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“Let’s just make sure we find the person responsible,” Amanda insisted. “For all our sakes.”
“Agreed,” James said, his voice resolute. “But first, let’s check on Dad.”
“HAVE YOU EVER BEEN in a waiting room this long before?” Amanda asked, stretching her legs and attempting to find a more comfortable position on the hard plastic chair.
James shook his head as he flipped through a magazine with disinterest. “I can’t say I have. It’s like time has slowed down or something.”
“Maybe we’re stuck in some sort of time vortex,” she suggested with a cheeky grin.
“Or maybe we just need better magazines,” James quipped, tossing aside the outdated issue of “Gardening Today” with a sigh. “Seriously, who brings these things to hospitals?”
“Probably the same people who think lime green Jell-O is a suitable dessert option,” Amanda replied, wrinkling her nose at the unappetizing concoction that had been served to them earlier.
“Ugh, don’t remind me,” James groaned, the memory of the wobbly dessert still fresh in his mind. “I think it was plotting its escape from the bowl.”
Amanda laughed, the sound echoing through the otherwise quiet waiting room. “At least we know it wasn’t a figment of our imagination.”
“True,” James agreed, allowing a small smile to cross his lips. “We’ll make sure to put ‘no lime green Jell-O’ on our list of demands for future hospital visits.”
“Deal,” Amanda said.
James’s phone buzzed urgently in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the screen, his brow furrowing in confusion. “It’s a text from an unknown number.”
“Is it one of those spam messages trying to sell you a new car warranty?” Amanda asked, her curiosity piqued.
“Uh...no,” James replied, his voice tense as he read the message aloud. “‘You may have stopped us this time, but we won’t rest until our mission is complete. Watch your back.’”
A chill ran down Amanda’s spine as she processed the implications of the message. “Do you think it’s from the same people who tried to...”
“Assassinate us?” James finished for her, his voice shaking slightly. “It’s possible. Whoever it is, they’re not giving up.”
“Maybe it’s time we stop running and confront them head-on,” Amanda suggested, her eyes filled with determination.
“Perhaps,” James said, a glimmer of hope lighting up his face. “But first, let’s figure out who they are and what they want.”
“Right,” Amanda agreed, her resolve unwavering.
The surgeon stepped into the waiting room just then. “He made it through the surgery, but things don’t look good. We have him in deep sedation, and he’ll stay that way for a few days while his body heals.”
“But he’ll live?” Amanda asked.
“Now we wait and pray. He’s not out of the woods yet.”
Amanda turned to James and rested her head on his shoulder, trying to give him just a little bit of her strength to carry through the situation.
THE SUN HAD BARELY risen as Amanda and James, hand in hand, ventured into the bustling heart of town. They had spent the night in the awful waiting room at the hospital, and they needed fresh air as badly as they needed breakfast. The air was crisp and cool, carrying with it the scent of freshly baked bread wafting from a nearby bakery. Laughter and chatter filled the streets, setting the stage for another lively day in their quaint community.
“All right,” Amanda said, taking a deep breath as they approached the town’s cozy coffee shop. “Let’s see if we can find any information about who’s after us.”
“Good idea,” James agreed, his eyes scanning the sea of faces around them. “But first...coffee?”
“Priorities,” Amanda teased, her lips curling into a playful smile. “I like it.”
As they entered the coffee shop, the warmth of the room enveloped them, providing a temporary shield from the unknown dangers lurking outside. They exchanged cheerful greetings with the barista, answered their questions about the king’s health, ordered their favorite drinks—a vanilla latte for Amanda and an Americano for James—and settled into a corner table.
“Okay,” James began, sipping his coffee cautiously. “We need to figure out who sent that message and why they’re after us.”
“Right,” said Amanda, taking a sip of her own drink. “I’ve been thinking—do you have any enemies? Anyone you might have crossed paths with recently?”
