Chapter 11
11
DARREN
D arren must have dozed off at some point after fucking Sadie for the sixth time. He’d given her the small cot and taken a seat with his back against the cold concrete wall, hoping it would ease what felt like a fever inside his body. He didn’t understand why after as many times as they’d come together, the urge hadn’t left him. It appeared to have left her and it always seemed to leave Joe fairly quickly, but that wasn’t the case for him.
Glancing down at his lap, he could see his dick was already hard and throbbing again. That’s what had woken him up from a fitful sleep. Actually, he really wasn’t sleeping, it was more like watching all his nightmares play out in his head. The worst and most frequent nightmare was Kylie telling him she no longer loved him and could never forgive him for what he’d done with Sadie.
Heavy footsteps pounding down the stairs had him rising quickly to his feet. Something about the speed with which they declined the stairs felt urgent. Was this it then? Was this when they finally decided to kill him? Would they be quick and just shoot him or would they overdose him on the fucking drug? If they got rid of him, what would happen to Sadie and her nephew? To Joe? Would he ever make it home to his family?
He shook Sadie awake. “Get up. Get behind me. Someone’s coming and they sound like they’re in a hurry.” Without questioning him, she did as he instructed. Turning his attention to Joe, he whisper shouted, “Joe. Get up. Company’s coming.”
Joe instantly went on alert. He jumped up from his cot and put his back to the wall. From the fire in his eyes he appeared to be of the same mind as Darren. Fight or die trying.
“Rise and shine, brother. You ready to go home?” The sound of Trick’s voice damn near brought tears to Darren’s eyes. He wasn’t hallucinating, was he? They were really here to get him, right? Joe raised his clenched fists, prepared to go down swinging. Yeah, they were really here. He didn’t know whether to get down on his knees and thank God or burst into tears of joy. He ended up doing neither.
“Joe, it’s my brothers. They’re getting us out of here. All of us,” he directed the last to Race who’d gathered outside his cell with several other brothers.
“Good to see you again, brother,” Race’s smile was bright and genuine.
Trick dropped a duffel bag at his feet and dug out a mini welder and welding goggles. “Everybody look away.” He quickly went to work cutting through the lock on the cell door.
While he was working on freeing him and Sadie, Jackson went to Joe’s cell and shoved some clothes through the bars. Darren wasn’t sure how they’d known to bring clothes, but he was grateful that they had. Escaping naked and his junk hanging out would have been undesirable, but if it was the only way to get away, he’d have done it.
“Get dressed, kid. We’re breaking you out of here,” Jackson told Joe.
As soon as the door swung open, Trick went to cut through the lock on Joe’s cell. Jackson came in to his and Sadie’s and handed clothes to Darren, then held out more to Sadie as she peeked around his wide shoulders. “Here you go. We grabbed the first clothes we could get our hands on, so they’re going to be big,” he apologized. “And no shoes, but I got socks. You’re gonna need them for the trek through the woods.”
“I don’t care. They’re clothes and they’re warm.” Sadie made quick work of pulling the clothes on.
The clang of the cell door being thrown open signaled Joe was free.
“How long was I gone?” Darren had to suppress a groan as the material of the sweats made contact with his hard, super sensitive dick. He yanked a hoodie over his head and waited for someone to comment on the state of his erection. No one, not even Dagger, said a word.
“Seven days.” Race frowned and his lips thinned.
Fuck. That had to have been seven of the longest days of his life. Nearly all of it in pain. Darren took the thick wool socks from his brother, sat on the edge of the bed next to Sadie and quickly pulled them on. “You meet any resistance on your way in? I didn’t hear any gunshots.”
“Nope. Tulsa and Lance created a diversion that caused every one of the Phantoms to take off like bats out of hell.” Race slapped his hand on Darren’s forearm and pulled him in for a man hug.
“What did they do?” Darren asked
“Set Crockett’s house on fire.” Race’s mouth curved up, displaying a bright smile.
“Damn it’s good to see you, brother,” Trick stepped in and slapped him on the back, too.
“Enough with the reunion. We gotta get out of here. We don’t want to tempt fate.” Dagger raised his gun and led the way upstairs.
“Here.” Trick slapped a gun in Darren’s hand.
“Thanks.” Having the weapon in his hand gave him a sense of security he hadn’t had since they’d thrown him in the cell.
He spared a quick glance toward Sadie. “You all right?”
“Yeah. I’m good.” She wouldn’t look him in the eye.
“Let’s go, Joe. Stay glued to my ass and we’ll get you out of here.” Jackson waved for the kid to follow him.
“Are you taking me home?” Joe’s question was filled with so much hope Darren felt it in his own chest.
“Yeah. We’re taking you home.”
Darren waited until everyone was filing up the stairs before he stopped Sadie with a hand on her arm. “I probably should have done this before, but I’m clean and I’ve been with the same woman for a while now.” He swallowed hard, then asked, “You on the pill?”
“No.” She shook her head and closed her eyes. “I haven’t been with anyone in almost two years so I didn’t see the need. I’ve been too busy with Oliver. I’m sorry.”
“Hey.” He raised her chin when she dropped her head. “It’s not either of our faults, but you’ll let me know?”
“Of course.”
He started up the stairs, pulling Sadie behind him. He felt responsible for both her and Joe and wouldn’t rest until Sadie was back with her nephew and Joe back with his family. As soon as they cleared the door at the top of the stairs, he looked around the huge open area. There was nothing up here. No windows. No doors except for the one leading outside. Chris and Maverick stood on either side of the entrance and smiled as he approached.
What the fuck kind of idiots didn’t have a secondary exit? Slipping through the door into the cool sunny day, he had to blink several times, unused to so much light. Race, Trick and Jackson were already hauling it through the woods, Joe hot on their heels. He motioned for Sadie to take off running behind them. He stayed steady at her side, Maverick and Chris bringing up the rear. Race said Tulsa and Lance had set a fire at Crockett’s house. He wondered where Jed was. Tuck was probably still back in Redemption because of his leg. That was probably a good thing. He was afraid his friend would take one look at him and know he’d been unfaithful to Kylie. It wouldn’t surprise him if Tuck ever found out that he’d tell Darren he no longer wanted him around her or their baby again.
Speeding through the woods, various sticks and stickers poked through his socks, jabbing into his feet and snagged at his sweats. That was nothing to the way the material kept rubbing his dick. Even with the cooler temperature, he was breaking out in a sweat and it wasn’t from overexertion. Checking on Joe and Sadie, he was impressed with the way they were keeping up despite tripping on pants too long and having to hold them up at the too large waist.
They came upon what looked like an old off road trail where two SUVs with blacked out windows sat waiting. Jed stood outside one of them, a gun drawn and aimed their direction. Seeing who it was, he lowered his weapon and put it away. “Fucking finally have you back.” Jed smiled and hopped behind the wheel of the lead vehicle.
Dagger, Jackson, Trick and Joe climbed in with him. They were going to take the kid home, explain to the parents what happened and give them a story to feed to the police that didn’t involve the Sons’ intervention. Before they took off, it didn’t slip his notice the way Jed was looking at Sadie. It was a cross between regret and being pissed off. Darren had enough issues of his own right now and filed it away for later to sort out.
Maverick got in behind the wheel of the second SUV, leaving Race, Chris, Darren and Sadie to pile in with him. Race took the front passenger seat. Chris took the last row in the back, and Darren and Sadie took up the middle seat.
“Wait!” Sadie shouted as Maverick took off after Jed.
“What’s up?” Race turned in his seat.
“Where are we going? I can’t go home. They’ll come after me. And I have to get Oliver. I can’t leave him with the club and Crockett.” She turned her pleading eyes to Darren.
Race’s brows dipped as he asked, “Who’s Oliver?”
“He’s her five-year-old nephew. Her brother was in the club. He died and left his kid to Sadie. Crockett’s been using him to make Sadie do whatever he wants,” Darren explained.
Being a father himself, there was no way Race would leave a child of any age with the Phantoms. Darren knew before Race said the words that they weren’t leaving Taos without Oliver. “Where’s he at?”
“What time is it?” she asked.
“Three thirty,” Maverick replied.
“He should be home from school by now. He’d be at Nickle’s house with his old lady.”
“Gimme the address and I’ll send Tulsa and Lance to pick him up.” Race pulled out his phone, waiting on the number.
“He won’t go to anyone he doesn’t know.” Sadie chewed her bottom lip.
“When they get there, I’ll have them call. We’ll Facetime and you can tell Oliver it’s okay to go with them. Will that work?”
Sadie sighed in relief. “Yes. Thank you. That’ll work.” She leaned back in her seat and smiled at Darren. She reached for his hand, giving it a squeeze. “You don’t know how long I’ve been trying to get me and Oliver away from those assholes.”
“It’ll be okay, Sadie. The brothers will get him safely to you,” he tried to reassure her. Dealing with the PFMC for so long had to have been extremely difficult. She was taking a big leap of faith that the Sons of Redemption were a better club than what she’d been dealing with. “The both of you will be safe in Redemption.”
Maverick watched him in the rearview mirror, no doubt wondering why he was being so nice to her. The club didn’t know her whole story and the first chance he got he was going to make sure they were aware that she was as much a victim as he’d been.
Race called Tulsa, gave him the address and told them to Facetime when they got the boy. He also told them not to go back to the motel. They needed to head to Redemption. If the boy looked good, take him to the clubhouse. They’d all meet up there.
Twenty minutes later, Tulsa connected with Race, who passed his phone back to Sadie. “Oliver! How’re you doing, buddy?” Her face lit up with a blinding smile and her eyes filled with tears. There was no denying she loved her nephew and was happy to see him.
“Good. I miss you. When will I see you again?”
“I miss you so much, too, sweetie.” The tears started down her cheeks.
“You need to hurry, Sadie, the brothers need to get out of there,” Darren reminded her.
“Oliver, listen to me. I need you to go with Tulsa and his friend. They’re good guys and they’re going to bring you to me.” Sadie’s hand was shaking bad enough he thought she might drop the phone. He reached over and steadied her hand so she could finish her call. She really needed to hurry.
“Are you sure about these guys?” Oliver sounded skeptic.
“Yes. I’m very sure. They’re going to bring you to me and we’ll never have to be apart ever again. So, go with them and be good, okay?”
“Okay. I’ll go.”
Tulsa took the phone back from Oliver. “We’re outta here. See you a little while.” He would know better than to say where they were going if Nickle’s old lady was within listening distance. Even without their cuts on, the club would know it was the Sons who freed Darren and the others. Logically, Oliver’s disappearance would be attributed to the Sons as well.
She handed the phone back to Race and leaned back in her seat. She turned her head to look out the window and the tears kept coming. Her body was shaking from the effort it was taking to contain her sobs.
“Are you okay? It won’t be long before you get to see him again.” Darren hated seeing her cry. After everything they’d just been through, she’d held it together like a champ. Now that her new reality was sinking in, everything was taking its toll.
“I know and I’m really grateful. It’s just,” she swiped at her cheeks and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She stared at her hands clasped in her lap.
“What is it, Sadie?”
“I don’t know what me and Oliver are going to do when we get to Redemption. We don’t know anyone there. I don’t have a job. A place to live. I don’t even have my purse or my phone. We have no clothes. Everything Oliver and I own is back at my house and as soon as Crockett discovers I’m gone, he’ll probably burn it to the ground. All the pictures and memories of my brother will be gone.” She wiped at her cheeks again. “It’s all just so…overwhelming.” Then she tried to smile and turn it around. “But, hey, Oliver and I are away from the Phantom Furies, so that’s something, right?”
“Yeah, Sadie, it is something.” Darren patted her arm, then turned to look out the window. He had to grit his teeth against the pain rising in his dick. By the time they made it to Redemption, he’d be in full blown, drop you to your knees pain again. He thought after fucking Sadie so many times, it was supposed to be out of his system or go away. That’s how it worked for Otis and Henry. Hell, it’s how it worked for Sadie, too. Why was he so different? Was it because they gave him so many doses without allowing him release? How long would this shit stay in his system?
He tipped his head back against the rest and closed his eyes. Maybe he’d get lucky and fall asleep, at least until they got to Redemption. After that, he had no fucking idea what he was going to do. He couldn’t go home to Kylie like this. He knew she’d have sex with him anytime, anywhere, but he didn’t think he could trust his control. He was terrified he might hurt her and she was pregnant. The risk was too great to chance it.
DARREN
They’d pulled into Redemption ten minutes ago and should be arriving at the clubhouse in another fifteen depending on traffic. Maverick took a right at the stoplight instead of a left which was the opposite direction they needed to go.
“Where are we going?” Darren asked.
“To the ER so Bacon can check you two out before we take you back to the clubhouse,” Mav answered while watching him in the rearview mirror.
When did they make that decision? During one of the very brief naps he’d taken? He was sure they were expecting him to argue, but honestly he wanted Bacon to tell him why he was still going through this shit.
“I can’t go to the hospital,” Sadie stated. “I don’t have my insurance card or any money with me.”
“We got it, Sadie,” Race told her.
“I appreciate the offer but I can’t let you do that,” she argued.
“Why not?” Race turned in his seat.
“Well, I,” she started, but stopped when Darren said, “Just let us do this, Sadie.”
Her teeth sank into her bottom lip then asked almost desperately, “But what about Oliver? I thought we were going to meet him at your clubhouse? He’ll be expecting me.”
“You wanna make sure you’re good before you go home to him, don’t you? Make sure there’s no side effects you’ll need to worry about?” Race pointed out.
“Well, yes. I guess I probably should do that.” Sadie’s shoulders slumped as she turned to look out her window.
“Hey. It’s going to be all right. Tulsa and Lance will be there and they’ll take good care of them,” Darren tried to reassure her. She offered him a weak smile, but nodded her head.
“The old ladies and some kids will be there, too,” Race added before turning back to face the front.
Darren watched the scenery go by outside his window, fully aware that Maverick kept checking on him in his rearview mirror. Race was nearly as bad with questioning glances over his shoulder. He bet if he turned around, Chris was doing the same. He felt like a damn landmine ready to go off at any second. He didn’t understand why everyone was acting so weird.
He bit back a groan and found no comfort in the fact that he’d called it earlier. Just like he’d thought, the longer it took them to get home, the more the need to fuck bared down on him. Hell, the feel of the material rubbing along his hard dick made him wish he was naked again. He felt agitated and antsy and hadn’t realized he’d started bouncing his leg until Sadie reached over and lightly touched his arm.
“Are you okay?” she asked quietly.
He clenched his teeth and immediately stopped with the jumpy leg syndrome. He nodded his head and tried to smile, but even he felt it fell flat. “I’m good.”
How much longer until they reached the hospital? Maybe he’d get lucky and Bacon could knock his ass out until the drug left his system?
Maverick lucked into finding a place close to the entrance. Everyone got out of the SUV and headed for the sliding glass doors. He ran a hand through his hair, worrying about what Bacon might tell him, then quickly dropped his hands as he noticed people were starting to stare his direction. He clasped his hands in front of himself, doing the best he could to hide his raging hard on without looking like he was purposely being a perv.
Chris hung back as Maverick and Race walked with them to the registration desk to check in, then let them know they’d be in the waiting room when they were finished. After giving them their names, the nurse took Darren and Sadie back.
“Dr.Taggert told us to keep an eye out for the both you. He just got off shift and instructed us to bring you right back the moment you got here.”
The young nurse was friendly as she guided them through the maze of rooms. She put Darren in one and Sadie in the one next to it. A short knock on the door was the only warning he got before Bacon entered the small room. He didn’t look like a typical doctor. Instead, he had shoulder-length blond hair that he sometimes tied back, a scruffy chin more often than not, dark brown eyes and stood a little over six feet tall. He had tattoos peeking up from his collar and having seen him at a pig roast once, he also knew the man had full sleeves and a tattoo of the SORMC on his back. He didn’t hang around the clubhouse as much as most of the brothers, but when he did show up, he was all in to have a good time.
“Hey, man. Glad to see you’re back.” He glanced down at the very noticeable tent in Darren’s pants. “Happy to see me?”
Darren would have at least pretended to find it funny if he wasn’t in so much pain. He started to explain, but stopped when Bacon raised a hand.
“It’s okay. Race filled me in on what’s been going on.” He stood next to his bedside, his hands in the pockets of his lab coat.
When had Race had time to fill Bacon in? Darren had only dozed off and on a handful of times and if he’d been talking to anyone, he would have certainly heard him. As a matter of fact, no one really said much of anything on the ride home. They hadn’t asked questions about what happened after he’d been taken or after he’d been locked up. They didn’t even ask questions about why they were finding him and Sadie in the same cell naked. That was all really strange and he’d wonder about that later. Right now, he wanted to make sure Bacon took care of Sadie first.
“Have you seen Sadie yet? The woman that was locked up with me?”
“No. I stopped in here first.” Bacon’s brows furrowed.
“Go check her out first. Tulsa and Lance have her nephew at the clubhouse and she’s dying to get to him. If she checks out, have Mav, Race and Chris take her to him. I’ll call when I need a ride.”
“Are you sure? You really look like you need attention.”
“I’ve waited this long. I can wait a little longer. Go. Check her out first.” He waved him off, trying to hurry him along. The sooner he checked out Sadie, the sooner he could come back and take care of Darren.
“Okay, but I’m going to have someone come in and draw some blood and check your vitals while I’m checking her out.”
“Sure. That’s fine.” He let his head fall back on the pillow. “Oh, hey.” He stopped Bacon at the door. “Don’t let anyone back here. I want to deal with this before I have to deal with anyone else.”
Bacon frowned, but nodded his head, the door silently closing behind him.
The person who came in to draw his blood and check his vitals was quick and efficient. He was in and out in no time, not a single comment or side-eyed glance at his lap. That had to have been the easiest blood draw he’d ever had. He’d barely felt the needle enter is arm, unlike when RIP purposely made it hurt when he jammed him with one.
Glancing at the clock on the wall, he wondered how long he’d been there and how long it would take for Tuck and Kylie to show up at the hospital. He figured they were probably already in the waiting room, making the weight of his guilt that much heavier. He tried to clear his mind of everything while he waited for Bacon to return. To pass the time he counted the number of tiles in the ceiling. From there, he read every single anatomical chart hanging on the wall. Next, he tried to guess the number of tongue depressors in the jar on the counter.
Bacon came back to the room as Darren started counting ceiling tiles again, this time from right to left. He pulled a rolling stool closer to the bed and took a seat. He placed his tablet on the bed next to Darren’s legs, then launched in. “I have to say I have never seen the amount of Euphoria in anyone’s blood stream the way I’ve seen in yours.”
“Fucking great.” He dug the heels of his hands into his eyes and groaned in frustration.
“As you can imagine, this drug is hitting the streets faster and faster and very little is known about it. It appears to affect everyone a little differently. Can you tell me how much they gave you? How often? How did it effect you? Anything at all might help us understand what the hell this shit is.” Bacon crossed his arms over his chest.
“They injected me with the first dose after they beat the shit out of me.”
“First dose?” Bacon’s brows shot up toward his hairline.
“Yeah. They gave me four total. They injected me three times and forced me to swallow a pill the last time.” He explained about Otis’s and Henry’s condition when he arrived. He explained how as soon as he was tossed into a cell, they’d injected him with his second dose. Then he went on to tell him about each of the other doses and that they’d thrown a really young girl in with him to fuck after the second, but he still managed to keep his shit together.
“After the third dose I tried to get off, but it wouldn’t work. I thought I was going to lose my mind, my dick hurt so bad. Then they forced that fucking pill on me yesterday or last night and I couldn’t take it anymore. I caved and fucked Sadie.” He couldn’t look the other man in the eye. He was totally embarrassed that he’d been unable to keep control. “I just wanted the fucking pain to stop.”
“How did they make you take the pill?”
“They said I either took it or they’d give it to Joe and this time he wouldn’t get a woman as quickly.” He explained who Joe was and what the kid had gone through. “The kid was so damn down, I was afraid of what it would do to him. So, I took it.”
“Let me see if I got this right. They told you that as long as you have sex within an hour of taking the drug, which is supposed to be in pill form, you’ll be okay and have no side effects? But if you take it and you don’t have sex, it turns painful and no amount of trying to take care of it yourself helps?” Bacon ran a hand over his scruffy jaw.
“That about sums it up.”
“What the fuck is this shit?” Bacon shook his head, completely baffled. “The possibility of potential rapes,” he couldn’t finish his thought. “And they gave you four doses before they gave you a woman?”
“Yeah. They threw Sadie in with me after they’d drugged her. It wasn’t until she started to feel some of the pain from holding out that I finally caved.” He shook his head. “No. That’s not right. As soon as they shoved her into my cell, it was only a matter of time before I begged her to let me fuck her.”
“How did you manage to hold out with four doses in your system?” Bacon’s voice was smooth and calming, no hint of judgment.
“I don’t know. Don’t get me wrong, after a certain point, I was trying to jack off just like those other poor fools. It didn’t work. Nothing but fucking someone helped. Swear to God, I thought and still feel like my dick is going to explode. I almost don’t care if it does just so it stops hurting.” And wouldn’t that be tragic? Unable to fuck Kylie ever again? Unable to give her a baby?
“How many times did you have sex with Sadie?”
“Goddamn it,” Darren’s fist pounded into the mattress. “I can’t believe I cheated on Kylie.”
“Under the circumstances, I think she’d understand. It’ll probably hurt her and make her sad, but at the end of the day, she’s still going to love you and be happy that your back.”
Darren grunted. He wasn’t sure he believed what Bacon was saying. He wanted to, but he just couldn’t get there.
“So, how many times?”
“Six,” he sighed heavily. “We did it six times and each time I came so fucking hard I thought I might black out. I thought after I came, the drug would leave my system, that I’d get some relief like everyone else, but here we are,” he pointed at his erection.
“Damn. I have a feeling we’re going to see a whole lot of Euphoria cases coming into the ER. I wish I knew what the chemical make up of this drug was so I could better figure out a way to treat you.”
“I think Race might be able to get it from Dillon. He had him look into it with some of his friends.”
“I’ll reach out to Dillon and see what he can tell me. For now, I can try and draw some of the blood out of your penis.” He got to his feet and reached for some gloves.
Darren started to laugh but saw that Bacon was serious. “Well shit. Might as well try it. Got nothing to lose at this point I guess.”
Bacon got out all the supplies he was going to need and went about draining blood from his dick. Darren clenched his teeth and fisted the sheets to keep from punching Bacon in the face.
“Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought I’d let another man handle my junk.”
“Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d be touching your junk, either.” He set the full syringe aside and reached for anther. “Honestly, though, being a doctor, I’ve had to do far worse than touch a man’s dick. You’ve seen one dick, you’ve seen them all. Besides, none of them compare to mine. So, there’s that.”
Darren chuckled and flinched. “Damn it. Don’t make me laugh while you’ve got a needle in my dick.”
“All done. I’ve taken as much as I can. You’re still semi-hard.” Bacon frowned at his penis.
“Gee, I’m not sure I like the way you’re frowning at my dick.” He paused and then asked, half joking, “It’s not going to fall off or anything?”
“No. No. It’s not going to fall off, idiot.” He stood up and disposed of his gloves. His phone vibrated in his pocket. He checked it, then frowned. “It’s Tuck. He and Kylie are in the waiting room. Want me to bring them back so we can discuss all of this together?”
“You can bring them back and discuss whatever you want with them, but I won’t be here when you do.” Darren swung his legs over the side of the bed and pulled his sweats back up. Damn, he couldn’t wait to take a shower and change into some clean clothes. “Can you text Tulsa and tell him to come get me?”
“Where are you going to be?”
“I can’t go home like this. I can’t face Kylie and Tuck. I’m gonna go to the clubhouse for a while. At least until I can control my dick again.”
“I understand. If you have any issues, any at all, call me.” He texted Tulsa. “I’ll tell him to wait in front of the hospital and not to come to the ER.” He paused, then said, “He says he’s on his way.” He dropped his phone into his pocket. “I’ll give you fifteen minutes before I bring them back here.” He gave Darren instructions on how to get through the building so he could be waiting on Tulsa when he got here.
“Thanks. I appreciate it.” Darren slipped out and followed the route Bacon gave him. As it turned out, he only had to wait ten minutes before Tulsa pulled up out front. He rolled down the window of his car, “You need a lift?”
“Yeah. Is the club still under lockdown?”
“Not anymore. Once Race got back, he told everyone to go home.” Tulsa checked his side mirror and pulled out.
“Perfect. Take me to the clubhouse.” He leaned back in his seat.
“You mind me asking why you didn’t want to go home with Tuck and Kylie? They’ve been waiting on you to get discharged.”
“No. I just need some space for now.” Darren refused to look at his friend, afraid of the judgment he might see there. He just wanted to go back to his room and stay as far from Kylie as he could get for now. He realized he was being an asshole by dodging her, but he didn’t know what else to do. He also knew she was going to be like a dog with a bone until she got to see him. She would want to see for herself that he was okay and safe.