Page 80 of Broken
“You got it.”
Prescott gave him the address and hung up.
He wanted to put on tunes for Ethan, but the playlist was on Jacqueline’s phone, so they drove over in silence.
When he got to Sally’s apartment building, he glanced in the rearview mirror. Ethan was out cold. Moving as carefully as he could, he unbuckled him, lifted him into his arms, and made his way toward the entrance.
They took the elevator to her floor, walked down the hallway, the smell of grilled meat filling his nostrils. Once inside, Ethan woke up.
He struggled to be put down. “Is Mommy home?”
Prescott set him on the floor and Ethan ran down the short hallway, Prescott close on his heels. Sally’s room was neat, her bed made.
Anger cut through him like a thousand knives to his heart. Someone was living in the shadows, taking out Operatives, and Sally had been collateral damage. Determination would fuel him to find the killer. But, in this moment, his only concern was Ethan.
“Hey, bud, can you show me your bedroom?”
Ethan ran across the hall. “This is my room.”
“Super cool. I’m going to bring your things home with us.”
As he was packing Ethan’s clothing into one of the suitcases, there was a knock on the front door.
Ethan bolted from the room and had opened the front door before Prescott could get there. He stared up at Rebel.
“Ethan,” Prescott said, “you gotta wait for me before you open the front door.”
“Who’s he?” Ethan asked.
“That’s my friend, Rebel. He’s gonna help pack you up so we can get to the store and buy you that football.”
Rebel extended his hand. “How you doin’? You’re Ethan, right?”
Ethan smiled at him. “Uh-huh. Do you like football?”
“Love it.” Rebel stepped inside and shut the door. After eyeing the toys scattered around the family room, he tied his long hair into a man bun. “I’ll load up the toys.”
“I have long hair,” Ethan said.
Rebel pulled out a second hair tie. “You want me to pull your hair outta your face?”
Ethan scrunched up his nose. “No, fank you.” Then, he shook his head and his long, wild hair whipped back and forth.
The guys laughed.
“You’re funny,” Prescott said before addressing Rebel. “I’m packing up his clothes and taking the crib apart.”
“Lemme get this stuff loaded, then I’ll help you.”
Forty minutes later, everything Ethan owned had been loaded into Prescott’s truck.
“Do you want to talk to the manager before you take off?” Rebel asked in the parking lot.
“I’ll see if someone’s in the office.”
“I’ll stay here with the wild one,” Rebel replied before he started tickling Ethan.
Ethan’s giggle followed Prescott inside. The manager’s office was locked, so he snapped a pic of the contact info and left.
