Free Restoration 01 - Getting It Right by A.M. Arthur Page A

Expectant.
    Interesting.
    His phone buzzed with a text message.
    Boxer: Rusty Nail toasting Doug. Stop by if free.
    Nothing was shaking out for him at the Pot, so James texted back that he was on his way.
    The walk to his car in the brisk spring night woke him up after the sweaty heat of the club.
    Toasting Doug wasn’t actually high on his priorities list, considering what the dead bastard had done to Elliott. He was going in order to be with his friends.
    His phone buzzed again as he hit unlock on his key fob. An insistent buzz. Phone call.
    Kate Alden’s name lit up the screen. A social worker calling on a Saturday night meant bad news for a kid.
    Good thing I only had one drink.
    “Hey, Kate,” he said.
    “James, good, I’m glad you answered.” She was out of breath, not her usual collected self. Noise in the background suggested a public place.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “Your friend Nathan’s here in the ER.”
    “What?” A chill spread from his heart throughout his chest, pressing hard. “What’s he doing in the ER? A case?” Nathan had a bad habit of working too much, so he could be in the hospital for a lot of reasons. It didn’t explain why Kate was calling him about it.
    “No, not a case. At least I don’t think so. I was at the nurse’s station conferring about a new assignment of mine when someone was brought in via ambulance. I didn’t get a good look at the guy’s face because of the bandages, but he’s about Nathan’s size with black hair, and when the on-call doc asked for a name, the EMT said Nathan Wolf. I mean, it might not be your Nathan but—”
    “How many black-haired Nathan Wolfs can live in Wilmington? Fuck.” Nathan brought in on a gurney. Nathan hurt. Bandages on his face. He yanked open his car door and all but fell inside. “What hospital?”
    “Saint Francis.”
    “I’m on my way.”
    James ended the call. His thumb hovered over the button to call Nathan because Nathan was his go-to when he was scared. But Nathan wasn’t going to answer his phone because he was in the fucking hospital, and James didn’t know why. He tossed his phone onto the passenger seat and stabbed his key into the ignition. The key missed and slipped, and he almost stabbed himself in the leg.
    Calm down, asshole.
    He inhaled a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. It did nothing to calm his racing heart or to steady his trembling hands. He got the key in, nearly clipped another car backing out of the jam-packed public lot, and drove back to the hospital he’d hoped to avoid for a while.
    Images of Doug, brain-dead and wasting away, flashed in his mind. Bile scorched the back of his throat. Nope. He couldn’t think like that. He had to stay positive. There were a thousand reasons for someone to be brought to the ER via ambulance.
    And very few of them were good reasons.
    Somehow he made it to the parking garage without a single accident or speeding ticket, and from there he ran. He’d been in and out of the ER enough times during his career that he didn’t have to hunt through the hallways for the right direction. Kate sprang from a chair in the waiting room, her skirt and blouse wrinkled, a worn leather briefcase clutched to her chest.
    “Have you heard anything?” he asked. “Why’s he here?”
    “I haven’t had a chance to ask yet,” Kate replied. “I just finished up with the case I was here for, and I had to make a phone call.”
    He made a beeline for the nurse at the check-in desk. “Was Nathan Wolf brought in a little while ago?” he asked.
    The nurse typed something into her computer. “Yes, he was brought in by ambulance.”
    “What room? He’s family.”
    “One moment.” She frowned, still typing. “He’s no longer in the ER.”
    “What? Was he released already?”
    “No, he was moved up to the surgical floor.”
    James grabbed the edge of the desk, his vision blurring. “Why?”
    “I’m sorry, I don’t have that information. Do you know—?”
    “Yes, thank