Relentless (27 page)

Outside the asylum, Hannah leaned back against Grant’s car. Anyone who saw her there might have assumed she was waiting for Grant to come out.

But instead, she was angrily wiping at her eyes, which were burning red. She gazed upward, searching the afternoon sky. She wiped them again, fighting the overwhelming feeling that was surging up within her.

Finally she stood up, away from the car, and retrieved her phone. She keyed in speed dial.

‘‘I’m out,’’ she said, when the person on the other end answered. ‘‘You better think
long and hard
before you threaten me! I did what you wanted. But my part is
over
. I’m out!’’

33

‘‘I don’t actually know his name . . .’’ Alex said.

Grant towered over her, angrily staring her down in front of the hospital’s main entrance. As agreed, he had met her just as the sun was descending. Her chosen hiding place was behind a grouping of shrubs.

‘‘You said you work for him!’’ Grant shouted.

‘‘Yeah,’’ Alex replied. ‘‘I didn’t say the two of us are best pals. I’ve never even met the guy. Or maybe the gal. I don’t really know which. My orders always come by carrier.’’

Grant sighed, stifling his frustrations once again. His thoughts turned back to Morgan’s subtle warning about running headlong into avoidance of how he felt. Once again, he’d been confronted by huge revelations— his father’s possible faked death, Morgan’s surprising confiding in him, Hannah’s admissions, Marta’s predictions—and yet here he was, turning to another enormous task.

But what does she expect me to do? Sit around and mope?

And stopping long enough to consider how all of this seemed to center on him, the sheer improbability of it all . . .

It was unbearable.

‘‘So . . . is this boss of yours interested in helping me as much as you are?’’

‘‘What makes you think he hasn’t already?’’ she said knowingly. ‘‘Be careful who you trust, sweetie, but be
more
careful who you assume your enemy is. Things are never that cut and dried.’’

‘‘Why is he manipulating all of us? What’s he after, in the end?’’

‘‘He wants to rig the game, no mistaking that. But as to what the game is exactly . . . you’d have to ask him.’’

‘‘I don’t believe you,’’ he said suspiciously. ‘‘You can’t tell me you’ve worked for him—or her—for
this long
and don’t know
anything
about him. Is he the good guy or the bad guy?’’

She nodded. ‘‘All I can give you is his title. I’ve heard it a few times, though don’t ask me how—I’m not supposed to know it. And whatever you do, don’t repeat it to anyone.’’

He waited impatiently as she took a dramatic breath.

‘‘He’s called the
Keeper
.’’

He almost laughed.

The Bringer. And the Keeper.

Doesn’t
that
sound like a happy combination?

‘‘Yeah,’’ she replied. ‘‘Now I held up my end of the bargain . . .’’

‘‘Fine,’’ he said resignedly. ‘‘Tell me where to find this person who needs my help so desperately.’’

‘‘There you go again, always assuming the worst,’’ Alex sighed, hands on hips. ‘‘Just because this guy needs your help doesn’t mean you’re going home empty-handed in this. This guy’s in seriously bad condition, but he’s in worse danger the longer he stays here.
You’re
going to have to find a way to get him out. And he’s going to need supplies and equipment to recover—’’

‘‘What do you mean, I’m not going home empty-handed?’’

‘‘Mosey up to Room 458 and find out.’’

Lisa stirred when she heard a nurse come in to check Daniel’s vitals. It was dusk outside, yet she was surprised to see Daniel awake again so soon. His swelling had gone down considerably in the last few days, and it was nice to see him looking more like his old self again, even
with
all the bandages.

She smiled at him and he offered something resembling a smile in return. But she knew that half-smile better than he realized. His mind was preoccupied.

Lisa waited until the nurse left to speak. ‘‘What are you thinking?’’

‘‘About how I asked you not to leave me here alone. But it’s been days now, and really, if something was going to happen, I think it would have by now. Please go home and get some rest. That chair can’t possibly be comfortable.’’

‘‘What are you talking about?’’ Lisa replied with a smile. ‘‘Me and this chair have bonded. We’ve been through some experiences together. I’m not going
anywhere
.’’

He smiled wearily at her. ‘‘Lisa, everything you’ve done for me has been wonderful. I’ve been through traumatic things before; I’ve pulled through things—well, maybe not worse than this, but still pretty bad.

Now I think it’s time to be honest. I’m not escaping from here. What comes, comes.’’

‘‘Quitter,’’ she replied, in a voice that almost made him smile.

Daniel sighed. ‘‘You know . . . even if you
could
get me out of here, where would you even take me? The lab has been destroyed, my home and your apartment probably aren’t secure . . .’’

‘‘I know a place,’’ she replied. When he eyed her curiously, she said defensively, ‘‘I
have
thought this through, you know.’’

He smiled. ‘‘You always have been the brains of the operation.’’

‘‘I can’t believe you finally figured that out!’’ She laughed out loud.

He laughed as well, but then started gasping when the laughter triggered his cracked ribs. He brought both hands up to brace his chest as he tried to catch his breath. Lisa jumped up and helped, placing his oxygen mask back over his mouth and nose until the pain subsided.

It was a while before he removed the mask and lay back on his inclined bed.

Lisa returned to her chair and shook her head at him. ‘‘This Grant Borrows person . . . What makes you so sure that he’s worth all this? Worth everything you’ve been through?’’

‘‘I have my reasons,’’ Daniel croaked. When she wouldn’t release his gaze, he added, ‘‘There are plenty of things about me you still don’t know.’’

She was about to respond when everything went black.

The power went off all over the entire hospital, but the emergency generators immediately kicked in. It wasn’t enough electricity to power everything in the building, only the essential systems. The medical equipment Daniel was hooked up to continued unabated, but the only light came from the emergency beams out in the hall.

They heard panicked screams erupt from other rooms on the floor, and nurses running around, trying to keep patients calm and making sure everyone was okay.

Once her eyes had adjusted, Lisa finally saw Daniel again. Terror had returned to his eyes, and she looked away before he saw her notice it. Instead, she took his hand in a reassuring way.

‘‘Must be a storm coming up or something,’’ she tried.

‘‘This is it, isn’t it?’’ Daniel whispered. ‘‘They’re coming for me.’’

She tried to show him a reassuring smile, but the screams were closer now. They both turned to look through the open door.

The patrolman outside was already on his feet, and he peeked inside the doorway. ‘‘Don’t leave this room,’’ he growled. ‘‘Lock the door.’’

Lisa did as commanded and then rejoined Daniel and took his hand again.

‘‘It’s okay, it’s probably nothing. Maybe a car hit a power line . . .’’ she was saying. The room was almost pitch dark, the only light now coming from the city lights outside the window.

‘‘Lisa, I ought to tell you something,’’ Daniel said gently.

Her heart pounded madly in her chest, but before he could say anymore, there was a loud crash against the door from the other side. She screamed.

They clutched each other’s hands even tighter.

Strange sounds came from outside, and they continued to watch as something else crashed into the door, and then there were grunts and kicks and blows.

A loud pop like a small explosion went off somewhere out there, and there was one last violent crash against the door, before everything went silent. They heard jangling, the sound of keys.

Lisa looked at the man beside her and whispered. ‘‘Daniel, I—’’

He turned and looked at her. ‘‘You’ve never called me ‘Daniel’ before.’’

The door crashed open, and they both gasped.

The policeman slumped to the floor just inside the doorway, his body propped up against it from the outside.

Standing behind him in the doorway was a tall silhouette. A man.

He produced an empty gurney and steered it into the room.

‘‘I . . . I’m here to, uh . . . rescue you,’’ the man stated. ‘‘Apparently.’’

‘‘Sorry,
who
are you again?’’ Lisa asked skeptically as she ran along beside their mysterious savior, dragging Daniel’s I.V. stand.

‘‘It’s not important,’’ Grant replied, maneuvering Daniel’s gurney through the dark corridors and toward an elevator.

‘‘Power’s still out,’’ Lisa breathed. ‘‘How’s an elevator supposed to help?’’

‘‘They operate on a back-up grid, in case of emergencies,’’ Grant explained, turning around to drag the gurney onto the elevator car.

Daniel looked horrid with both legs outstretched in full casts, his right ankle still sporting the complex metallic contraption. He seemed to be worn out already from all of the excitement, but he startled when Grant pulled him over the doorsill and the gurney bumped.

‘‘Easy!’’ Lisa screeched. ‘‘He’s not a sack of potatoes!’’

Grant sighed.

‘‘How do you intend to get us out of here?’’ Daniel whispered.

‘‘No worries,’’ Grant replied. ‘‘I’ve been in tighter spots than this.’’

‘‘I feel better already,’’ Lisa muttered.

The elevator arrived and Grant allowed the adrenaline to flow, to begin to build up . . .

The lights were coming back up on the bottom floor, where there was a great deal of commotion. It was almost shoulder-to-shoulder as hospital workers kept coming out of their offices to find out what was going on.

‘‘Hannah, are we ready?’’ Grant whispered into his earpiece.

‘‘Stand by
,’’ was the terse reply. She’d been acting funny since their last conversation, but there wasn’t time to reflect now.

A moment later, the building’s fire alarm went off. Grant wrapped his fingers tightly around the gurney’s handle and walked, Lisa working hard to keep up. But instead of heading for the exit, he turned and went deeper into the hospital.

‘‘What are you
doing
?’’ Lisa cried.

Grant ignored her and kept running. Down a series of winding hallways, he made for a doorway marked ‘‘Surgery.’’

‘‘Get the door,’’ he instructed.

Lisa was exasperated, but she complied, watching Grant with eyes of fire.

He pushed Daniel through, into the abandoned department.

‘‘Third door on the right,’’
Hannah instructed in his earpiece.

‘‘I see it,’’ he answered.

‘‘Who are you talking to?’’ Lisa exclaimed. Then she noticed the heavy, wide, metal door he was aiming for. It looked like some kind of special exit used only for delivery of organs brought in for emergency transplant procedures. ‘‘We’ll never get that open!’’

‘‘I know,’’ Grant replied, turning inward. He allowed the panic to build and build, until his body convulsed, his brain seized, and he nearly fell to the ground. When he opened his eyes, the metal door was gone, resting on the cement ground outside in two crumpled pieces.

Lisa was gaping at him in shock, but managed to gather her wits as he wheeled Daniel through the open doorway. An ambulance came out of nowhere and screeched to a halt directly in front of them, blocking their path, Hannah at the wheel.

‘‘This thing should have enough supplies to last him a while,’’ she reported quietly. ‘‘I’ll drop you off, gut it, and ditch it someplace.’’

Grant and Lisa hitched the gurney into its lowest position and lifted it into the ambulance floor, sliding it inside as though they were paramedics who’d done it all their lives. Once it was secure, and they’d climbed in after, Grant pounded on the front panel and shouted ‘‘Go!’’ to Hannah.

After they were out on the road, Grant climbed up front.

‘‘Are you sure about this?’’ Hannah asked. ‘‘I mean, he’s gonna need some heavy-duty medical know-how.’’

‘‘Let me worry about that, would you?’’ he snapped.

‘‘Sorry. Just figured you’d want to make sure he gets better.’’

‘‘Got a lot of people asking me for that these days,’’ Grant muttered loud enough for her to hear it.

A stop light turned red and she was forced to halt the vehicle. ‘‘Maybe I shouldn’t have come. You’re so good at everything, you probably could have handled this just fine without me.’’

‘‘I probably could!’’ he shouted louder than he’d intended.

Why am I angry at her?
he instantly thought.

Their eyes met—tears in hers and exhaustion in his—and their features softened. An unspoken apology was expressed on her face. Her beautiful face and those round eyes, full of longing . . .

In that moment, Grant knew
exactly
how he felt about her. It was undeniable.

His hand found its way across the space between them and pushed hair out of her eyes, behind one ear, and held its place there, cradling her jaw. She made no move to pull away . . .

‘‘How did you do that thing with the door?’’ Lisa shouted from the back, after Grant’s arm had returned to his seat and a comfortable silence had passed.

‘‘I don’t have time to explain,’’ he said, turning around. ‘‘My name is—’’

‘‘Borrows,’’ Daniel croaked. ‘‘You’re Grant Borrows, aren’t you?’’

Grant nodded in shock.

‘‘Then you and I have a great deal to talk about.’’

34

Thankfully, Grant’s keycard operated the service elevator in the Wagner Building or they wouldn’t have been able to get Daniel upstairs. Night cloaked their movements and as soon as they had him comfortable and the medical supplies from the ambulance stowed, Hannah left to dump the vehicle.

When she left, Lisa cornered Grant. ‘‘You listen to me,’’ she said quietly. ‘‘What’s happened to Daniel—I mean,
Dr. Cossick
. . . All those broken bones and bruises and internal bleeding? It’s because of
you
. He lost everything—’’