Page 37 of Midnight

Asher had just finished shaving and showering and was already half dressed when his cell phone rang. When he saw the name pop up on Caller ID, his heart skipped. And then he grabbed it.

“Hello, this is Asher.”

“Mr. Kingston, your father is waking up. He keeps asking for his boys.”

“Thank you! We’ll be there soon,” he said, and then glanced at the time as he headed for Dylan’s room. It wasjust after 6:00 a.m. when he knocked on Dylan’s door, then walked inside. When he heard the shower running, he loped across the room and flung the bathroom door open.

“Dylan! Dad’s awake and asking for us. Get dressed!” and then ran back through his room and knocked on Gunner’s door, then walked in.

Gunner was already dressed and working at his laptop when Asher burst in.

“What?”

“Dad’s awake and asking for us,” Asher said.

“Hot damn,” Gunner said, logged out of his laptop, and put it in his messenger bag.

Within minutes, they were out of the hotel and hurrying toward the SUV.

“Crap, it’s cold,” Gunner said as he got into the driver’s seat.

“I’ll take the back seat,” Dylan said, leaving the passenger seat for Asher.

They buckled up and sped out of the parking lot.

“Will they let us visit Dad even though it’s not visitation time?” Gunner asked.

“I doubt they would have called us if they weren’t going to let us in,” Asher said. “Besides, I know there’s a notation in his chart that law enforcement will be notified as soon as he’s able to talk, and we’re law enforcement.”

“If they won’t let all of us in, then you and Gunner have to go,” Dylan said. “You’re the cops. You need to hear whatever he has to say firsthand.”

“We’re in this together. Just because Gunner and I have the authority to act on information, doesn’t mean your input doesn’t matter. We discuss everything with each other, okay?”

“Yes, okay,” Dylan said.

Gunner pulled into the hospital parking lot, parked as close as he could get to the entrance, and then they grabbed the bags with their laptops and took off running.

* * *

Jacob knew his sons were coming. A nurse said they were on the way. His eyes were closed, but he was conscious of every sound around him. He could easily slip back into the oblivion his pain meds offered, but he was waiting. There were things he needed to tell them, and he didn’t know if he was going to survive this.

Then all of a sudden, he heard footsteps. Not the soft-soled shoes the nurses wore, but the long stride of boot-shod men. Tears welled. His sons were here.

“Dad, it’s me, Asher. Gunner and Dylan are here, too. Can you hear us?”

Jacob opened his eyes, blinking through tears. His voice was weak, but his grip on Asher’s arm was not.

“I drift in and out. I need to tell you. Two men. It was dark. One behind…took me down. You should have sold the bar, he said. I kicked him off, and other one shot me.”

Gunner frowned. “Should have sold the bar? What does that mean? Did you have it up for sale?”

Jacob shook his head slightly, closing his eyes briefly to gather his strength.

“Two men in the bar…a week ago. Didn’t know them. Asked if it was for sale. I said no.”

Gunner was taking notes of everything Jacob said, and Dylan was recording the audio on his phone.

“Did they give you names?” Asher asked.