Page 45 of Decker

Chapter Twenty

Decker cursedas he stepped out onto the third floor, something niggling at him about Percy’s behaviour. But he couldn’t get a signal on his phone and had to go up to the cafeteria where he knew his phone worked.

“Lopez, it’s me. I need you to get into the hospital security feed and find out if either of the men we’re looking for has been seen in the hospital or near it.”

“We have facial rec running to alert us if they do.”

“I know but I have a bad feeling about this. Percy was acting weird.”

Lopez chuckled. “He is fucking weird, that’s why.”

“Yeah, maybe, also check and see if a Melissa Evans has been booked into the emergency room system.”

“Okay, will do.”

“Text me the info. I left Savannah in her office alone and don’t want to be gone long but I have a shit signal in this place.”

He hung up and rushed back down the single flight of stairs to the second floor. He hated leaving Savannah alone for even a second, but he wondered if that was more about his growing attraction to her. The time they’d spent together this last week had been some of the happiest he could remember and knowing it would end, even though it was the right thing, sucked.

Hitting the second floor, he marched to her office, a sudden sense of urgency filling him. A tension that was invisible swirled around him as the hairs on his neck rose. He went into her office without knocking expecting to see her talking to the patient’s family and found it empty.

He called her name as he checked her bathroom and panic began to knot in his belly. Clenching his jaw, he took a breath as he hit the hallway and cleared the room to the left. The silence, something he usually loved, suddenly seemed deafening, and he realised that none of the usual admin staff were on the floor.

His awareness in full flight he hit the alarm on his watch which would tell the team he needed them. He then sent a text to them saying to come in quiet as he had no intel yet. He reached Percy’s office and the door opened, her beautiful face in the doorway making relief score through him but the blood on her hands registered before she could hide them in her pockets, and she called him Decker, something she never did.

He was always Mark to her. It had grated initially as only Susie had called him Mark but hearing Savannah say his name soothed his soul in a way he hadn’t known he needed until she did it. Now he loved that she called him by his given name. Deciding to play along with whatever she was doing and trusting her, he acted as he would’ve done if he hadn’t seen the blood.

“Oh, thank God. You scared me.” He took in the blood on her shirt and the desperate look on her face as she signalled with her eyes that something was very wrong, and she wasn’t alone in that room.

“Sorry, I was just speaking to Mrs Evans. Can you check the surgical floor for me? I think I have two patients not one, and one has already died.”

Was she trying to tell him there were two other hostages and one dead? He glanced at the door and held up two fingers indicating he’d heard her message and saw the relief on her face and knew he was right.

“Yeah, but I really should escort you up.” He was playing along, knowing he wouldn’t give up normally and leave her and making it seem more real for whoever was in the room with her. He had a pretty good idea, but either way, they’d either die today or leave in cuffs because they had messed with someone he cared about. He could admit he cared about her, loved her even but he couldn’t cope with her loving him.

“It’s fine, Deck. I have two porters that can escort me to the floor.”

Deck figured she was telling him there were two targets inside. “Fine. If you’re sure?”

“I am.”

“Okay, doc. See you there.”

He watched as she closed the door and retreated to the stairwell where Reid and Alex were waiting.

Reid looked annoyed. “What the fuck is going on? There’s no one by the name Melissa Evans here.”

“It was a trap. Savannah is in Percy’s office with two targets and two hostages. I don’t know if that includes her or not, but they also have one dead.”

Alex ran his hand through his hair. “I’ll have Jack set a perimeter and clear this floor and the one below. They’ll want an exit so will need to go down unless they use the roof.”

Reid looked toward the roof. “If this is Cavendish, they might send a chopper.”

“Have them clear the first floor and roof. Alex and Reid, can you clear this floor? It’s like a ghost town out there so I think it’s already clear. I don’t know why I didn’t pick up on it before.” Guilt assailed him at the mistake that could cost him everything.

“I’ll have Mitch set up across the road in case he can get a shot through the window.” Alex was already walking away.

“Hey, don’t second guess this, it won’t help you.”