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I stepped away with a scoff.
She grabbed my arms, then let go of the bad one just as fast. Flashing me an apologetic smile, she tightened the hold of the one she still gripped, tugging me into motion. “Come with me, tough guy.”
I strode past her to the other room, shaking off her hand as I went. She caught up, laying a hand on my arm, this time not biting into my skin with her ridiculously long nails.
“Listen,” her voice was soft, and so were her big black eyes searching mine. “He meant that. Dom may be an ass most of the time. But he’s honest. He’d never do anything to endanger Kaylie.Iwouldn’t.”
She smiled at my scowl. Shaking her head, she added. “You’re a stubborn one, aren’t you?”
I sighed. Looking around, I found a couch, as black and expensive-looking as the set of furniture circling the round table opposite side of the room. I sat, resisting the urge to throw my legs up onto the coffee table. I studied the flames dancing in the fireplace while the silence wrapped around us. It was already warm; damp summer heat seeping through the open windows. Why did they need a fire? And why the fuck did I care?
Tearing my gaze away, I let it skip over the arched windows, huffing at the black vertical bars casting long shadows onto the floor. Dominic promised we were free to go, but the feeling of being locked in only intensified at the sight of the damn rods disturbing the view.
“What happens if he refuses?” I asked at last. It was what I needed to focus on. Why their windows were barred like a fucking prison wasn’t.
Izzy sat in a chair opposite of me, crossing her legs. Her dress slid up, exposing more of her long legs than I wanted to see, but her seductive clothing wasn’t my main focus. If she thought she had a shot at me, she was dead wrong.
“That’s not an option.”
I scoffed. “You can’t base the whole operation on awhat if.”
She grinned. “It’s not awhat if. The guy will agree. He’d be a fool not to.”
She was right. If it was me in Alex’s shoes, I would have signed my soul to the goddamn devil if it meant guaranteeing the safety of the one I loved. If Alex was too dumb to take this chance, he’d not only fuck his own life but his boyfriend’s. And Kaylie’s and mine too. I had no doubt he couldn’t care less about ours. But the boyfriend… he already risked it all for him. What was one more move against his father? I fucking prayed Izzy was right. If not… I might never see Kaylie again.
“Try not to act weird.”
It was easier said than done as I walked past the reception across the main entrance of the Black River Hospital. Eyes were on me. I tried not to shrink under the hateful eyes of an older woman as I brushed past her.Freaking racist, I yelled inside. So what if I don’t look like you?
Other eyes were curious. A little girl followed her father while clutching a stuffed unicorn to her chest. She bumped into me before I moved out of her way, and I smiled at her before realizing she couldn’t see my face.
“Be careful, sweetie.” The dad grabbed her hand and pulled her away from me. “Let’s go see Mommy.”
I quickly looked away as the joy on the little girl’s face made me want to cry for what I’d never have. A mom and a dad who loved me. A family…
Once I reached the restrooms, I slipped inside a stall and locked the door. Leaning against the wall, I sucked in deep breaths to calm my pulse.
Dom’s words echoed in my mind.
“Change your clothes the first moment you get. Save them for when you’re leaving. Max will find you.”
The driver, Max, seemed to be a nice guy under all that fake beard. He had a white smile and light brown eyes, matching his hair. It was pretty much all I saw of him as I tried to not pass out from nerves as he pulled up outside the hospital. He accompanied me to the entrance, walking past an endless row of taxis waiting on a buzzing street. Then, I was on my own.
Fumbling with the zipper of the bag, I pulled out a nurse’s uniform and couldn’t help but grin. Nothing against the burka. But if I was ever doing role-play, the nurse was the sexier option. I dressed in a rush, stuffing the black clothes into the bag and throwing it over my shoulder. Slipping out of the bathroom, I looked around, scanning an endless hall with people of all shapes and colors rushing by. No one gave me a second glance, and after a few hesitating steps into the flow of the crowd, I started to relax, letting my eyes scan the signs hanging from the ceiling.
To my surprise, the nurses passing by looked exactly like me. The same color, the same cut of the gown. Even the same logo stitched onto the chest. Dom knew what he was doing. I never doubted it, but now I started to really understand the power ofcontacts. How he got these clothes, which was clearly a real outfit around here and not some Halloween costume, I didn’t want to know. But the little hope of pulling this off grew until I felt brave enough to push my luck.
It was time to find Alex.
The directions were fresh in my brain.
Third floor. The corridor on the north side.
It wasn’t hard finding an elevator that took me to the right floor. I stood facing an endless corridor on what I guessed was the north side. Please let this work. I started walking.
Walk past the waiting room. Turn left.
An old couple looked up at me as I rushed past their seats, and I had to suppress the need to ask them if I was on the right side of the freaking building. I turned left at the first intersection of corridors.
