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Chapter 27
Fifteen minutes later, Gideon rolled to a stop at the red light for the hospital access road. He’d begun braking early, easing slowly to a stop. So he didn’t jolt her arm?
Alex stared at her hands. She’d been such a fool last night.
“That’s the hospital,” Gideon said, nodding toward a campus set back from the road. Alex turned to study it. A tall, modern building stood in the center, with a parking garage separating it and a smaller building. Probably medical offices. “That’s the hospital?” she asked, amazed.
“That’s what the sign says.” Gideon glanced at her. “It’s a regional hospital. That’s why it’s so big.” While they waited at the stoplight, he grabbed his phone. Stabbed at an icon.
“We’ll stop at the ER entrance,” he said, his voice echoing over the Bluetooth. So he was talking to Brynn and Nico. “Once you pull up, you can stay with Alex while I get a wheelchair. After we’re inside, one of you should come into the ER waiting room with us and wait there while they’re setting her arm. The other one can park the cars in the parking structure, and stick with them to keep an eye open for the Russians and Trotter.”
“Roger that,” Brynn said, her words echoing in the car over the Bluetooth. “Nico talked to Mel. The Russians and Trotter started moving out after we left the compound. Mel assumes they saw Alex walk out of the gym wearing the splint and figured you’d head for the hospital. The working theory is they’ll try to grab you while you’re there.”
Alex closed her eyes. Because of her foolish mistake, she’d put all four of them at risk.
A few moments later, Brynn said, “Nico’s staying with the cars. I’ll be in the ER waiting room, keeping an eye out for Trotter and the Russians.”
“Good,” Gideon answered. “Once we’re in the ER itself, I’ll keep you posted about our progress.” He said goodbye, then dropped the phone back into the cup holder.
The light turned green, and Gideon turned toward the hospital. As he followed the signs for the ER, Alex stared out the side mirror, watching for Jerry’s car. No sign of it yet, but her foot jittered with nerves. Would he and the Russians be waiting when they left the hospital?
“You heard all that, right?” Gideon said, a hint of impatience in his voice.
“I did.” Alex swiveled in her seat to look at him. “So, once Spence gets here, there’ll be four Blackhawk Security guys at the hospital? We gonna have a shootout in the parking structure?”
“God, I hope not,” Gideon said, but his mouth tensed. “Although if we do, we’ll have them out-gunned.”
He glanced at her quickly. Looked away. “My job is to stay with you. I’ll keep an eye out for Trotter and his buddies, but you’re my primary responsibility. Nico, Brynn and Spence will handle security. They’ll get us away from the hospital and make sure that the Russians and Trotter don’t follow us.”
She wanted to ask how they’d do that. Shoot out their car tires? Take them out at the hospital? But she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Instead, she said, “Tell me about this cabin.”
He shrugged. “Been there once, to make sure I knew where it was. It’s basically one large room. Kitchen, small table, woodburning stove insert in the fireplace, two curtained-off beds. Plenty of food in the pantry and the freezer. We won’t starve, and we’ll be plenty warm. But there’s no entertainment.”
Before yesterday, Alex would have told Gideon they could entertain themselves. That they could find plenty to do to keep themselves busy while alone in an isolated cabin.
Now, her heart ached at the thought of the two of them, politely distant, trying to avoid one another in a small, confining cabin.
Maybe, if Gideon was willing, they could talk about what she’d done yesterday. See if he could forgive her stupid behavior. Reclaim what they’d lost.
“Okay. Here’s the ER,” Gideon said, his voice cool as he pulled up to the emergency room door. Had he been thinking about that isolated cabin, as well? “We’ll wait here for Nico and Brynn. You heard the plan, too. It won’t take me long to snag a wheelchair, then get you inside the building.”
Alex craned to look over her shoulder, searching for Jerry’s Benz. She didn’t see it, but she knew he must be close behind them. Her heart raced as she studied the street on the edge of the hospital grounds, looking for a flash of white.
Gideon, Brynn and Nico were a well-tuned machine. They each had a role, and there was no hesitation about who did what. Who went where.
But for Alex, everything had changed in the past week. She hadn’t been prey since her days on the street in Seattle. After she settled into life with Mary, she’d felt safe for the first time in years. She’d assumed she’d never have to live as prey again.
Jerry and the Russians were bringing back a lot of terrifying memories.
She stilled. Was that why she’d reacted so badly to Gideon last night? Because she’d been caught in a web of bad memories?
No. No excuses. She wouldn’t play the victim with Gideon. She owed him better than that.
Moments later, the huge black SUV pulled up behind their car. Brynn and Nico exited the vehicle, their heads moving constantly as they studied the area. Gideon slid out of the Forester. She watched as all three of them talked for a moment.
Then Nico slid into the driver’s seat of the Forester. “Hey, Nico,” she said.
Nico would keep her safe. That was his job, and it was easy to trust her physical safety to someone who was trained.
