by Rebecca York
“This isn’t your fault. She obviously had her own agenda.”
“I should have made her come clean with me.” His face hardened. “When I find her I’m going to . . .” He let the end of the sentence dangle because too many emotions were raging inside him. Really, he didn’t know what he was going to do. All he knew was that he was angry with himself for trusting her. Angry with himself for being half in love with her. And angry about what she had just done.
“I guess we’d better assume she had her reasons. I mean, I think it was an act of desperation,” Mack said, obviously trying to take Grant’s anger down a notch.
He answered with a tight nod.
Switching to the immediate problem, Grant added, “She might have taken the car, but let’s assume she’s in no shape to drive far, and she’s smart enough to realize it. We’re right on a major north-south route, with plenty of motels. I’m betting she’s in one of them.”
“She could take any side street,” Grant said.
“She could,” Mack acknowledged. “But she doesn’t know the area. And she can’t be feeling great. I remember how I functioned when I came out of the VR for the first time after being in there for a month. I’m guessing she’s only going far enough to think she’s safe before getting a room.”
Grant sighed. “Okay, you go south, and I can go north.” He turned to Lily, a stark expression on his face. “How much money was in your wallet?”
“She left my money and took Mack’s”
Grant turned to his brother. “How much?”
“I’m not sure. Around two hundred dollars. Why?”
“I’m trying to judge what kind of room she’d get.”
“You think she’s savvy enough not to use Lily’s credit cards?” Mack shot back.
Grant shrugged. “I suppose it depends on how many thriller novels she’s read.”
Mack made an impatient gesture. “Okay we’re wasting time. We’d better get the show on the road. We’ll keep in touch, so each of us knows what the other is doing.”
When he said, “keep in touch,” he wasn’t talking about using their cell phones. He was referring to the ability he had with his twin brother to communicate mentally. They’d had it as boys, lost it as teens, and gotten it back when Mack was in the VR and Grant was in the real world searching for him.
“And I’ll call Frank,” Lily said, looking miserable about having to report the screwup.
oOo
Mack started for the door, then stopped and cursed.
“What?” Grant asked.
“Lily and I came in the same car.”
“You can use mine,” Terry said from the main room. “It’s my fault she’s gone,” he added, sounding like a guy on his way to the electric chair. “I should have checked the patients periodically.”
“No,” Grant corrected. “Both of us were watching the action on the screen. She knew it, and she took advantage of the situation. And when Corker went batshit, that gave her even more time to slip away without our noticing.”
“And I should have gotten an extra staffer in here,” Lily added. “But who would have thought Jenny was looking for an opportunity to bolt?” She spread her hands. “There’s no point in our beating ourselves up for what we should have done.”
Grant answered with a nod, but he was already thinking about current strategy. “Probably there’s no point in stopping at the first few motels,” he said as he and his brother headed for the door.
“But I guess we have to do it anyway, in case she suddenly realized she would be a fool to drive far. Or she stayed close like a double fake out,” Mack countered.
In the parking lot, they headed for separate cars. As soon as Grant was inside, he sent a message to his brother. Can you hear me?
The answer came back almost at once, Yeah.
When they’d first rediscovered the ability to talk mind to mind, they had only been able to communicate over short distances. But they had been practicing the skill, and now they had a range of several miles. Too bad they hadn’t checked the limit of their power. But there had been no need for long-distance communication until now.
Grant pulled out of the parking lot first and turned right. Mack was behind him and turned left.
He had tried to keep his attention focused on the immediate task. Now that he was alone, it was impossible to hold his emotions at bay.
He hated to admit that he’d been falling in love with Jenny Seville. He’d thought her feelings were similar. Otherwise why would she have finally gone to bed with him after all these months? But was he attributing too much to a few hours in a cabana by the pool at the Mirador Hotel?
Afterwards she’d reverted to her closed-up self. Because she didn’t trust him? Because she was afraid to get involved with him? Or because she thought she was a danger to him and everyone in the VR?
He sighed. Without more input from her, it had been impossible to figure out why she wouldn’t level with him. And now what was he going to do when he found her. Hug her in relief that he’d caught up with her or try and shake the truth out of her?
Maybe it would be better if Mack was the one who located her. That might give Grant time to cool off.
Up ahead was a medium-priced national chain. He slowed and pulled into the parking lot, then stopped under the covered entrance and sat for a minute. They’d rushed out of the Decorah facility so fast that he hadn’t thought about his approach.
At that moment, Mack contacted him, and he was glad of the distraction.
I’m coming up on a Holiday Inn express. How are we going to work this?”
Well, I was thinking I’d ask if Lily Wardman had registered, since that’s the ID she has, and she probably looks enough like Lily to get away with it.
The hair color’s wrong.
Women change their hair color all the time.
True. If they don’t have Lily Wardman registered, we can describe her.
And why are we looking for her? Mack asked.
Grant thought about it. The reason had to be urgent, but he didn’t want to say Jenny was a fugitive from the law—or an escaped mental patient. How about, she has a serious medical condition and needs to report back to the hospital.
What hospital?
The Decorah In-Patient Treatment Center. If they need confirmation they can call Lily.
Okay, Mack agreed. I’ll phone Lily and tell her she might be getting calls from desk clerks wanting to make sure they’re not talking to an abusive husband.
With the procedure worked out, Grant went into the motel and strode purposefully toward the desk.
A short, dark-haired man standing behind the desk looked up. His plastic name tag said Chuck. “Can I help you?”
“I hope so. I’m looking for a woman who might have come here during the past . . .” He stopped and looked at his watch. “Past hour and a half.”
It was hard to believe that so much had happened in such a short time, but there it was. Introducing Jonas Corker into the VR had looked like a catastrophe. It had been a snap to contain, compared to this.
When the clerk waited for Grant to go on, he said, “She was a patient in a hospital facility, and she has a life-threatening condition.”
“Then why did she leave?” Chuck asked.
Grant kept his gaze steady. “She didn’t want to acknowledge the seriousness of her illness.”
“Which is what?”
“That’s confidential medical information. But I can say that time is of the essence. Could you check to see if she’s registered?”
“I’d want some confirmation from her doctor,” the clerk said.
Grant dragged in a breath, realizing that he had a problem he hadn’t even thought about. “She took her doctor’s identification.”
“Oh yeah?”
“When you call the hospital, Dr. Wardman will answer. She’s standing by.”
The guy gave Grant a long look, like he was trying to decide if all this was for real. When he shook his head
, Grant was sure he was going to tell him to get the hell out. Instead he dialed the Decorah facility, and Grant could tell he was talking to Lily.
She must have answered and made the case sound urgent because the man hung up and turned to his computer. After checking his records, he shook his head again. “Not here under that name.”
Still, Grant pressed on. He gave a description, including that the patient would probably have looked sick and shaky.
“No. I’ve been on duty for the past three hours, and I haven’t seen anyone like you’re talking about.”
“Okay.”
Chuck hesitated for a moment before asking, “Are you looking for her because she has a mental problem.”
“No.”
“She’s physically sick?”
“She was in a coma until recently,” Grant answered evenly before turning on his heel. As soon as he’d said it, he wished he’d thought of a different answer, because that was a clue someone else could follow.
Back in the car, he dialed Lily.
“Was she there?” his sister-in-law asked anxiously
“No. This is the first place I tried. But we’ve got a screwy problem. The clerk wanted to call the hospital to confirm that a patient with a medical problem had left.
“And I did.”
“But she took your ID.”
“I wasn’t thinking about that.”
“Neither was I until I had to give your name.”
“I can be Doctor Bradley.”
“That will work, if I don’t have to give my name. Then we’re back to weird again.
“Well, let’s try Dr. Bradley. Technically that’s still me, although it’s not my professional name. But it’s not like the Hamilton Lab. This facility is owned by Decorah Security, not me.”
“Right.”
He could hear a phone ringing now.
“That’s Mack,” she said.
“Can you make it a three way?”
“Yes.”
As they spoke, he drove out of the motel lot and continued down Route 1 to the next chain motel. By the time he reached it, Mack had agreed to also use the name Dr. Bradley for the patient’s doctor. And the brothers had refined their technique. If the next motel clerks asked, they would say the patient had a tropical infection that was not contagious but it was life threatening.
The results at Grant’s next three motels were similarly frustrating. Lily Wardman had not registered. And he knew from his mental conversations with Mack that his brother was having similar luck.
Had he been wrong in his assessment?
By some force of will, had Jenny kept driving out of the area? And she was in Delaware by now, in some off-brand fleabag where nobody would think to look? If she’d gotten that far, there was little hope of finding her. But he didn’t think she’d pick a fleabag to stay in. He’d known from her reaction to the Mirador that she was used to luxury, and she probably wouldn’t want to stay in a place where there might be actual bugs.
He pressed doggedly on, prepared for another disappointment when he drove into the next place, another two-story chain, offering a free breakfast along with a room.
This time the clerk was a woman in her twenties who was reading a book at the counter. She quickly put it away when he came through the door. His spiel was well rehearsed now when he said, “I’m looking for a woman who might have gotten a room a couple of hours ago. She was in the hospital but checked herself out against medical advice. Her name is Lily Wardman. She’s in her twenties. Short caramel-colored hair and light eyes.”
To his surprise, the clerk said, “Yes, she did check in. I thought she looked sick, and I gave her a room around back on the first floor. Room 152.”
At first Grant could hardly believe what he was hearing. But as he absorbed the news, he felt a flood of relief—coupled with a stab of dread. This was what he had been hoping for, and at the same time, the knowledge that he was going to come face to face with Jenny again made his heart skip a beat, then start up in double time.
“Don’t tell her I’m coming. I don’t want her trying to run out on us again.”
“Of course not.”
He hurried back to his car, trying to picture the coming confrontation. He had half expected that Jenny would be impossible to find, and now she was only a few yards away—unless she’d changed her mind and skipped out of the motel.
That worry had him gunning the engine as he headed for the back of the two-story building. But he had to slow to read the room numbers.
As he drove along the row of parking spaces, he was relieved to see Mack’s car sitting in front of room 152. He continued past and parked several slots away so she wouldn’t know that the car outside had anything to do with her.
Walking back quietly, he kept his gaze fixed on 152. He could see that the curtains were drawn, with a thin line of light showing at the sides.
Now that he was here, another thought occurred to him and almost choked off his breath.
What if Jenny had escaped the VR so she could meet someone from outside? A friend? A lover? A partner in crime. Up till now, he hadn’t considered that scenario, but anything could be possible.
He pressed his ear to the door, hearing nothing. But she’d left the light on, which he assumed meant she wasn’t sleeping. Or had she passed out? Again his heart started to pound.
Hoping for the best but prepared for something he hadn’t anticipated, he knocked on the door.
There was no answer.
With his pulse thrumming, he tried again.
“Who’s there?” a woman’s voice called out. Through the thick door, he thought it was Jenny, but he couldn’t be sure.
“This is the front desk.”
“What do you want?”
“You dropped your credit card in the lobby, miss.” As soon as he said it, he wished he’d thought of something else. If she was smart, she hadn’t even pulled out a credit card.
Long seconds passed before he heard footsteps. He moved to the side so that if she could see him at all in the peephole, his image would be so distorted that she couldn’t tell who he was.
The light at the small opening changed, telling him that Jenny was looking out. Then she flung the door open. Framed in the lighted rectangle, she was holding a gun, pointed at Grant’s chest.
Chapter Eight
Grant went very still, his mouth suddenly dry as old newspaper. He had worked with Jenny on weapons training. He knew she was a good shot. And there wasn’t much chance of missing at this distance. On the other hand, a gunshot was sure to bring people running.
“Let me help you out,” he said, trying to project iron calm. “If you’re going to shoot me, it’s probably better to do it behind a closed door so the cops don’t come running.”
Raising his hands palms out, he took a step forward, acting like he was perfectly sure she wouldn’t drill him.
She could have said, “Don’t come any closer. Instead, she grimaced and took a step back.
He moved a foot nearer—into the room, closing the door behind him with his shoulder.
“Do you really want to shoot me?” he asked.
“No.”
“Then put the gun down.”
After considering the suggestion, she laid the weapon on the combination dressing table, TV stand, and desk across from the bed, then sat down in the desk chair.
He’d been focused on the small hole in the barrel of the automatic. With the threat less immediate, he took a good look at the woman. Her shoulders were slumped. Her face was flushed, and she had dark circles under her eyes. “You look like hell,” he said.
“I feel like hell.”
“You should let Lily check you over.”
“I left for a reason.” She dragged in a breath and exhaled. “And she probably doesn’t want to see me. I mean, you know I stole her purse and car, right? And Mack’s money,” she added to be perfectly clear about her sins.
The way she had said it tore at him. He had come here not
sure whether he was angry or terrified for her safety. He still wasn’t quite sure which impulse was stronger, but he crossed to where she sat, and lifted her into his arms, then carried her to the bed. Easing down, he stretched out, taking her with him so that the length of her body rested against his.
She could have resisted. Instead she buried her head against his shoulder, and he could feel her start to shake. Then she was sobbing.
He gathered her close, cradling her in his arms, closing his eyes while he hung on to her, feeling the waves of misery roll off of her.
He had been angry with her for disappearing. He was still angry, but now he knew how much he cared about her.
Finally, he felt her struggling to get control of herself. He eased away, went into the bathroom and came back with several tissues.
When she had wiped her eyes and blown her nose, he settled down beside her again.
He had forgotten all about his brother, when he heard Mack speak to him in his head.
Grant?
Yes.
Anything new to report?
Actually, yeah, I found her at the next place. You can go back to the lab.
Thank God. You’re bringing her back?
I think so. She’s pretty upset right now.
Okay. I’ll leave you to it.
The conversation cut off and Jenny asked, “Where were you?”
“Talking to Mack.”
She looked around, confused.
“Remember, I told you, he and I can speak mind to mind? We were both looking for you and keeping in communication. He went one way down Route 1 and I went the other. He, um ‘called’ to ask how the search was going. I told him I found you.”
“So he’s going back to the lab to tell the others?”
“Yes. Everybody was worried.”
She gave a small nod.
They had finally come to the moment of truth.
“Maybe this is the time to tell me why you were so determined to train yourself for self-defense and why you were so desperate to leave.”
Long seconds passed before she said, “I knew I was putting everyone in the VR and at the Decorah facility in danger.”
