AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She felt almost numb now. Deep down, she fervently wished Blane was with her. But she knew that was a feeling she had to excise. Nothing could ever be the same again. And what would Kade do to her once he knew whatsheknew? The thought sent a chill through her.
Anne endured the blood pressure check and the IV and the blood draw and the X-Ray. By then, she’d been pumped full of pain killers and saline to replenish the fluids she’d lost with all the running. At that point, they asked if she’d like to call someone. No phone or identification had been found on her.
“Can I please use someone’s phone?”
They handed her one of their own cell phones without a word. Anne dialed a number from memory. It picked up on the third ring.
“Daddy? It’s me.” Her voice broke. “Please. Come get me.”
* * *
It took too long to get permission to land on the hospital’s helipad, so Blane had Kade land in the fucking parking lot, which a security guard immediately made Kade move. Blane jumped out first and two minutes later, he was in the ER.
“There was a woman brought in here. Broken ankle. Where is she?” It wasn’t a question, but a demand. He was hanging by a very thin thread. His need to be with Anne, make sure she was okay, was infecting everything until it was all he could think about.
The woman at the desk looked like she’d been there, done that, and got the t-shirt for her troubles. Even in light of Blane’s overwhelming presence, she merely snorted and tucked a manila folder into the filing cabinet behind her, then pushed a clipboard toward him.
“Fill this out.” Her expression was implacable.
Blane snatched up the clipboard, biting back the age-old douche response ofDo you know who I am?!
He handed it off to Kade standing behind him and escaped outside. Kade would handle it.
She was yards away and he couldn’t get to her. Anne thought he’d betrayed her. That she had something to fear from him. The thought cut him to the quick. He shoved his fingers through his hair in useless frustration.
The doors swished open and Kade walked out. He handed Blane a lit cigarette without asking. Blane gratefully sucked in a long draw.
“Did you find out anything?”
Kade shook his head. “HIPAA and all that shit. You’re not legally tied to her in any way. They’re not saying fucking anything.”
Blane cursed, took another drag off the cigarette, and tossed it away.
“What’s our next move?”
“We wait for her to regain consciousness,” Blane said. “She’ll want to go home. I can give her that.”
Just then, a helicopter flew overhead and began to descend. Blane watched as four men got out and headed for the ER entrance. He could tell instantly that they were all ex-military. He recognized the look. The pilot stayed inside with rotors turning. The security guard didn’t tellthemto move their chopper.
Thirty seconds later, the men re-emerged, a draped figure held between them. Blane’s stomach knit itself into a knot. Anne. It had to be Anne. He didn’t move. They were armed and he was not. He stood, muscles locked, and watched as they took her away from him. And tried not to regret the lies that had brought them there.
* * *
Life was again a blur as Anne came out of the anesthesia. She felt very fuzzy. They’d taken her immediately to surgery and now had a cast on her ankle, keeping it still, and loaded her up with medication. She hadn’t protested the men who’d come to get her, not once they said they were from her father. One had scooped her in his arms and the others had forced their way through the juggernaut of ER personnel to the outside. Her head rested against the arm of the man who carried her.
“Help me,” she whispered. “Don’t let him get to me.”
“It’s okay, ma’am. We’re here to take care of you. You’re going to be okay.”
Anne curled into the man who was carrying her. She needed safety. Protection. She was hurting and afraid.
Sound of wind grew louder until she wanted to put her hands over her ears. Then she was lifted up.
“Go! Go! Go!”
The craft lifted, she could feel it. Her eyes caught the window and she looked outside.
A man was running toward them. He looked desperate. Anne felt a vague sympathy for him. He must want something very much indeed.
