Free Torn Apart by Sharon Sala Page A

kid and left him tied to his bed.

    A short while later Newt was sitting on the side of the bed with a sheet wrapped around his torso, waiting for a nurse to return with his meds and instructions. Part of his clothing had been left behind at the lumberyard. The rest of it had been cut off his body when he’d arrived at the hospital. When he got to go home, he was going to be leaving in the sheet.
    Thanks to the shot he’d been given, the pain was easing, and he told himself that this was the worst he was going to feel.
    As he waited, the curtains between his bed and the next suddenly parted on a breeze. He couldn’t see who the patient in the bed was, but he recognized the woman beside it.
    Penny Bates.
    When Penny suddenly stepped aside for an approaching nurse, Newt got his first good look at the patient, then grunted in shock.
    What were the odds that he would wind up in the bed beside the mother of the kid he’d snatched? For a moment he was flooded with both panic and guilt, thinking that if Katie Earle saw him, she would know what he’d done.
    Then he took a closer look. There was blood all over her clothes, and she was covered in tiny scratches. When he got to her face, he suddenly shuddered. Except for the fact that her eyes were open, he might have thought she was dead. He wondered what had happened to her and if she was going to die, then realized what a stroke of luck it would be if she did. When Penny began speaking to the nurse, he tuned in to the conversation.
    “Have you been able to contact Katie’s husband?” Penny asked.
    “No,” the nurse answered. “The hospital is running on generator power, and both the cell towers and landlines are still down. We’re exploring other avenues, but for now, we’ve done all we can do.”
    Penny looked at Katie. “What about Katie? What’s wrong with her?”
    “From all she’s gone through, I’d say shock. Emotional trauma is a strange thing. Losing a child in such a violent and sudden manner is devastating.” Then she lowered her voice. “Have they found his body yet?”
    Penny shook her head. “At least, I don’t think so.” She looked away and started to weep, unaware that the man in the next bed was far too interested in their business.
    But Newt was more than interested. He was ecstatic. They thought the kid had blown away! That meant the only ongoing search for Bobby Earle was looking for a body. The urgency he’d felt to get the kid and get away had just been alleviated. Now he had time to heal. As soon as he was back on his feet, they would be free to leave without fear of pursuit. This had to be a sign!
    At that point the nurse readjusted the curtain, and Newt’s glimpse into Katie Earle’s nightmare ended. A few moments later his own nurse came back and handed him a sheet of paper and a small sack.
    “Okay, Mr. Collins. These are your instructions, and these are the pills to keep down infection and pain. Since you’re refusing hospitalization, you’re advised to come back to the E.R. every day for evaluation.”
    “If I can,” Newt said, holding up his bandaged hands. “I’m not exactly able to drive.”
    “Ask for help,” she said shortly. “There are all kinds of people in Bordelaise who will be glad to give you a ride.”
    “Oh, yeah, right,” Newt said, suddenly remembering he needed to be careful not to raise questions or give anyone cause to come to him.
    He winced as he picked up the sack of meds, then slid off the bed, careful not to let the sheet come loose. It was the only thing between him and immodesty.
    “See you tomorrow,” the nurse said, as Newt began hobbling toward the door.
    He paused, then looked back toward the cubicle where Katie Earle was lying. Satisfied that she no longer presented a threat, he walked out of the hospital, stopped by a Red Cross station to get some sandwiches and bottled water, then caught a ride home. By the time he let himself into the trailer house, the codeine shot was beginning to