“Alex, someone is coming,” the short man said.
Could this guy be Alex Barton, the truck driver responsible for Paula’s death?
“Are you going to cooperate?” Alex asked.
“Yes,” I replied. “Is your last name Barton?”
“Why?” he asked, tilting his brows.
He was the killer. I wanted to see him squirm. “Saul mentioned your name when he was taking me to the airport.”
“What did he say?”
“He was on his cell phone, so I don’t know what it was about.”
His jaw tensed, and he lowered his eyes to the floor. Without saying another word, he moved to the front of the gurney. Even with my pulse racing and hair standing up on the back of my neck, I still managed to smile.
Going further down the hallway, the voices kept getting louder. Three men wearing white lab coats and four people dressed in street clothes walked passed us. A sign on the wall read: “Information” with an arrow underneath, pointing the direction we were headed. More people hurried down the hall. No one looked my way. We went around a corner, and the hall opened up to a foyer. I assumed Alex and his buddy were taking me toward the hospital entrance. Then Lindsey walked by us.
“This strap is pinching my arm,” I said loudly, hoping to get her attention.
The gurney came to an abrupt halt. Alex walked to my side. “You don’t need to shout,” he said through gritted teeth. “Which arm is bothering you?”
“My left.”
He ran his hand under the strap. “I don’t feel anything squeezing. Does it still hurt?”
“No. It feels better now.”
His eyes narrowed as he stared at me. “I don’t want to hear another peep out of you,” he snapped, whispering, and then continued pulling me along.
Another gurney escorted by a police officer squeaked by us. The officer was chatting with the patient lying on top. He was oblivious to the crime happening right next to him. There was no way I could get his attention without putting everyone around us in danger.
A moment later, I was pushed through a double set of sliding doors and across a sidewalk.
A heavyset man with bulging eyes approached. “Any problems?” he asked as he helped Alex and the short man lift the gurney into the back of an ambulance.
“No,” Alex replied.
“Where’s Darlene?”
“Mr. Crussett wanted her to pick up something. She’ll meet us at the place.”
I needed to stay calm. If poisonous venom could be secreted from my fingers when the needles appeared, I didn’t want that to happen until I had an opportunity to use it. Wouldn’t that surprise Cameron? I worried that my hands might be tied and I wouldn’t be able to take off the gloves.
Alex closed the ambulance door and sat close to me. “How are you doing?” he smirked.
“Couldn’t be better,” I replied, giving him a wide, fake smile.
The throbbing sound of ambulance came from off in the distance along with a police car siren. I felt a vibration as the engine accelerated and we moved. The siren became louder while I was jerked back and forth, like the vehicle was making sharp turns.
Alex jumped to his feet and pushed the intercom button. “John, is that cruiser after us?”
“No,” John replied.
“Then why are we in the parking garage?” Alex asked, glancing out the window.
“A car with the hood opened was in the closest exit and another car blocked us from going the other direction. I’d already been asked to move from the entrance a few times. I told the security guy I was waiting for a patient. A cruiser was parked right next to me, and the cop heard everything I said. Also, it sounds like an emergency. More cops are headed to the hospital. Several ambulances are parked on the first floor of the garage. We won’t draw any attention in here. We’ll get on the road soon.”
Alex sat down as the sirens faded away.
“We’ve got company,” John said over the intercom. “The car that blocked us from leaving is coming up the ramp. Let’s see if they’re after us.”
“How many?” Alex asked.
“I only see two in the car. This level is almost deserted, just a few cars.” The ambulance jolted to a stop. “Not a coincidence. The car’s right next to us.”
Alex swung open the back door and jumped out. “What do you want?” he shouted as car doors slammed shut.
Voices rang out, “Her…get back…no…stop there…which one… him…no…”
Wanting to see and hear more, I pushed my right hand tight against my body and slid it out from under the strap. I heard a loud thud and the ambulance shook like something had hit it. A gunshot echoed through the parking structure as I undid the other straps. Easing my feet to the floor, I stood and listened. I only heard movement outside. Then I made my way to the door.
Standing by the open door, I saw Cameron’s men were lying face down, motionless, on the cement floor. Brett and Lindsey were wrapping the one furthest away in some kind of threadlike material. Was it spider webs? Alex was ten feet away from me.
Gripping the ambulance door handle, I slipped out, staggered toward him, raised my sock covered foot, and kicked Alex as hard as I could. “Ouch,” I yelled as I felt the pain, but it was worth it. I kicked him again, “Ouch,” and again, “Ouch.”
Brett looked at me. “What are you doing?” he asked with a puzzled expression on his face.
“I hate him. He killed my friend.” My voice shot up several octaves.
“He won’t hurt anyone else. Your foot is going to throb if you kick him anymore.”
“I’m through.”
“You okay?”
I nodded. With a sore foot, I stumbled to the ambulance, sat down on the back bumper, and watched Brett and Lindsey wrap the other two men. Lindsey raised the trunk lid of their car. Brett piled Cameron’s men inside.
“What’s going to happen to them?” I asked, hoping Alex would end up on an altar someplace.
“We don’t waste food,” Brett replied, straight-faced as he walked toward me. He put his arms around me and pulled me close with my feet hovering a foot above the floor. “I’ve missed you.” He smothered my lips with a kiss.
“I was so worried about you. I didn’t think you had survived the gunshot wound.”
“When I was lying on the sidewalk, I told you everything would be okay.” He lowered me down, backed away, and his eyes moved down my hospital gown. “You’re too exposed for climbing.”
“I’m not planning on climbing.”
Brett smiled without saying a word. He climbed into the ambulance, opened several drawers, and pulled out a hospital gown. He put it on me backwards over the other gown so it tied in the front.
“How do your feet feel?” he asked.
“Tingly.”
“You shouldn’t be standing,” he said, lifting me into his arms.
Lindsey came toward us, carrying a can with a nozzle, and sprayed everything inside the ambulance.
“Why is she doing that?” I asked Brett.
“To remove fingerprints. We don’t need to wipe it down.”
“Cameron tried to kidnap me. You’re destroying the evidence.”
“We don’t like cops involved,” he explained. “All they’ll find is an abandoned ambulance. I doubt it’s registered to any of the Crussetts’ businesses.”
Lindsey stepped from the ambulance, closed the doors, and sprayed them. Then she went to the front cab, sprayed inside and the outside along with the bumpers, a dent near the rear, and dispersed the remainder in the can everywhere else. “All done,” she said with a pleased expression.
“Move the car to the parking lot,” Brett said to her. “I’ll get Sara back to her room by taking her to the top of the hospital and down the stairs or elevator.”
“Why can’t we ride with Lindsey and go through the entrance?” I asked.
“We don’t know if Cameron has stationed any of his men there.”
“You’ve got a point
,” I said.
Lindsey got a rope out of the car, handed it to Brett, and then climbed into the driver’s seat. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
We watched her drive away. “How are you planning on getting me to the hospital roof?” I asked.
Brett grinned. “You’ll see. I want you on my back.” He swung me onto his back. I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around to his neck. Brett secured us together with the rope, took off his shoes and socks, and tied them to his belt. He climbed on the parking garage ledge.
“Is this safe?” I asked, feeling uneasy, even if he appeared to know what he was doing.
“Yes. Don’t worry. This isn’t my first time,” he said as he rubbed the end of the rope, making it glisten. He flung it toward the hospital. The shiny end attached to the side of the building.
“Hang on,” he said, gripping the rope with his hands. He swung over to the hospital and scaled up the side, using his hands and feet.
I should have been terrified. Instead, I found being on his back invigorating as he moved through the air high above the ground and up the building. We were on the roof within a few minutes.
“How did you do that?” I asked.
“You’ll be able to do that once you’ve gone through the transformation,” he replied, cutting the rope that held us together.
I lowered my feet. “But how?”
“Because part of our DNA comes from our spiders,” he answered, putting on his socks and shoes.
I felt my eyes opening wider, my brows rising, and my forehead creasing.
“Don’t look so shocked,” he said. “We’ll talk about it when we get to your room. And don’t worry if we were seen by spectators. From a distance we probably would have looked like window washers, and we’ll be out of here soon enough that any one closer won’t have time to check it out. On top of that, I doubt if we were spotted.” He picked me up and carried me down the first two flights of stairs without us passing or hearing anyone.
“What time are you getting off today?” a female voice asked. It sounded like she was a flight of stairs below us.
“We can’t stay in here any longer,” Brett whispered, opening a door. He moved into the hallway and sat me down on a chair. “I’m going to find a wheelchair.”
Several nurses and doctors walked past me. No one stopped to say anything. Five minutes later, Brett came back with a wheelchair. He lifted me into it and pushed it to the elevator.
When we reached my room, Lindsey was there and so was Nurse Mabel.
“Where have you been?” Mabel asked as she helped me get back in bed.
“I got tired of staying in my room,” I said. “Brett got a wheelchair and pushed me around the halls.”
“That needed to be cleared by the nurse on duty. Dr. Alston left specific instructions you were to rest and sleep as much as possible.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I had to ask for permission. I won’t do it again.”
“I’ll have to put that in your chart,” she said, sounding irritated. “Since you need to rest, your visitors can’t stay long.” She stepped into the hallway and left the door wide open.
“I guess no one told her that I had been taken for an x-ray,” I said.
“Is that the excuse they used?” Brett asked, shutting the door.
“Yes. I even saw the request. I couldn’t read the physician’s signature.” I looked at Lindsey. “I should’ve checked with Lance like you did yesterday, especially after I saw the one guy’s tattooed arm.”
“Yes, you should’ve called him regardless of that,” Lindsey said, firmly. “I don’t know if this hospital has a tattoo policy. They do in Bismarck. Lance doesn’t allow any of his employees at his clinic to have one exposed.”
“The form looked official, and the nurse seemed so professional.”
“How many were there?” Brett asked.
“Three.”
“A nurse and two guys?”
I nodded.
“What happened to her?” Lindsey asked.
“When we got off the elevator on the first floor, she excused herself and went in the opposite direction. Shortly after that, I knew something was wrong when I was pushed down a hall away from the x-ray lab. The man pulling the gurney said that Cameron wanted to see me, and he couldn’t come to my room. The man also said if I didn’t cooperate people would be hurt. I stayed quiet as I was pushed along before I saw Lindsey walk past me.”
“That’s when I heard you say something about your strap being too tight,” Lindsey said. “We didn’t know there was a problem until then.”
“I’m glad you heard me.”
“I think everyone in the foyer heard you,” she snickered.
“The nurse who came with the two guys, have you ever seen her before?” Brett asked.
“No.”
“Can you remember what she looked like?” Lindsey asked.
“She’s tall, probably around five-ten, and has short, curly, auburn hair.”
“Slender, heavy?” Lindsey asked.
“Average size. I’m pretty sure her name is Darlene.”
“How do you know that?” Brett asked.
“The ambulance driver asked about her. She was supposed to go with us, but Cameron sent her on an errand. Probably the first life he ever saved.”
“And he’ll never know it,” Lindsey commented.
“If a nurse comes in here that you don’t recognize, push your call button,” Brett said. “Don’t eat or drink anything she gives you. I’m going to be hanging around the hospital. If anything happens, call me on my cell phone. Something needs to be done about Cameron.”
“Before your nurse kicks us out, are you starting to believe anything I told you yesterday?” Lindsey asked.
“Well, I know you have abilities that normal humans don’t have.” I looked at Brett “What was that all about when you said I was part spider?”
“Didn’t Lindsey tell you about Sir Randolph’s experiments?”
“Yes, I told her,” Lindsey confirmed.
“He changed his and our ancestors’ DNA,” Brett said. “That’s why you can secrete poisonous venom from your fingers. After you’ve gone through the transformation, you’ll be able to move like a spider when you want to. You can project small clusters of hairs on your hands and feet that act like climbing claws.”
“I never told her about that,” Lindsey confessed. “Do you believe you were adopted?”
“I’m having that checked. Like you said, there’ll be a record.”
“Good,” Brett said. “Is there anything I can tell you that might help convince you that Lindsey told the truth?”
“Come here,” I said to Brett. I watched him walking toward me. “Unbutton your shirt. I want to see your chest.”
He grinned as he undid his shirt. “Lindsey can stand guard outside the door. I don’t want your nurse interrupting us.”
“That’s not what this is all about,” I clarified and saw the disappointed look on his face. “I want to see where you were shot.” I ran my glove-covered hand over his chest. “I can’t even feel you.”
“You can take your glove off. I’m immune to your poison.” Brett helped free my hand.
I ran my fingers over his chest. “Nothing seems different. Where were you shot?”
“Right here,” he said, pointing to a spot that appeared to be close to his heart.
“I can’t see anything,” I said. “Were you shot in the heart?”
“Yes,” he replied. “I should have been more cautious. That’s why it’s taken me several days to heal. Had I just been shot in the arm, I would have been back to normal within a couple of hours.”
“Do all Tegens heal so easily?”
“Yes, as long as they feed,” he said, buttoning his shirt.
The door swung open. “Miss Jones needs her rest,” Mabel said, walking into the room. “You can come back later today and visit her.”
Brett started to help me put my glov
e back on.
“Did you take off her glove?” Mabel asked, sounding annoyed.
“I just wanted to see her fingers,” Brett replied.
“Dr. Alston has left specific instructions that Miss Jones is to wear her gloves all the time. No one is to take them off. I’m going to have to tell Dr. Alston about this.”
“I’m sorry,” Brett said. “I didn’t know.”
Mabel gave him a disapproving glance and stood by the door, waiting for him and Lindsey to leave. Brett delicately kissed my lips.
“See you later,” they both said as they left.
“Let me get your lunch,” Mabel said. Within a few minutes, she was back with a tray.
My hands and feet started throbbing a little while I ate. I didn’t want a repeat of Friday. I quickly finished eating, and then pushed the call button.
Mabel appeared in the doorway. “Do you need something?”
“My hands and feet hurt a little.”
“I’ll call Dr. Alston and see what I can give you.”
The pain increased. I closed my eyes and attempted to recall everything Lindsey had said. Could it all be true? I saw Brett bleeding. He shouldn’t have healed that fast, if at all, with a bullet in his heart. Should I tell Conner that Cameron tried to kidnap me? Since I didn’t want to explain how I was rescued and what happened to Cameron’s men, I decided not to say anything about it. Also, I wanted to get as far from the Crussetts as possible. The less Conner knew the better. I felt a hand on my shoulder and raised my eyelids.
“Will you drink venotrolia now?” Lance asked, holding a container with a straw protruding from it. “Or would you rather wait until the pain becomes unbearable again?”
“I’ll drink it now,” I replied. I slowly sipped the red liquid from the straw. Even knowing what it was, it still tasted good.
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