Chapter 10

Grace picked him up exactly at five minutes to twelve.

“Hi, Landon. Nice to see you again.” No hugs this time.

She leaned down and rubbed Scout’s ears. The dog frantically wagged his tail.

“Ever had a dog before?” Landon asked Grace.

“No, my parents died when my brother and I were young and there was no time or money for a dog,” she pouted.

“I’m sorry to hear that. I know how it’s like to grow up without any money to spare.”

“It’s okay. It was a long time ago. My brother, Steve took care of me. He’s my hero.”

The word ‘hero’ triggered a bit of anxiety. He remembered the box Doctor Michaels told him about and quickly locked all the images that came to his mind there. His team had died. He had survived. That didn’t make him a hero, just lucky.

Scout’s tail wagged happily as they walked to Grace’s car. She opened the passenger door and invited Scout inside and showed him a spot behind the front passenger seat. Landon climbed in after him.

He tried to avoid glancing at Grace as she drove the nearly empty two-lane road to Middletown.

They reached the end of the road. A large square was on the right. The restaurant was just in front of it. Landon felt comfortable the moment he stepped inside the place.

The atmosphere was warm and cozy.

They entered the restaurant and a young waitress met them. “Hi, Grace. You must be Landon. Welcome to The Jammed.”

He nodded. Landon wasn’t sure how he felt about the waitress already knowing who he was. He’d always been a private person.

“I’m Mary. I’ll be your waitress,” she said, then looked down at the dog. “Looks like a fine service dog,” she added with a wink. She didn’t wait for an answer but led them to a booth in the back.

After they were seated, Landon asked Mary what was good.

“Tony, our chef, would say pasta, he comes from an Italian family,” the waitress lowered her voice, “But I prefer the quail.”

“Quail?”

“Five-spice roasted quail with sweet-and-sour cranberry sauce. It’s delicious,” the waitress smiled at Landon.

“You sold me,” Landon said.

Then, an extremely loud bang came out of a car’s exhaust pipe and echoed between the buildings. It sounded as loud as a gunshot. Memories came flooding back.

A pop. A hiss.

A deafening blast.

Blinding light. Searing pain.

Landon’s hand crushed the napkin in his lap. For a brief moment, he felt the need to jump on top of Grace and push her to the ground. Scout whined and moved closer to him, resting his head on his thigh. That stopped him.

“Landon, take a look around. We’re in the restaurant. We’re safe,” Grace’s voice was calm and collected even when her eyes were big as plates.

Grace offered him her hand and he held it until his knuckles turned white. She winced but didn’t complain or let it go.

She kept whispering in a low calming voice. “Take deep, slow breaths. I’m here with you. You are safe. You are in Middletown.”

Scout whined again and Landon scratched the dog’s ears feeling slowly back in control.

He looked up and saw Grace’s concerned gaze.

“Are you all right?” she asked. “Do you want us to leave?”

“No,” he replied softly. “I’ll be all right in a minute. I’m getting there”

“What can I do to help you right now?”

“You already have.” Landon let go of her hand. “I’m sorry, I think I squeezed it harder than I meant to.”

“Don’t worry. I’m tougher than I look. My parents died when I was fourteen. My dad had a heart attack while he was driving. A heart defect no one had detected. I don’t know what I would have done without my brother, Steve.”

Sympathy surged through Landon. He knew loss all too well.

“Do you know ... what happened to me?”