Chapter 9
It wasn’t clear how he did it, but light flashed from Davis and the wraith fell back. Struggling to distance herself from the view of her parents, Erin felt Davis grab her hand and she followed wherever he pulled her. They might not get far, but every step farther away from the wraith they could get for now was a blessing she was happy to accept.
When he stopped at the elevators right outside the fish hallway, Erin shook off her distraction and yanked him back. These weren’t quite far enough, not yet. They ran past inpatient peds oncology, down the windowed hallway to the sailboat bench and the elevators there. The wraith kept a steady, persistent pace behind them. Never speeding up, never flinching if it passed through a door or a wall. Like the pain was just one more negative emotion to feed it.
Davis did his illusion thing with pushing the button and it was like whatever charge she felt when he touched her now transferred to the wires, because within seconds, the elevator arrived at their floor. Not sure she could stomach passing through something solid, she breathed her thanks when the doors quickly opened. They rushed inside even before the ding ended.
Feeling the lift, Erin grabbed the bar on the back wall. "What are we going to do?"
Davis shrugged. "Fight, or panic and give up?"
Erin rolled her eyes. "Funny."
He shook his head. "I'm serious. Those are our options. Keep trying to stop him, even when it should be impossible, or give up."
"But then we abandon the hospital to him. My parents." Erin hugged herself. "Or would he follow us outside the hospital?"
Davis stepped forward, cupping the side of her face in his hand. "I wasn't saying giving up was an actual option to consider. No, he wouldn't follow us. He wouldn't want to work that hard. Without us, the hospital is fair game. If we have to run ourselves into exhaustion, we will."
His eyes glittered with hard green lights, determination firming his jaw. Impressive and attractive. She could believe what he said. He would fight, run, whatever it took for as long as he could. Drawing strength from his straightforward gaze, Erin inhaled. "And when we can no longer run?"
A small smile of approval tilted his lips. "I'm sure that at some point the protectors will come and he won't have freedom to roam the hospital anymore."
He offered hope by mentioning the protectors, but they might not come in time to save them or her parents. For now, Erin and Davis were all the protection available. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open.
A few steps and they were in the observatory. Large, open and surrounded with floor-to-ceiling windows, the room was filled with conversational spaces throughout. But the most prominent spot was the south wall and its floor-to-tall-ceiling view of St. John's Cathedral. The deepest of night had descended fully, darkening the evergreens to shadows. At the base of the gothic church, large floodlights shone up the sides, casting the stone in a bluish glow.
"I told you there was an even better view."
"You really did. I never should have doubted you." Davis's awed gaze took in every turret, the large cross and the multihued stained glass windows. "It's truly amazing."
His eyes had brightened upon seeing the vista. Her eyes couldn't look away from his profile. She'd always wanted to be independent and accomplish things herself. Especially after her cancer experience where everything, even her ability to live, had depended on someone else. She'd never quite understood her parents' insistence that it was much better to go through life with someone by your side, someone who has your back and believes in you than to face everything alone.
Suddenly, she understood. Davis had been right beside her through all the trials on the worst day of her life. Death. Afterlife. Whatever. He didn’t do it all for her. She was still independent, just not alone. And she was really happy to have him there. "Thank you."
His gaze swung her way. "Don't thank me. If I had done my job better, faster, there would be no danger now."
Erin touched his arm and shook her head. "You were just coming in to work. I was the one who didn’t want to face the truth. I ran you around the hospital, showing you every distraction there was so I didn't have to."
He grinned and ran a gentle touch down her cheek. "If I hadn't wanted to hang out instead of breaking the bad news… if I hadn't dreaded killing that amazing smile of yours, then no. You would not have distracted me."
Sincerity filled his eyes, resonated in his tone. Erin brought one hand up to circle his wrist, grasped his lapel with the other and rose to her toes. His hands cupped her jaw, his fingers tangling in her hair as he lowered his lips toward hers.
An icy blast of terror warned them they were no longer alone.
She pulled back. "His timing sucks."
"Maybe." Davis smiled and brought her closer to him. "Ignore him."
Erin smiled and when his lips settled over hers, forgetting the menace of death so close to them was easy. She sank into the kiss, caressing his lips with hers, sucking in his tongue so she could taste him. It was the best kiss she’d ever had. A happy moment that she could remember forever. Bright light flashed over her closed eyes, but she didn't care. There was no longer room for negative emotions.
Death Is Becoming Page 9