Dawn

by Aleatha Romig

  “I know.”

  Stepping into the elevator, we were whisked to the floor below.

  As soon as the doors opened on A, the apartment level, Araneae and I headed to Laurel and Mason’s apartment. Using my fist, I banged on the wood door.

  Why didn’t we have doorbells?

  I’d never questioned that before.

  It didn’t take long before Laurel was standing before us. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and besides wearing casual, soft ‘lockdown’ clothes, her feet were covered in only socks. At nearly the same time as her door opened, Reid stepped off the elevator.

  “What happened?” I asked, turning to him.

  “Where is she?” Araneae questioned.

  “What’s happening?” Laurel asked as we all waited for Reid’s responses.

  “From the information I’ve received and been able to ascertain, Ruby isn’t at the hospital.”

  The three of us stared, dumbfounded. “No,” I finally said when no one else spoke. “Find her.”

  “We’re working on it. Patrick wanted everyone to know.”

  “Does Madeline?” Araneae asked.

  “What about her trackers?” Laurel asked. “She has them the same as the rest of us, right?”

  “I’m not sure what he’s told Madeline,” Reid responded. He turned to Laurel. “Yes, and the trackers in her shoes and phone are on the move outside the hospital.”

  “Her purse?” I asked.

  “Still in Madeline’s hospital room.”

  “Why would she leave without her purse?” I asked, looking at Araneae. We’d both been taken without our purses. That thought alone nearly buckled my knees. I reached up to my cheek, the one that had mostly healed thanks in part to the plastic surgery, as a vision of Jet, anger in his eyes as his hand repeatedly hit me, flashed before my eyes.

  Was she taken by the same people?

  I wrapped my arms around myself, sucking in a breath and silently saying a prayer that Ruby was safe.

  “Lorna?” Araneae asked.

  I shook my head, afraid if I spoke my concerns, they’d come out between sobs.

  She reached for me. “You’re remembering, aren’t you?”

  Nodding was all I could do as I swallowed.

  “Fuck,” Reid said. “Lorna, are you all right?”

  “Yes” —my voice cracked— “I am now. Find Ruby and make sure she doesn’t have memories like mine.”

  “I need to get back to 2, but I thought” —Reid ran his hand over the top of his head— “I just thought it would be better for you three to hear the news in person.”

  “Reid,” Araneae said, “Ruby is young, but not that young. Think where we all were at her age.”

  “She’s been protected, sheltered.”

  “She isn’t dumb,” I said, my voice growing stronger with determination. “She didn’t just walk away from the hospital. Find her. She has been sheltered but not from living a danger-filled life. The girl grew up in the care of a Russian bratva. She lives here now. She understands safety. Do you have footage of her leaving the hospital?”

  “Not yet. I need to get back to 2.”

  “We’ll do whatever you need,” Laurel said.

  Reid nodded. “Ruby’s phone and her shoes are signaling that they’re moving at a high rate of speed. Mason and other Sparrows are following.”

  Laurel wrapped her arms around her midsection as she moved her head back and forth. “No, it’s a trap.”

  Reid looked right at Laurel and stood taller. “Why would you say that?”

  “It’s like the shoes at the bunker.”

  Reid shook his head. “Your husband won’t fall for a trap.”

  “He might to save Ruby or one of us.” Laurel straightened her neck. “I love my husband and I know enough about his past and present to know he’s more than capable of anything he sets his mind to. I also know that since he remembered Mason, he has triggers that Kader didn’t have. In all that six feet seven of muscle, tattoos, and scars beats a heart of pure gold. Kader was successful because for years Mason lived without that heart. When it returned, it beats with one purpose.”

  Again, I felt tears threaten the backs of my eyes as I listened to my sister-in-law. “Protect.”

  Laurel nodded. “Reid, please, do what you can. I want Ruby back, and at the same time, I can’t lose my husband again.”

  Reid nodded as his Adam’s apple bobbed. “I’ll do everything within my power, Laurel. I promise.” He sucked in a breath and addressed all three of us. “I know this goes without saying” —he moved his gaze from one of us to the other— “but lockdown is in full swing.”

  He turned to head back to the elevator. As he did, I watched the way his shoulders sagged before straightening. The change in posture wasn’t obvious and maybe the other women didn’t see it. They didn’t know my husband the way I did. The weight of this incident was sitting heavily on him. I could only imagine the way the other men were reacting.

  Was it out of the question to think they might risk themselves to save her?

  The answer was a resounding no.

  “Reid,” Laurel called out, “Ruby is smart.”

  Araneae and I nodded as he stepped into the elevator and turning, nodded our direction.

  Once the elevator doors closed, Araneae slapped the sides of her thighs, the way she did when she was exasperated. “I want to do something.” She paced in a circle in the common area. “I’m sick of being trapped and protected like a precious jewel hidden away in a fucking velvet-lined box.”

  I understood her emotion. It was impossible not to feel the same way. It was one thing to be trapped in this glass castle and be productive. It was another to feel totally helpless. Nevertheless, the influx of memories from our kidnapping gnawed at me. I didn’t want to have Ruby experience anything close to what we had, and if I were honest, part of me feared being taken again.

  “We couldn’t leave if we wanted to,” Laurel said. Looking to Araneae, she added, “You’re the one who told me years ago that what keeps you here when everything inside of you wants to leave and wants to defy Sterling is...Sterling.”

  Araneae sighed as she plopped down on one of the sofas. “It is. I love him and the other men. But when it comes to us, including Ruby, I’m so scared they’ll be reckless.” Her gaze met Laurel’s. “What made you say it’s a trap?”

  “Because Ruby wouldn’t leave the hospital.” Laurel stood taller. “She may be eighteen, but she’s had more life experience than the majority of thirty-year-old women. And you know how excited she is about the baby.”

  “And she and Madeline are close,” I added. “Their relationship is...” I searched for the right words.

  “What I would strive to have if this baby” —Araneae laid her hand on her baby bump— “is a girl.” She grinned. “No, no matter the gender. I admire all Madeline has done for Ruby. You’re right, Ruby wouldn’t have left, not willingly, and there are too many Sparrows for her to have been taken unwillingly.”

  “It’s a hospital,” Laurel said. “What about ambulances?”

  Neither Araneae or I spoke.

  “If somehow Ruby was unconscious, she could have been removed without suspicion in an ambulance.”

  I began texting the theory to Reid.

  “People arrive in an ambulance; they don’t leave in them,” Araneae said.

  Laurel shook her head. “They do leave. Transfers happen between hospitals all the time. It has to do with bed availability, staff, and required specialty. It wouldn’t even raise an eyebrow.”

  I looked up. “I just sent that to Reid. He’ll check the surveillance. He’ll find her.”

  “They have to,” Araneae said. “She has a little brother to meet.”

  Reid

  As the elevator doors closed and the women disappeared, my fist hit the silver wall. Curses and accusations spewed from my mouth and more rang in my head. The impact echoed within the small chamber as nerve endings connected, reminding me o
f the wound still healing further up my arm.

  I didn’t give a fuck about my hand or the wound. If I’d been watching the hospital security footage instead of searching the financials of Nancy Pierce, I would have seen what happened. I could have stopped it.

  This was my fault.

  I would take the blame.

  Other questions came to mind.

  Where were the Sparrows Mason had scattered about?

  What had they seen?

  Closing my eyes, instead of thinking about them or Ruby, I recalled the look on my wife’s face a few minutes ago. Her expression cut into me deeper than any damn bullet. With Araneae’s question, I knew Lorna was remembering something from her kidnapping, and instead of being there for her, I was back on 2. The doors opened and I placed my palm in front of the scanner near the steel door.

  Fuck if I wasn’t coming up short at every damn turn.

  My shoes clipped across the cement floor as I made my way to the bay of computers. This wouldn’t be a job for one workstation; I began logging in across multiple computers and servers. First, I needed to scan every damn second of the hospital security feed.

  Where did Ruby go?

  Why would she leave the room or the floor?

  I had one program following the signals Ruby’s trackers were sending. According to the GPS, she was currently headed south on Interstate 90. Weekday traffic—I tapped into traffic cams. It was then that I recalled the text Lorna sent as I left the apartment. She could be on to something—more accurately, she said it was Laurel’s idea. Credit wasn’t the issue. The idea of an ambulance made perfect sense.

  Instead of texting, I hit the call button to Mason.

  “Do you have something?” he asked as the call connected.

  “A theory. First, what are you hearing from Sparrows on-site?”

  “Fucking nothing. No one saw her leave the unit.”

  It was as if she literally disappeared, evaporated into thin air.

  Taking a deep breath, I exhaled. “I’m still looking at the security surveillance, and I can’t fucking see her anywhere. But Laurel had an idea.” I didn’t wait for him to respond. “The hospital is on the university campus. Traffic is usually busy, especially this time of day. It’s not easy to get to the interstate unless...An ambulance would be able to make it through the city faster than any car.”

  “Fuck,” Mason responded. “We’re not far behind where the GPS is saying she should be. There’s not a fucking ambulance in sight.”

  There was a second voice coming from the background.

  “We passed one,” Mason said, “about three miles back. Fuck, Romero saw it parked to the side of the interstate.”

  I looked at the screen before me. “But her trackers are still moving.”

  “Did they slow?”

  “I would need to go back to see that.” I began hitting keys on the keyboard before me. “You’re thinking there was a transfer.”

  “They might think an ambulance is too conspicuous. We’ll keep following the trackers,” Mason said. “I’ll get capos to check out the ambulance. I have a rough idea of the mile marker.”

  “Okay. Keep communication open,” I said. “Has anyone contacted Sparrow?”

  “Fuck. He said he was in meetings today. I’ll send him a message.”

  Neither one of us said goodbye as the call went dead.

  There were multiple ideas running through my head. The interstate had cameras that the news stations used for reporting traffic issues. I could work to tap into those. First, my priority was the hospital. Pulling up the surveillance, I began checking the outside bays for ambulances. The emergency room was first and the most obvious. However, it wasn’t the only one. There was a side bay.

  I looked up as the steel door opened. My gaze met Laurel’s. “It’s fucking different to see a woman on this floor.”

  “Sterling offered me the space while on lockdown. I can’t do what you do, but since I’m the only one with permission to be here, I’d like to help.”

  At this moment, I’d take all the help I could get. Often it would be either Mason or Patrick helping from here. Patrick was probably worried sick over his daughter while trying to keep his wife calm. Mason was on Interstate 90.

  “Okay,” I said, standing and going to Mason’s workstation. I hit a few keys bringing up the hospital footage. “You can sit here.” I went on to explain how she could move from camera to camera, and also move forward and backward in time. There was one thing about explaining anything to a genius: it didn’t take much detail. In no time, Laurel was seated with her eyes set on the screens before her.

  My phone buzzed with a text message from Patrick.

  Patrick: “TELL ME YOU HAVE HER.”

  It was a metaphoric punch to the gut. I texted back.

  Me: “WE’RE SCOURING THE HOSPITAL FOOTAGE. MASON IS IN PURSUIT OF HER TRACKERS. HOW IS MADELINE?”

  Patrick: “SHE’S WITH THE ANESTHESIOLOGIST AGAIN. I’M IN THE HALL.”

  Me: “WHEN DID RUBY LEAVE THE ROOM?”

  A rough time frame would help me follow her tracks.

  Patrick: “IT WAS WHEN THE ANESTHESIOLOGIST CAME IN THE FIRST TIME. SHE ASKED US TO LEAVE. RUBY AND I LEFT AND THEN RUBY RECEIVED A TEXT. I FUCKING SHOULD HAVE QUESTIONED HER. SHE SMILED, KISSED MY CHEEK, AND WALKED DOWN THE HALL. THEN I WAS INVITED BACK INTO THE ROOM. I DIDN’T THINK ABOUT RUBY UNTIL SOME TIME HAD PASSED. I KNEW WE WERE BEING PROTECTED BY SPARROWS AND WAS THINKING ABOUT MADELINE. FIND MY DAUGHTER.”

  Me: “WE WILL.”

  “Ruby received a text message,” I said aloud. “She and Patrick were out of the room because the anesthesiologist was inside.”

  Laurel turned my direction. “They stepped out of the room and she received a text? That seems convenient. Can we access her text messages?”

  “I can.” I began hitting keys. As I did, I glanced over at the screen Laurel was watching. Standing, I went to her. “Go backward to a few minutes ago” —I pointed to the view— “on that one, right outside their room.” She did. The hallway was empty, similar to how it had been off and on all morning. “Fuck.”

  “What?” she asked.

  I took a step back, my teeth clenching as I slid my hand behind my neck, exhaling. “Patrick just texted and said he was in the hallway.”

  “He’s not there,” Laurel said, stating the obvious. “And the time stamp appears right.”

  “Motherfucker. We’re on a goddamned loop.”

  Laurel’s large blue eyes turned to me. In her profession, remaining calm and steady was a learned trait, one that at this moment she’d forgotten. Terror showed in every feature of her expression. “Whoever took her was watching for the right moment.”

  I nodded.

  “And they have the ability to hide it from you.”

  I nodded again. “They fucking knew we’d be watching.”

  Laurel’s complexion paled as she fumbled for her phone. “It’s them, whoever took the other women. I know in my gut.”

  “Who are you calling?”

  “Mason.” Her hands trembled as her head shook from side to side. “No. No. This is a trap. I know it is. They want him.”

  Reid

  “Answer. Please answer,” Laurel spoke into her phone.

  I pulled up another program and traced Mason’s phone. As I did, the GPS appeared. My gaze went from the map to Laurel as my stomach turned. “Laurel, his coordinates are the same as Ruby’s.”

  Laurel hugged her phone to her chest as she looked at my screen. “Okay. He’s busy saving her. That’s why he can’t answer.”

  I nodded, hoping she was right.

  Laurel’s blue gaze met mine. “I’ll keep looking at the hospital footage. Let me know when Mason’s on the move.” She went back to her husband’s desk and settled before the screen.

  My next quest was to access Ruby’s text messages.

  Who sent her a text at the time for her to walk away?

  We both turned as the steel door opene
d. Sparrow’s dark gaze went from me to Laurel. It seemed as though her presence momentarily stalled whatever he’d been about to say or more accurately, yell.

  I lifted my chin. “From here, from what I can see, it appears that Mason is now with Ruby.”

  He let out a breath, throwing his topcoat onto the weight bench. “What the hell happened?”

  “We don’t know,” Laurel said. “I’m going through the hospital security footage, but we can’t see what was happening. There is a nearly an hour loop of the same fifteen minutes in the hallway outside Madeline’s room.”

  “When did it start?” I asked.

  “After eleven this morning.” She gasped. “It just reverted to real time.”

  “How can you tell?” Sparrow asked.

  “Right here.” She pointed to the screen. “See that door? I think it’s to a supply closet. It was closed tight and now it’s not, but no one has been there.”

  Sparrow’s head shook from side to side. “Who the fuck is out-teching us?” He looked straight at me. “I told you to be sure no one else was in the system.”

  I lifted my hands. “I didn’t see them. I still don’t. There’s no digital footprint.”

  The reality settled over us of what we’d believed before.

  Sparrow nodded, his jaw clenched, and a vein came to life in his forehead. “Once we have Ruby home, we’re headed to DC. I don’t believe Walters. The fucking Order is involved and after my people. I want to know why.”

  “Me,” Laurel said. “It’s about me.”

  “With all the shit happening,” I replied, “we haven’t had time to discuss this, but Laurel, it doesn’t make sense that they’d be after you as an endgame. If this is the Order, they have your formula or one like it. Whoever kidnapped Lorna and Araneae have a similar formula.”

  “Similar,” she said, “but not the same and the staying power of what Araneae and Lorna were given appears to be waning. Araneae has almost complete recollection of her time after she woke in that cell. What about Lorna?”

  “It’s coming back in pieces. Lorna explained it as watching a television show from the end to the beginning. Slowly, the preceding scene is recalled.”