I lean in to get a better look, causing the guard to shift uncomfortably as I invade his space. The squares on the single monitor flicker with hallways, elevators and entrances. A nurse stands off to the side, flustered, repeating herself.
“She didn’t look scared–”
Maverick shuts her up with a look.
“Play it.”
The screen jumps to the second floor. Ashlynn comes into view first, exiting the room in a wheelchair, her head slightly bowed. She’s bruised, exhausted and pale. Too pale. A man steps into the frame as they turn down the hall headed for the elevators. He’s tall, lean built with darker colored hair, but his back is to the camera. Ashlynn waves toward the nurses station, and one looks up at her then goes back to her business.
My gaze slides to the nurse that’s standing here, guilt washes her features as she shifts on her feet. My teeth grind as I picture myself wringing her neck for letting mylifeleave her sight, but I keep my composure.
Back on screen, the man keeps his back to the camera as they wait for the elevator. It opens, and he walks backward inside of it, pulling her in after him, and the doors close.
“This place needs more fucking cameras,” I grit out. More to myself than anyone else, but the guard nods in agreement.
My jaw clenches. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I open the tracker app. That night that I found her again, I had Elias bring me some supplies. One of those being a small, barely noticeable tracker that I placed in her right side, just under her breasts into her rib cage. She wouldn’t have felt it unless she was looking for it, and why would she?
Her location loads, spinning, then a dot appears on the screen.
“They’re moving,” I say. “Heading north.”
Maverick’s brows furrow for a second, before he nods in understanding.
Give it time, he’ll have one on Parker soon enough. If he doesn’t already.
“Here,” the guard says.
Looking back at the monitor, the elevator slides back open on the ground floor. Ashlynn sits limp in the chair. Her head tilted at an odd angle. She’s unconscious. They exit the elevator and the guy pushing the chair takes a different hallway that leads to a less used side entrance.
The screen shifts to the camera above the entrance door, clear and unobstructed. He lifts his head to look in the direction of the door.
“There,” someone behind me says.
The image freezes. Clear as day.
“There’s your someone else,” Maverick says.
My spine snaps straighter. The hair on the back of my neck rises as I take in the face of the person who’s trying to take her away from me.
Parker pulls away from Maverick, her fists tightening, rage simmering in her eyes. The two start moving for the door as I round the desk.
Looking down at my phone, the tracker keeps heading north on the highway. He doesn’t know it’s there. Probably thinks he’ll get away with it.
But, Tristan Andrew Pierce just made a lethal mistake.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
The first thingthat registers is movement. A slow, steady sway that rocks through my ribs every time the vehicle I’m in hits a seam on the road. Pain follows a second later. Sharp. Deep. Radiating through my chest and up through the back of my skull. My eyes flutter open.
The world swims. Dark shapes smear past the window beside me–trees, passing cars, the sky a little brighter than it was when I woke up in the hospital. For a second, my brain refuses to understand what’s happening.
I blink and my head lolls against the seat. My stomach twists. The smell of leather and gasoline fills the air. The engine humsbeneath my feet. Something rough presses into my wrists, and bites into them when I try to move, my arms barely responding.
I’ve been drugged.
The realization comes slowly, crawling through the fog in my head. The hospital, wheelchair, elevator…a sting in my neck.
My heart kicks harder against my fractured ribs. I turn my head to see who’s driving. The motion sends a bolt of pain through my skull and black dots crowd my vision. Gritting my teeth, I force myself to focus.
