Page 127 of Healed Heart

“And…” Unease propels through me.

“And…he’s gone.”

“Did he check himself out?”

“No.He sneaked out without anyone seeing.Bed empty, no indication of where he went.He’s just…gone.”

I widen my eyes.“Fuck.”

Henry nods.“Yeah, I think maybe I should take you guys back out west to Snow Creek.We’ve got lots of safe places for you to stay there?—”

The doorbell rings.

My heart leaps into my throat.

Is it… Is it Ralph?

I slowly walk toward the door.Look through the peephole.

It’s not Ralph, thank God.Just a guy in a UPS uniform.

I open the door.The UPS delivery guy is tall, with dark circles under his cold gray eyes.

“Jason Lansing?”he asks.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“I have a special delivery for you, sir.”He picks up a large box.

I raise an eyebrow.“This isn’t my home.”

The hairs on the back of my neck rise.I look toward the street.

No UPS truck.

Sometimes they rent trucks when they have more packages.

But that’s usually just around the holidays.

And then I see it.

The car.

The black car that was parked behind me when I was snooping around Ralph’s apartment.

Oh my God.

This man is here to kill me.I just know it.

Kill me, and then kill Angie.Tabitha and Henry, too, since they’ll be witnesses otherwise.

The man with gray eyes shrugs.“That’s funny.Package is for this address.Perhaps your friend is buying a gift for you, accidentally put your name on the recipient line.”He puts the large box down.“I think it’s alcohol, sir, because I need someone to sign for it.Let me just get a pen.”He reaches into his pocket.

He’s not going for a pen.He’s going for a gun.

So I do the first thing I can think of doing.I punch him in the fucking face.

ChapterForty-Seven