Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 70370 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70370 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
“Egan, what’s—”
He interrupted me, his voice loud. “Sofia, just do it. Now! I’ll be there soon.”
He hung up, and I stared at the receiver.
I headed down the hall, unsure what to do. Patients were waiting. We were all busy. The rooms were all taken, gurneys and stretchers lining the halls. There were only a few places I could think of with a lock. One of the washrooms, the supply room, or the staff room. The supply room seemed the best place. It was at the end of the hall.
I glanced around, not seeing anyone looking, and using my pass, slipped in, the door locking behind me. It was dark, and I held up my phone, scanning the room. I leaned against the wall, unsure what was going on. Egan’s voice had upset me, his unusual request scaring me. Outside, I could hear people walking, talking, issuing orders. I wondered how long it would be until I was missed.
I waited, my fear growing. My phone buzzed, and I looked at the message.
Egan
Where are you?
Sofia
Supply closet.
Go to the back stairs. I’ll be there. Hurry, Sofia.
I opened the door, peering down the hall. Everyone was still busy, and I hurried down to the end, opening the door. It was dim in the stairwell, and I heard footsteps coming up toward me. No doubt, Egan had parked underground and was coming for me.
“I’m here, Egan,” I called.
“Come,” he called, his voice low and muffled.
I headed down, my feet suddenly stopping as I heard my name shouted behind me. It sounded like Egan’s voice, but he was here in the stairwell with me.
Wasn’t he?
“Egan?” I asked.
There was no warning. No time to move. A hand was suddenly clapped over my mouth and a rag pressed to my nose. I fought with everything in me, kicking at the man holding me, scratching at his arms. He cursed in a language I didn’t understand, but he didn’t lessen his hold. Lights danced in front of my eyes, and I began to black out.
I heard my name screamed again just as everything went dark.
Egan’s face was the last thing that flashed across my mind before I was out.
EGAN
Some sporting event was happening and traffic was bumper-to-bumper, so I ran to the hospital, cutting down streets and through parking lots. I called and called Sofia’s cell, finally getting hold of her through the private desk number. I barked orders at her, and once I was sure she would follow through with them, I called Leo, telling him what had happened.
“Call Damien,” I instructed. “Tell him. Take your family and go away, Leo. Tonight. Call the Elite staff and tell them to stay away. Tell them all to be careful. I’ll call Damien once I have Sofia safe.”
I hung up and hurried to the ER. Sally was at the desk.
“Where is she?” I demanded.
She frowned, leaning forward. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I saw her go down the hall.”
“Is there a room that locks there?”
“The supply room.”
I rushed down the hall, horrified to find the door ajar and no sign of Sofia. I called her name loudly, heading toward the stairwell, some instinct driving me there. As soon as I opened the door, my heart sank. I could smell the chloroform lingering in the air. I rushed down the steps, bursting through the door into the parking lot, but it was silent. Either the car they took her in was gone, or they had gone up the stairs. I found nothing on the other floors, but when I returned to the main level, a glint caught my eye. Bending down, I picked up the small item that had captured my attention.
Sofia’s staff pass. I stared at it, seeing small flecks of blood on the plastic.
They had her. I was too late.
I pulled my phone from my pocket, not caring about encryption, privacy, or anything else.
Damien answered on the first ring.
“Is she safe?”
“They took her,” I said, my voice raspy and thick. “His name is Petrov. Ivan Petrov.”
“I’m on my way.”
He hung up.
I paced and cursed the floors of my apartment. I found her phone on the ground of the hospital parking lot. Saw the text I didn’t send, but she thought I had, which was why she’d left the room. I hacked into the hospital security feed. They’d had a car waiting—a nondescript black sedan. I hacked into the traffic cams and followed the car until it disappeared down a side street where there were no cameras. I couldn’t find it again, and I knew they probably switched cars. I called the number Ivan had left me, but it no longer worked. No doubt, it had been a burner cell they tossed once I called last time.
I had to wait for them to contact me.
Under the cloak of darkness, I slipped into the Elite building, going to the server room. I found no trace of anything rigged to explode, and I spent hours using the computers there to dig into the name Ivan Petrov.