“Hospital is on lockdown,” Mitch said, his voice strained.
Someone violent was on the loose. I nodded and ran to the hallway as I watched all the nurses strictly following protocol, locking up cabinets and closing patients’ doors. I dashed to the double doors and attempted to push through, but they were locked.
It was too late. We’d fallen right into their trap.
Hannah
Even in times of peril, it proved astonishingly difficult to resist Luke. But I took that as a good sign—a strong relationship that could withstand just about anything the world had to offer. I glanced around the waiting room where Mia was sipping a cup of lukewarm hot chocolate while I shuffled through months-old magazines. It was early evening and Luke was visiting Mitch. He was still being evaluated, and Luke thought Mitch would be here for at least forty-eight hours for observation. At least that was what the doctors had mentioned. There had been some swelling of the brain, and regardless of Mitch’s input, doctors wanted to keep him.
“I think I’m gonna grab a bottled water or apple juice. Maybe both,” I told Mia, glancing at the man Luke had in Mitch’s place to keep an eye on us. His name was Chad. He seemed nice enough, but his job wasn’t to be nice. It was to protect us and that had me worried. What did Luke know and refused to tell us? There was a part of me that wanted to roll my eyes at the thought of having protection, but after this morning, I thought better of it.
“Alright. I’ve got a five. Want to get me some chips?” she asked.
“No worries. My treat. Financial aid just deposited into my account. I’m feeling flush. How about you, Chad? Want anything?”
Chad shook his head. “I’ll come with you though.”
“Don’t be silly. I’m just going down the hall. You’ll see me from here.”
“Sorry. Orders.”
“Then who will be here with Mia?” I glanced over at Mia, who raised a brow and waited for his response.
“She’ll have to come with us.”
“Nope. I’m comfortable right here,” she said smugly.
I chuckled and shook my head as I watched Chad’s expression change to complete exasperation. Nothing like being stuck between the boss’ sister and girlfriend. I could forgo the juice, but I was parched and by the looks of it Mia wasn’t going anywhere. She hated the idea of having someone watching over her, and she was attempting to make a point. I, on the other hand, really wasn’t doing anything but trying to get a drink.
“Nothing is going to happen. We’re at a hospital and the snack center is right down the hall. You could even park yourself between the snack room and the waiting room and watch us both if that works better for you,” I offered. Unlike Mia, I didn’t try to make people’s lives more miserable. “I won’t tell.”
Chad gave a slight nod and followed me into the hall. He continually checked over his shoulder and stopped moving once he was on the verge of not seeing Mia. I spotted the vending machines in the tiny room and glanced behind me to see Chad standing tall against the wall, his hands folded in front of him. He looked like a statue.
“I’ll only be a second. Sure you don’t want anything?” I asked.
“I’m fine.”
What a pleasant guy. I walked into the room that smelled strangely of disinfectant and tortilla chips and scanned the drink machine. I found a sparkling cider in a can and bottled water. Perfect. It wasn’t until I saw the “Out of Order” sign that I realized my plan was failing. I glanced at the snack machine and it too was out of order.
Shoot!
I poked my head out of the room and saw Chad staring toward Mia’s direction. The stairs were across the hall. I bet they had the same room right below us. I decided to take my chances and dashed across the hall and down the stairs on a drink and chip pursuit. The door clicked shut behind me, and the medicinal smell of the stairwell wafted through the air. I hated hospitals. I quickly descended the stairs and swung open the door, and as I suspected, the snack room was directly in front of me.
I skimmed the cookies, chips, and jerky and chose a bag of potato chips for her and cheese crackers for me. As the first bag began its push toward the glass a loud crackle came over the hospital’s intercom followed by clear and specific instructions to the hospital staff. I hated hearing announcements like this. Code anything freaked me out and worried me that someone was about to pass on. I shivered at the thought as the woman’s voice announced a code I’d never heard before. Silver. I had no idea what that was, but it sounded better than red.
I reached for the bag of chips when I felt the cold metal press against my neck. I looked in the vending machine’s glass and saw a reflection of a man dressed in mint green scrubs standing behind me. My blood froze with the realization that he was no RN.
“Say one word, and I’ll slice that little carotid artery of yours so fast you won’t know what happened.”
His hand slithered along my shoulder and gripped it firmly as he led me back out.
“Drop the chips. Actually, open them up and sprinkle them on the floor. That’ll make for a better scene.” The man’s voice was cold and calculating. I detected a slight accent, but I couldn’t place it.
I did as he instructed and opened the chip bag and scattered the potato chips along the linoleum floor.
“Good girl. Now toss the bag over there.” I threw the bag in the corner where he pointed and prayed that Chad would notice I was missing.
The fear that pulsed through me was nothing compared to the stupidity I felt as the man walked me into the hallway, hiding his blade from others. I spotted several nurses sitting at the nurse’s station discussing something intently. They glanced at the man next to me and smiled. Apparently his scrubs and id tag were enough for their peace of mind.
“At least we’re safe up here.” One of the nurses gave a slight smile, and her eyes fell back to the group of women surrounding her.
“There are nutcases everywhere,” another nurse whispered. “Just glad I’m not on floor two today.”
“Aren’t we all?” one of them laughed nervously.
I wanted to scream they were letting one of those nutcases pass right by them, but I kept it in. I trusted this man’s word and didn’t doubt for a second that he’d make good on his threat. I felt the hollowness that radiated from his soul. He had nothing to lose, and I had no idea why. I’d sensed it before. The community I’d left was full of people like him.
The man led me to the elevators when one of the nurses called out to us. “Code Silver is still activated. Elevators aren’t working.”
Code silver. What was code silver?
I glanced at the man whose cold, blue eyes rested on mine before he spoke.
“So no security on this floor?”
“Nope. They’re all downstairs,” the older nurse responded.
I glanced at the nurse and attempted to catch her gaze, but the quick spits of a suppressed pistol took out each nurse. I fell to my knees as the crimson splashed across the nurses’ station and each nurse dropped to the floor. The thick pool of blood snuck along the linoleum floor as my body began shaking uncontrollably. I attempted to scream but no sound would come as the man’s fingers dug deep into my flesh as he hauled me to the stairwell.
“One wrong move or one little peep, and I’ll make sure you’ll end up just like they did. Understood?” He shot the lock off the door to the stairwell, and I gave him a slight nod as he pulled me down three flights of stairs, nearly dragging me along the way.
We made it to the last flight of stairs that had a large B painted on the wall. I spotted a security guard standing by the door. He noticed us as the man next to me noticed him, but it was too late.
“Stop where you are,” the security guard yelled, but he was met with the silenced bullet gliding through the air before it plunged deep into his chest. I let out a yelp and the man landed a punch to my cheek, pushing me to the ground. The crack of my bone as a sharp pain radiated down my face made my vision blur. I tumbled down the stairs a
nd slammed into the cement wall next to the security guard. I touched his cheek, not wanting him to leave this world alone. I didn’t want to leave this world alone.
“You’ll be okay,” I whispered, marking my thumbprint in the blood that traveled to his neck.
Through my haze, I watched the man posing as an RN take the key from the guard and open the door, which led to the parking garage. I knew if I let myself go through that door there was very little chance that I’d see Luke again. There was very little chance that I’d survive.
The man reached for my arm, and I flung my body backward and hit the cement wall with a painful thud. He mumbled something I didn’t understand and pulled my hair, dragging me through the blood and over the guard’s lifeless body as I kicked and struggled against his force.
The stale air of the garage hit my lungs as I screamed and continued to struggle, but he had the upper hand. I curled my free arm around a cement post, holding it with all my might as he tugged on my body, which finally freed with his strength. I was no match for him.
I let out another scream, praying someone would hear before it was too late, but it was met with silence. He slammed me on a black SUV. My head knocked against the front quarter panel, and I slid down to the pavement. His grip around my wrist didn’t lessen as he opened the back door. He reached down to lift me into the vehicle, and I bit his thumb as hard as I could. A metallic liquid trailed down my chin, but he didn’t even flinch.
I lunged for him with my mouth gaping open, ready to rip into any exposed flesh, but I was met with a fist into my temple. I sailed deeper into the vehicle as my neck snapped backward. The agonizing pain that pulsed through my entire body was nothing compared to the pain I felt when he closed the door and the surprise of someone’s fist connected with my chin.
“Lights out, bitch.”
Luke
“Christ, Sam. You can’t tell me you’ve got nothing. There are security cameras at every damn intersection from here to Mexico.” I shoved the table across the floor and watched it crash into the wall before looking for my next target.
Mia ran to my side and clutched my arm, but I shook her off.
“It’s going to be okay,” Mia whispered.
I narrowed my eyes at my sister and shook my head. “I don’t know that it is.”
“I’m not saying we don’t have any leads, but this was a highly orchestrated event, Luke. Hannah was thrown into a black SUV and five black SUVs left from the hospital parking lot. They all went in different directions. The lab’s attempting to blow up the license plate on the vehicle Hannah was placed in, but so far we’re not having any luck.” Sam’s eyes darkened and he glanced at Mitch.
“Mitch was never the target. He was the bait and we fell right into their trap,” I said.
“I don’t disagree,” Sam replied and then glanced at one of the agents in the hall. “Pardon me. I’ll be right back.”
“I never saw it coming,” Mitch said, attempting to adjust in the hospital bed. “Never.”
“Makes two of us.” I slammed my fist into the wall, and rested my forehead against it. I’d never felt this amount of pain. Never. How did I let this happen? How did I let Hannah slip through my fingers and into the hands of these monsters? I sensed my sister and Mitch’s eyes on me and took a deep breath in an attempt to steady my mind. I couldn’t lose control in front of them. I wanted nothing more than to personally execute the person behind this. I wanted to watch the last drop of blood drain out of his wicked body. Sam was in the hall discussing the video footage of Hannah caught on the hospital cameras. I only caught bits and pieces of the conversation, but it was enough to make me ill. I hadn’t seen it yet.
“I’m worried about your mental state,” Mia whispered softly.
I turned quickly to face my sister and shook my head. “My mental state is fine. I know what I need to do to bring her back and—”
“That’s exactly what I’m talking about. You can’t go charging into wherever she’s being held and expect to become Superman. This is no joke, Luke. I’ve already lost mom and dad. If I lose you, I’ll have no one.”
“You expect me to leave it up to Sam and the bureau? That worked really well for our parents.” Anger boiled inside me at the very thought. They might have more resources than I did, but with all the red tape that dangled in front of their organization at every turn, they weren’t very capable of using them.
“I don’t expect that at all. Believe me, I know you better than you think. I’m only asking that you be smart about it. That you make no mistakes and right now—in the condition you’re in—you’ll make mistakes, and they could be fatal.”
My sister was right, but that didn’t change what I needed to do. There was no time to wait to calm down. If this was their intention the entire time, there was a reason. Hannah’s life meant nothing to them.
“Anyone who was willing to kill that many people on their way out the door with Hannah, has no qualms about doing the same to her. Every minute…Every hour I wait and don’t find her, brings her that much closer…” I couldn’t finish my statement. A lump formed in the back of my throat, which I shoved down just as Sam came back into the room.
“We’ve got a partial on the license. They’re running it through the system so at least we’ll know which direction they headed on the arterials.”
I nodded.
“I know you’re busy scheming. But, Luke, you have to give us a chance. I can’t have you going in like some vigilante.” Sam’s statement did little to sway me.
“Then what do you propose I do, Sam? Go home and wait for the call from you that you’ve found her body?”
Sam’s jaw clenched and his mouth formed an immediate frown, but he didn’t respond.
“That’s not an option for me. I’m sorry. Now, I’d like to take a look at the footage,” I told Sam as I walked out of the room and into the hall.
“I don’t recommend it,” Sam shouted from behind.
The hospital was quiet; the staff silently working on their patients as they attempted to piece together what just happened, but two of the nurses managed to glance over at Sam’s outburst. Agents, police officers, and detectives were plastered in every part of the hospital. Two of the nurses had died. Two more were in surgery here and another had been transported to a different hospital. I hadn’t heard the status on the security guard.
Sam jogged up behind me and I barely threw him a glance. “I assume the guard’s station with the video footage is in the basement?”
Sam gave a slight nod as his brows furrowed. Whatever was on the footage he didn’t want me to see. But I needed to know. I needed to witness what happened to her. I needed to see if there was a chance. I only needed a chance.
I stepped into the elevator with Sam and two other agents who were right behind us as I pushed the button to take us to the basement. I thought of Hannah and everything I hadn’t told her, but there hadn’t been time, which was exactly how they’d planned it. They’d kept us running from one circus event to the next until someone who I held dear was captured.
The grand finale.
I stepped off the elevator into a dark corridor and followed Sam down the hallway until we reached a metal door where two agents stood. Sam pushed open the door and took in a deep breath. Several more agents were in the small room, watching video footage and making calls. Sam made room for the two of us by chasing a couple detectives away and wheeling the chairs in front of the small monitors.
“We’ve managed to piece together a string of events using footage from multiple cameras.” Sam used the mouse and clicked on the screen. “This is the suspect entering the hospital. He came in about an hour after Mitch had been admitted.”
I looked at the blurry image on the screen as he strode past security and swiftly walked through the hospital’s entrance. He was wearing hospital scrubs, but I couldn’t see his face. I carefully watched as he went to the elevators and disappeared into obscurity. Sam clicked on the next video clip showin
g the man emerging from the elevators. He was casing each floor. He wandered down the narrow hallways, checking all public areas, circling the nurse’s station and never a glance cast in his direction.
“All this was caught on footage and not once did any of the guards notice?” It was impossible to hide my disgust.
“It would be almost impossible for them to know anything suspicious is going on. There are hundreds of feeds…”
I shook my head and continued watching the footage, waiting for a glimpse of the man’s face who’d kidnapped Hannah.
“Do you want to keep going or get to—”
“Fast forward it.”
Sam closed the small screen and opened another after locating the correct time marker.
“This is the man who became violent and set off the code silver.”
I focused on the scene in front of me; the man lashing out at nurses as he made everything around him a weapon. He was dressed in street clothes and I could say with all certainty I didn’t recognize him. It wasn’t until he pulled a knife from his sock that the code silver went into effect. Guards and doctors came running in to subdue the man who started the chain reaction of events that would forever change my life.
“He’s in questioning,” Sam said so quietly I almost didn’t catch it.
“But?”
“They’re treating it as a psychotic break.”
“Who’s treating it as a psychotic break?”
“The doctors.”
“Come on. We know this was a sham. The guy might be a whack-job, but we all know it was premeditated.”
“I know. We’re doing what we can.”
Even though his words added fuel to the fire that was already burning inside of me, I refused to let myself go as crazy as I felt. Instead, my gaze stayed focused on the screens in front of me. Sam switched to a different footage showing the man in scrubs who was now on Mitch’s floor. He went into the snack center and placed a notes over the bill acceptor and walked away. Everything in this setup depended on something else and they’d managed to predict exactly what she’d do. My blood froze with the realization of how easily we played right into their plan. Sam moved to another clip where the man was stationed in a corner on the same floor. He appeared to be looking at a patient’s chart when something caught his eye.
Buried Sins Page 5
