“Wow, what a great helper you are, Danny,” Theo commented genuinely happy to see the child so aware of what was going on around him.
It didn’t take the boys long to have the figure-eight racetrack up on the table and their remote cars at the starting line. Margo watched, delighted as Theo and Danny played together. She remembered watching Theo with Cole when he was a baby, but Margo left with her three refugees before she got to see him at this age.
“On your mark, get set, go!” The boys forgot their worries for a little while, so lost in their game.
“Are you two getting hungry?” Theo thought to ask after an hour of play. “After the day we had, how about…”
“Pizza?”
“You read my mind,” Theo offered a tired grin.
He pulled out his cell phone and checked for the hundredth time to see if any kids had called or sent a text, not that he wouldn’t have leaped off the floor when he heard the chime set at the loudest volume, but still. It was just wishful checking.
“Hi, I’d like to place an order for delivery,” Theo began.
“Name please?”
“Theo Andrews”
“Oh, hey Dr. Andrews, it’s Pete. You want the usual?”
Theo’s fragile hold on his emotions nearly bubbled over at the reminder that he usually ordered seven pizzas to feed all the kids. “No, Pete. Just a large cheese tonight.” It was going to be a very long night of trying not to go insane with worry, taking care of a toddler and helping Margo manage. If he had any hair, he would be running his fingers through it to try to calm himself down.
Danny walked over to Theo, who was still plopped on the floor with his racecar remote in his lap. He leaned over and wrapped his little arms around Theo’s neck and buried his face into Theo’s cheek offering him a big, wet, baby kiss. Theo sighed deeply and sat rocking the little guy in his arms, back and forth. After a while, Margo had to wipe away her tears when she realized who was comforting whom.
Chapter 47 Cell #2—Creed
Creed woke screaming and fighting.
He jumped to his feet, ignoring the wave of dizziness that hit him immediately, threatening to bring the blackness all around his already darkened line of sight.
He was in a cell. He knew that right away. It measured approximately ten by ten.
Oh, shit. This is not good. He began panting and tried to force himself to breathe slow, deep breaths.
Closed-in spaces had never been his favorite—especially when there was no window to the outside.
Creed frantically spun in place. Forget a window! Where the hell is the door?
The only thing in the room was a laptop lying on the floor next to where he’d awakened. On the keyboard was a note that read simply, “WATCH ME.”
Creed frowned at the computer like it was the devil incarnate. Unless that thing is about to show me how to get the hell out of here, I can’t imagine it’s good news.
He ground his teeth and went back to pacing the small space, running his hands down the walls looking for any secret lever or something that would make getting out of there possible. After twenty-fruitless minutes, Creed forced himself to roll his shoulders and head taking slow, deep breaths.
That’s when he saw it.
It blended with the rest of the darkened brick walls, but there was something up there. It looked like a slender ledge about ten feet above the ground. At six feet two inches, he knew he would do anything possible to reach up there.
Where am I?
MEG! He screamed in his mind, trying desperately to communicate with her through their empath connection.
He waited for a moment before screaming her name again.
Silence.
It scared the hell out of him that he couldn’t feel her warm white blanket nearby. Since her evolution, he could always feel her, but now, there was only silence where she used to be.
Oh God, please don’t let her be dead. His heart was a white-knuckle fist punching angrily in his chest.
With a burst of fury, Creed leaped to reach the ledge. His right hand clasped it for a moment before slipping off the slick grime. Determined to get out, he tried again, using his nails to dig into the filthy paste and gain traction.
Muscles bulging, he pulled himself up as though performing a chin-up and saw a thick, metal door with no handle.
What the hell kind of cell had a one-way door ten feet off the ground?
As the ledge was only about three inches deep, there was no way Creed would be able to pull himself onto it.
He let loose a mouthful of curses as he let go of the ledge and landed on his feet.
With a deep breath, he worked on controlling his fury at being trapped and his panic at not being able to sense Meg.
Unsure what else to do, he moved to crouch beside the laptop and ran his finger across the trackpad to wake it up. The screen was already set up and waiting for him to press play. He moved the curser into place and double tapped the pad. The screen came to life.
Chapter 48 “I Can’t Drive Fifty-Five”