. The clever jerk. If he could somehow find out my new cell number, he knew I’d never pick up his call. “Oh, he did, did he?”
Julie hesitated. “He said he loves you. That he knows you love him, too—”
“I don’t love Ket! I hate him. Hate him with every fiber of my being.” I took a deep breath, trying to calm the trembles that had come over me. “I wish I didn’t. Really.
“I’ll remember that for next time,” Van said, grinning.
I think he liked me.
If Cliff and Jim were expecting an exuberant greeting from Huff, they were sorely disappointed. He was nowhere in sight. And believe me, it was obvious everyone was looking for him.
“Someone’s missing,” War said, suddenly realizing the group was small.
“Huff didn’t show up for the bus,” I said.
War didn’t look happy. “No one’s seen him?”
We all shook our heads.
War wrinkled his brow in consternation and excused himself to call Huff’s cell and then the hotel.
“We already tried that. No answer,” Steve called after him.
War simply waved him off. He returned a few minutes later. “If anybody hears from H, let me know immediately.” Then he launched right into the program, giving a brief overview of the day ahead.
Boiled down to its essence, the day was equipment issue—helmets, body armor, radio, pistol, ammo, and MP-5 submachine gun. Instruction on handling the equipment. Lunch. Weapons firing and classes. Bus ride back to the hotel. Free time. And a whole lot of eager anticipation and speculation about Huff. Not that War mentioned that.
I’d been fitted for my body armor and helmet and was feeling a bit like Bat Girl, cool, black, and invincible, when my cell phone played “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” from my pocket.
War shot me a dirty look.
I shrugged. “Guess I should have remembered to put it on vibrate.”
His glare didn’t stop me from stepping away from the group and answering it. “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” meant a call from one of the group of girlfriends I used to hang with at Ket’s gym back in the day. We’d been a tight group. We kept in touch.
I looked at my screen. Julie White. Hadn’t heard from her in a while. It figured she’d catch me at a bad time.
“Jules, hey! It’s been a long time—”
“He’s out,” Julie said, no preamble necessary. The fear in her voice told me who.
“What?” My suddenly hammering heart must have interfered with my normally wicked hearing. I clutched the phone until my knuckles went white, trying to maintain control over something.
“Ket’s out.” Julie sounded worried and incredibly apologetic, like, hey don’t shoot the messenger. “I just hung up with him.”
I cursed under my breath.
“Rei, I’m worried,” Julie said. “He sounded, you know…charmingly pissed. Like he was just calling to chat and catch up, find out who you’d been seeing—”
“Out? How in the world did he get out? Did he finally talk?”
“Some kind of legal snafu,” Julie said, trying to sound calming. “I’d just heard it on the local news and was going to call you when he called me. The court didn’t confirm the contempt order within the required number of days after jailing him.”
I cursed inept court officials under my breath, hoping it would make me feel brave and tough.
“If the court affirms the contempt order, they can still throw Ket back in.” Julie’s voice wavered, giving away her optimism as false.
“If they can find him.” I balled my fists, feeling like hitting something and crying at the same time. I’d hoped he’d rot in jail until his anabolic steroid use sent him to an early grave. Shot his liver or ruined his heart like prolonged use was supposed to do.
“He asked me to deliver a message to you,” Julie said softly, timidly.
My mouth went dry. The clever jerk. If he could somehow find out my new cell number, he knew I’d never pick up his call. “Oh, he did, did he?”
Julie hesitated. “He said he loves you. That he knows you love him, too—”
“I don’t love Ket! I hate him. Hate him with every fiber of my being.” I took a deep breath, trying to calm the trembles that had come over me. “I wish I didn’t. Really.
Similar Books
