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“As hot as seeing you go all stabby is, Little Bird. We don’t have time right now. We need to get Phoenix out of here along with the stolen goods. Rueben won’t be far behind.”
The three of us sprung into action, adrenaline kicking into gear. Porter and Otto moved Phoenix to the back seat of the car while I grabbed my bag and the items stashed under the bed. I slipped on the blood and knew I’d need to clean it up before the ER asked questions. In under two minutes, we had the twins in the car and Otto and me back in the ambulance.
Grabbing the vial of potassium chloride, I quickly injected it under Mr. Duke’s tongue to hide the injection site. In the frenzy of everything, I’d almost forgotten to kill my mark. What a rookie mistake! Geesh.
While the formula entered his bloodstream, sending him into cardiac arrest, I grabbed the bleach and scrubbed the floors, walls, doors, and gurney. I gathered everything I used and shoved it into a plastic bag, then stripped out of my scrubs, which were also covered in blood. Pulling on an extra pair, I fell back into the wall when Otto took a sharp turn.
“Suffering succotash!” I yelled, despite the fact Otto couldn’t hear me.
Righting myself, I moved closer to the patient and pressed my hands to his chest. I scowled at the man who’d killed so many people for his own greed. I felt nothing for his death, already moving on to the last one on my list. This man deserved no more of my time or thoughts.
The ambulance slowed, but I was ready, counting out loud as I began chest compressions. The doors swung open as the hospital nurses and doctors converged on the ambulance.
“John Duke, age 65. Coma patient went into cardiac arrest two minutes ago, has a history of liver disease. Wife is following,” I rambled off, the thrill of being part of the medical action exciting me.
The nurses took over, shouting orders as they pushed the gurney into the hospital. Slamming the doors, I raced around to the front and climbed in, my ass barely on the seat before Otto pulled away. My breathing calmed the further away we drove, our plan succeeding despite my nemesis interfering.
“We did it, Little Bird. And you saved Phoenix. You overcame your aversion.”
“I don’t know if I’m fully healed, but it was a good place to start. I’d do anything for you all.”
Otto beamed at me, turning the ambulance into a parking garage. We jumped out after he parked on the top floor and wiped down the interior one more time, ridding it of any DNA. Once that was resolved, we moved to the stairwell and grabbed the bag we’d stuffed back there earlier with spare clothes.
Changing our appearance, we headed down the stairs to the street and walked a few blocks before we spotted Porter. My heart rate spiked, and I nearly yanked the door off to climb into the backseat where Phoenix was resting. His green eyes met mine, and all the oxygen left me as I collapsed onto him.
“You’re okay,” I cried, finally letting out all my emotions.
“Thanks to you, Dr. Raven.”
Wiping my eyes, I chuckled, the sound wet and deep, but there was no mistaking my relief at discovering I hadn’t lost someone.
“Any word from Rueben?” Otto asked, turning back around to face the road.
“No. I’m not sure what happened after the shot. I pulled them into the back to get out of there, but I saw the Commander cornering Rueben.”
“Shit,” Otto cursed, pulling out his phone. He tapped onto an app and pulled up Rueben’s location. “It shows him moving, so we have to hope that means he got away. Stay back when we get to the airfield just in case it’s the Commander.”
Porter nodded, the tension in the car ramping up again as we slowed and pulled off the road a few blocks down from the airfield. I scanned the cars but didn’t spot the SUV Rueben had been driving. The following five minutes felt the longest as the four of us waited to see if the last member of our family would be returning. If he didn’t, I’d hold true to my claim and burn down that house, not caring who I injured in the process. I’d liked Mark and Sean, but I loved Rueben and wouldn’t blink to take them out for him.
“There’s the SUV,” Otto whispered, all of us on edge as we waited for it to turn into the lot and park. When my silent giant stepped out, our car breathed a collective sigh of relief.
“Okay, let’s go. The plane is ready.”
In the next ten minutes, we unloaded the cars and gave them the same treatment as the ambulance. We’d hired someone to pick them up later and return them to the rental company. Phillip greeted us as we rushed onto the plane, not batting an eye at Phoenix’s ragged appearance.
“We’ll be taking off in five minutes. Are we still heading toward Canada?” he asked, one foot in the cockpit, one foot out.
“Actually, could we make a detour to New York instead?” Otto asked, looking at me for confirmation.
“What’s in New York?” I asked, wrinkling my nose.
“Our place. I think we should take time to recoup and plan where your nemesis won’t know.”
My eyes widened, nodding before I could process. Why hadn’t I thought of that? Oh yeah, because I wasn’t used to having a team or depending on others. It was nice not having to make all the decisions.
“Yes, good plan.”
Otto smiled, giving Phillip the new coordinates, and I rechecked Phoenix. He didn’t have a fever or anything, so I prayed that meant I’d done a good job of cleaning the wound. Maybe we could take him to a doctor off books once we were in town to verify I hadn’t fucked up his shoulder. Yeah. That would be good.
