Free Blood in the Past (Blood for Blood Series) by Jordanna East Page A

task before him. He spotted a burly, dark-skinned man with gray hair and a matching goatee. He stared straight at Jason. Is he one of the hallucinations the doctors warned me about? The man nodded and walked away, leaving Jason to turn down yet another card full of dots.
     
    When Jason’s session concluded, the therapist brought him back to his room. The inpatient rehab facility was separate from the hospital, but one could hardly tell the difference between the two. Residency rooms lined the halls. A hub of connected counters with people buzzing about stood in the center of each floor. Jason still slept on a hospital bed, the thin mattress lumpy from previous patients, but after just a few days, it showed signs of conforming to his frame. He looked forward to being helped into his room’s faux-leather armchair, which could be quite comfortable with a few added pillows, but from the doorway, he saw that seat was already occupied.
     
    He’s waiting for me? Jason peered over at the therapist, who had guided him through the halls after his session. Though mentally and physically exhausted, the staff still forced him to walk as part of his rehab. He watched her eyes and swallowed his anxiety when she acknowledged the seated man with a smile. Jason hadn’t imagined him after all.
     
    Upon Jason’s entry, the man stood and sat on one of the not-orange visitors’ chairs. “How ya doin’, son?” he asked after Jason settled into the armchair. It was uncomfortably warm after holding the large man who reached out a hand made of tree roots. “My name is Chief Albert Tunney. I worked—”
     
    “With my dad,” Jason finished.
     
    “Yes. When I checked up on your mom the other day, she mentioned that you toyed with the idea of being a cop. Like your dad.”
     
    Right to business. Jason turned to the window. In the last couple of days, he’d regained flashes of memories of being in his dad’s study, of their last encounter. He felt no desire to discuss any of it with his father’s boss.
     
    “I’m very sorry for your loss, Junior—”
     
    “No one calls me that,” Jason said harshly.
     
    “I’m sorry. Your dad always called you that. Ya know, around the station.”
     
    “Not to my face,” Jason spat. The doctors said he might experience inappropriate irritability, but he could swear he felt genuinely angry.
     
    “Because he knew you hated it.” Chief Tunney leaned forward, his interlaced fingers hanging between his knees. “He loved you very much, Jason. He was a good man and...Well, quite frankly, I would be honored to help you in any way I can. That is, if you still want to become a cop.”
     
    Jason slowly turned his head from the window and studied the man. His eyes were kind, but they were buried beneath his sturdy, authoritative demeanor. Jason realized that, outside of a full recovery, he hadn’t thought about what he wanted to do. No matter what, his future depended on his present.
     
    “With all due respect, Chief Tunney, what good am I to the force like this?” Jason extended his arms to indicate his surroundings. “My vision’s blurry. I can’t tell orange from blue or yellow from red. My speech only became clear a few days ago. I’m tired all the time. They say I might hallucinate. Hell, I thought you were a figment of my imagination when I saw you outside of my occupational therapy session.”
     
    The chief nodded, taking in the young man’s concerns before responding. “I talked to your mom. You know what else they say? They say all of those issues are temporary.”
     
    Jason turned to the window again. “What if they’re wrong?”
     
    “What if they’re not? Just think about it. I brought some material for you.” He reached over to the other plastic chair and retrieved a stack of manuals and forms. “Look it all over. Study it if you’re so inclined. When you get out of here, you’ll be a few months shy of 21, right? I’ll find out the test schedule. But first I