Morning came too soon. Shifts weren’t changed just because you didn’t get to bed until almost daybreak. After downing a quart of terrible coffee, Jax felt awake enough to get behind the wheel. The first place he went was the hospital. If that Latino kid had gotten away…
But the youth hadn’t. The head nurse told Jax the patient was ready to be released. “Not a thing wrong with him,” she said. “Well, the concussion, but he’s cleared to check out. Don’t worry. Your orders were obeyed—he wasn’t to go anywhere until the cops came for him, so he’s waiting for you. I’ll have an aide bring him down. We always wheel ‘em out, you know, dead or alive.”
Jax gave her a crooked grin. “Yeah, I know. Policy. About as insane as some of ours.”
Moments later, the aide appeared with the slender youth in a
