Chapter 41

“Brooks!”

He hollers this time, stepping back into the hall to check the bathroom. The door’s open; no one’s inside. His fingers begin to shake with adrenaline as he snatches the phone from his pocket. Unlocking the screen, he pulls up his nephew’s number, then hits Send

From the bedroom comes an indecipherable sound Alan recognizes as his nephew’s ringtone. Something contemporary, what Brooks calls hip hop. Alan doesn’t understand the appeal of such music, and suspects his nephew listens to it just to piss him off. At the moment, though, he’s glad for the sound—he lets the phone ring as he heads back into Brooks’ room to track it down.

It’s coming from the blankets on the bed.

Alan rummages through them until he finds the phone. Even though he knows it belongs to Brooks, he double-checks, turning it over to stare at his name on the lock screen. Incoming call: Uncle Al

Annoyance flickers through him. Brooks knowshe hates that nickname.