Page 51 of Edge

“Oh,” she said and remained quiet for several moments. “How are you going to deal with him?”

“At this point, I don’t know,” I said honestly. “But I probably won’t be able to tell you once I know. What I can do is promise you he will no longer be a problem for you.”

“The only way that’ll happen is if he’s dead.”

I gave her a pointed look. “He won’t be a problem for you,” I repeated.

She nodded once. “Good. He’s nothing but pure evil, and so is his son.”

I hadn’t thought much about Muzzle’s son or their club, but we’d have to handle both before it was over.

“I don’t want you going anywhere without one of us with you until we get a handle on this situation,” I said.

“What do you mean? You have Muzzle.”

“I was referring to your brother and the Mad Dogs,” I clarified.

“Please don’t call him my brother,” she said, though it wasn’t a request.

“It won’t happen again,” I said apologetically.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I just?—”

“You don’t need to explain,” I interrupted. “I get it.”

She was quiet for a few moments before she asked, “Do you think Snarl will be an issue?”

“Oh yeah,” I said, not bothering to soften my response. “I’m not sure how long it will take for him to realize something happened, but he’ll start looking for Muzzle once he does.”

“I truly hate them.”

“I know you do, but let’s focus on Irene right now,” I said and pointed to the hospital as Dice pulled into the parking lot.

“I hope she’s okay,” Evie said nervously. “I don’t even know what was wrong with her.”

“She’s a tough lady. If anybody has a chance, it’s her.” I didn’t know what kind of injuries Irene suffered or what her chances of survival were, but I couldn’t think of anything else to say to comfort her.

As soon as we walked through the sliding glass doors, Evie bolted for the registration window to ask about Irene. “Are you a family member?” the woman asked.

“No. I’m her friend and employee,” Evie said before I could intervene.

“I’m sorry. We can only give information to the patient’s family.”

“You don’t understand. I’m the one?—”

Byte cleared his throat and stepped up to the counter. “I’m her son,” he said and told the woman his name. “I’m listed as her emergency contact.”

“What’s her security code?”

Byte rattled off four numbers and crossed his arms impatiently.

“I’ll buzz you in,” she said and pointed to the door beside her window. “She’s in room three. Only you and one other person can go back to see her.”

“It’ll be me and her,” Byte said and placed his hand on Evie’s shoulder.

Evie glanced back at me with a look of uncertainty on her face. “Go with Byte. The rest of us will wait out here.”

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