Leap of Faith

by Arianna Hart

  The cafeteria. Someone had tried to say they were from EIS and she’d run away.

  “How long have I been sedated? How’s Lex? What happened to Don?”

  “I’ve been here for several hours. When I got here you were already sedated, so I’d say you’ve been out of it for a good six to eight hours. Lex has been moved to a room and is also sleeping. No one knows a goddamn thing about why you were fighting with a man twice your size or who the hell he is.” He ran a hand through his hair and collapsed in the plastic chair by her bed.

  “He told me you sent him, but he didn’t have the code words. I threw soup at him and ran up the stairs.” She closed her eyes to try and remember better but it made her head spin so she opened them again.

  “Smart move. I take it he didn’t get the laptop then? The case is empty.”

  “I hid it in Lex’s pants and had security lock them up for me.”

  Mac let out a sigh of relief.

  “I tried to explain to the doctors that you weren’t a threat to yourself or others but after looking at the man you beat up they didn’t believe me. Now that you’re awake and I know more of the story I can smooth things over and get you released.”

  “What happened to Susie? And James Robert?” If she had been unconscious for hours Susie could have easily gotten away.

  “Someone at the ministry heard the gunshots and alerted the police. The chief of police had had the compound under observation for a while so he had units in place. He’s holding them for questioning for twenty-four hours.”

  “Why hasn’t he arrested them? They killed Sarah and tried to kill us. Susie has been shipping drugs all over the country. And James Robert is conning people out of all their money and gambling it away.” Her throat felt like she’d gargled with razor blades, but she had to let Mac know what a threat Susie was. “They should be locked up forever for all they’ve done.”

  “Ah, yes, but the chief doesn’t know any of that. All he knows is the compound is in shambles, and shots were fired. Until he has reasonable cause, he can’t charge them with anything. Which is why that laptop is so important, as is your testimony and Lex’s.”

  “So she doesn’t just want the laptop, she wants me dead.” Jane struggled against the leather bonds that held her. “Get these things off me. I’m a sitting duck here.”

  “Relax. I told you, she’s in police custody.” He laid a placating hand on her arm.

  “You don’t understand. She has people at the police station. She has people everywhere, that’s why she hasn’t been caught yet.”

  Mac didn’t waste time arguing with her. He pulled a tiny phone off his belt and began issuing orders like a field general. “I’ll get a doctor in here immediately.” He stormed out the door.

  Jane’s head spun dizzily as she struggled to break free of the leather restraints. It was impossible. They made these suckers strong enough to hold dangerously mentally ill patients. She wasn’t going to get out of them without losing a limb.

  God, she prayed Susie didn’t have someone at the police station with enough authority to break her out of there. Lord only knew how many people she had at her beck and call. If what Susie had said at the compound was true, her web spread over the whole country.

  The image of Susie as a spider flashed into her head when she remembered her drug-induced dream. Dream, ha, more like a nightmare. This whole day had been a nightmare.

  A nurse walked into the room and Jane turned her head expectantly. Mac must have gotten the doctor to place the order to remove the bonds already. Boy, he worked fast.

  “Are you here to take these off?” Jane asked.

  The nurse stood by the door without moving. Jane didn’t want to antagonize her, but she really wanted the restraints off.

  “Not exactly.” The nurse opened the door a crack and peered out. She crossed to the corner of the room and pushed a button on a box attached to the ceiling.

  Jane hadn’t noticed the box before. What was the woman doing? Fresh alarm bells rang through Jane’s muddled head. The nurse was acting really weird and her behavior sent panic streaking through Jane’s system.

  “What are you doing?” Jane cried as the “nurse” crossed the room to the bed and pulled a syringe out of her pocket.

  “Susie sends her regards,” the nurse replied and she squirted fluid through the needle.

  “Mac! Security! Help!” Jane screamed at the top of her lungs.

  “Shut up!” the nurse snarled.

  She clamped a hand over Jane’s mouth and tried to line up the needle on Jane’s arm at the same time.

  Jane bit down hard on the hand over her mouth and tasted blood. She kicked her legs, which were thankfully unbound, and thrashed her head from side-to-side.

  When the nurse’s hand fell away from her face she screamed again. “Mac! Security!” She twisted her shoulders as much as possible to keep the needle out of her arm. The nurse couldn’t hold her down and stab her at the same time.

  “Help! Help!”

  No one was going to hear her through the thick doors. And even if they did, the staff here was used to hysterical screams, they wouldn’t think anything of it.

  The nurse threw her body across Jane’s chest to subdue her. Jane could smell stale smoke in the woman’s hair and almost gagged. She brought her knees up as hard as she could in her weakened state and managed to connect with the nurse’s hip. It wasn’t a very effective hit but it stopped the needle from going into her arm.

  “Go ahead and fight. It’ll make it work that much faster when I finally stick you,” she grunted, moving higher up away from Jane’s knees.

  The nurse’s weight settled on Jane’s chest, cutting off her ability to breathe. Her shoulder jammed into Jane’s collarbone and Jane feared it would snap under the pressure.

  With the last of her strength, Jane smashed her head forward, right into the nurse’s forehead. Pain exploded through her brain and stars danced across her vision.

  The nurse collapsed on top of her. Her dead weight crushed Jane’s ribcage, and she couldn’t breathe. Spots swam in front of her eyes as she gasped for oxygen.

  Jane tried to scream but couldn’t so much as whisper. She thrashed from side-to-side but couldn’t dislodge the nurse’s body.

  Oh God, she’d managed to keep from being poisoned, but now she was going to suffocate. Either way she was dead. Jane shoved her feet under her and arched her hips, hoping to move the nurse a few critical inches so she could breathe.

  The bedrail held the nurse’s lower body and kept her from falling one way or the other. Jane’s head swam and her vision grayed as she bucked her hips up. It wasn’t doing much good, but if she stopped she’d be dead for sure.

  Another heave caused the nurse’s head to flop lower on Jane’s chest. A tiny bit of air seeped into her lungs and she gulped like a drowning swimmer. The oxygen gave her strength and she thrashed harder, pushing her hips high and then dropping them down suddenly. Her wrists burned from stretching the bonds as far as they would go, but she refused to stop trying.

  The nurse slid another inch and Jane fought harder. Finally, gravity kicked in and the nurse fell to the floor. Jane’s lungs expanded and she drew in great big gulps of air.

  Her head throbbed mercilessly, her body felt bruised and battered and she was afraid her collarbone might be fractured, but she was alive.

  “What’s going on here? Why is your video monitor turned off?” A muscle-bound man wearing white scrubs came into the room and stopped short when he saw the body of the nurse on the floor.

  Jane forgot that all psych rooms had video surveillance. So that’s what the fake nurse had been doing. She must have shut off the camera when she came in.

  The orderly opened the door wide and shouted for security. Mac charged in, cell phone still to his ear, as several more orderlies piled into the room. A man wearing a white lab coat ran in behind them.

  “Who is this? What happened? Why is she still bound?” Mac shouted questions to the roo
m in general.

  Everyone began speaking at once, and the cacophony was deafening. The doctor let out a sharp whistle that pierced Jane’s skull like a knife, but quieted the room down.

  “Now, will someone please explain what’s going on here?” the doctor asked.

  “I came to check the video camera because the monitor had gone black. When I got here I found this woman on the floor,” the orderly said, shifting his feet from side-to-side.

  “Does anyone know who this woman is or why she’s lying unconscious on the floor?”

  Someone bent down and looked at the ID tag flipped face down on her shirt. “It’s a fake. See, there’s no hospital logo when you tip it to the light.”

  “She came in and turned off the camera, then tried to stab me with a needle.” Jane didn’t repeat the “Susie sends her regards” part of the story. She didn’t think Mac wanted to air all the dirty laundry just yet.

  “You—” The doctor pointed to the nearest orderly, “—take the restraints off.” The man jumped to obey. “You and you, take this person to another room and hold her there. I want to find out how an imposter managed to get into a locked ward.”

  People scrambled all over themselves to obey the doctor and soon Jane’s arms were free and the fake nurse removed from the room. She hurt all over as she tried to sit up, but she didn’t stop moving. The sheer freedom to scratch her nose was almost intoxicating.

  “Mr. McLean, I don’t know what’s going on around here, but if someone has sabotaged my floor I want to know about it.”

  “I’ll be sure to fill you in completely once I find out what’s happening,” Mac replied. “Is my associate free to go?”

  The doctor eyed Jane and grunted. “She looks like she could use a few more hours in bed but she doesn’t belong in the psych ward. Maybe the CCU, but not the ward.”

  The Critical Care Unit. That’s where Lex was. If they sent someone for her that meant they could send someone after him too.

  “Lex!” Jane shouted and pushed off the bed.

  Her bare feet hit the floor and her legs barely supported her weight. “They could be after Lex.”

  A cool breeze blew across her back, and Jane realized she was naked except for a thin hospital gown. She didn’t care. She had to get to Lex before someone poisoned him.

  “Call the CCU and warn them not to let anyone into Luther D’Angelo’s room,” Mac ordered the doctor as he shoved ahead of Jane.

  He flew down the hall far quicker than she could move. She only hoped it was quickly enough. Grabbing a bathrobe off a laundry cart, she shuffled her way to the elevator. Several members of the hospital staff gave her bemused stares as she wrestled the robe on, but no one stopped her.

  Jane made it out of the locked ward and into the hall in time to see the stairway door close. Her legs ached just thinking about climbing down several flights of stairs barefoot. She’d done it once and hadn’t really enjoyed the experience.

  The elevator door dinged at that moment and Jane took it as a sign she shouldn’t try to follow Mac on the stairs. She waited until two chatting nurses got out of the elevator and ambled up the hall before she ran for the rapidly closing doors.

  Please don’t look over and try to stop the escaped patient. Jane could only imagine how bad she appeared after the beatings she’d taken today.

  She squeezed inside the elevator before the doors closed all the way and punched the button for the CCU. Pressing the “close doors” button repeatedly—like that would make them close faster—she held her breath until the car lurched downward.

  Please God, let Mac be in time.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Jane shuffled into the CCU and searched for Lex’s room. A tray of wicked-looking metal implements lay on the floor and several laundry carts were scattered across the hall. She followed the mess until she spotted a cluster of blue-clad security guards.

  Hmm, was this Lex’s room?

  They’d caused more confusion and excitement at St. Mary’s hospital in the few hours they’d been there than it had probably seen in months. A petite woman wearing scrubs lay face down on the floor while a security guard cuffed her hands behind her back.

  Had Mac stopped her in time? Jane searched the room frantically until she saw Mac slumped in a chair being tended to by a stunning blonde. Where was Lex?

  Jane pushed her way into the crowded room. Machines and wires and tubes surrounded the bed. There were too many people for her to see if Lex was part of the lumpy mess on the bed. She wiggled and wormed her way through the crowd until she managed to get further into the room.

  Lex’s scratchy face peering at her blearily was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.

  “Hey, Doc, come to share the excitement?” His voice was husky and slightly slurred, but it sounded wonderful to her.

  “Yeah, I was getting bored on the psych ward.” She couldn’t stop herself from kissing his forehead and clutching his hand in hers.

  He looked pale and sickly, but he was alive.

  “The psych ward? Were you working?”

  “No, I was a patient. It’s a long story,” she said at his confusion. “I’ll tell you about it when I’m sure you’ll be able to stay awake. I take it Mac got here in time to stop Susie’s latest flunky.”

  “Yup. I don’t really know what happened. I’m so drugged up I don’t know what’s real and what’s a dream.”

  “When you’re better we’ll go through everything, I promise.” She pressed another kiss to his stubbled cheek.

  “Are you okay? You’ve got bruises all over your face.”

  “You should see the other guy,” she said, turning her head away. “Like I said, it’s a long story. I’m just glad you’re safe.”

  “Me too. Will you stay here?” His eyes began to drift close but he blinked them open again.

  “You couldn’t tear me away. Sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

  “Need to talk to you. Important,” he muttered before drifting off into a drug-induced slumber.

  Jane stroked the unruly hair off his forehead and readjusted the oxygen tube under his nose. She wasn’t leaving him alone again without a fight.

  The security guards hauled the struggling woman out of the room and the crowd of onlookers slowly drifted away. The blonde nurse straightened and peeled off her gloves. She shot a sultry look at Mac before she left.

  His face remained expressionless, but Jane was sure she saw a glint of appreciation in his eyes. Hmmm, wasn’t that interesting.

  “Are you okay?” Jane asked Mac once the room cleared.

  “Just a tiny cut over my eye. It’s nothing.”

  “What happened?” She kept her voice low so as not to wake Lex.

  Mac pulled up a chair for her and brought in another one from the hallway.

  “When I got here, that woman had a syringe already in Lex’s IV line. I dove at her and dislodged it. End of story.”

  “What was in the syringe? Did she inject any of it in his line?” Jane jumped up and scrutinized the clear plastic tubes as if she could see the poison and stop it.

  “The syringe had strychnine in it, and yes, I managed to stop her in time. If even a little had gotten into him he’d be dead already. They pulled the line just in case, so you can stop staring. That’s the secondary line you’re about to yank out of his arm.”

  Jane dropped the tube and sat back down. Her hands shook as she thought about how close Lex had come to an agonizingly painful death.

  “If you’re okay here, I’m going to make some phone calls. I want to make sure Susie doesn’t get out on bail. That’s one dangerous woman, and no one knew it but you.”

  “I’m a psychologist. Believe it or not, I can read people pretty well. Usually. Although I didn’t realize what she was up to until it was almost too late.” Jane shook her head, mad at herself.

  She’d had a bad feeling about Susie the moment she met her, but she hadn’t realized the depth of Susie’s depravity.

&nbs
p; “Susie confounded several drug enforcement and federal agencies for months. Cut yourself some slack.”

  “Thanks. I guess it just goes to show I’m not cut out for this spy business.”

  “We’re consultants, not spies. And from where I’m standing, you did a damn good job. You successfully went undercover with little training or backup and got your partner to safety. With some real training you’d make a great EIS employee.”

  “Are you offering me a job?” Jane gaped at him in shock. “I don’t think your company has much call for an out-of-work marriage therapist,” she said.

  Mac tapped his chin. “I don’t know about that. With your training and insight you could be a valuable asset to our teams in the field. It’s something to think about.”

  Yeah, right. Jane didn’t say anything but she was almost certain Mac was only trying to make her feel better. She’d botched this thing up at every turn. There was no way he’d want her anywhere near a case his company was working on ever again.

  “I’ll be back after I make some calls. Do you have anything to change into? I believe they cut your clothes off after they sedated you.”

  Oh great. She’d gone from tailored suits to tight jeans to a hospital gown. “No, I’m afraid our clothes are still at the campsite.”

  “I’ll arrange to have some clothes delivered then.”

  “Lex will need some too. They cut off his shirt in the emergency room.”

  He made a note on his handheld computer and nodded. “I’ll see to it. Make sure you eat something. You’ve had a busy day and your body will need refueling.”

  “Yes, sir.” She gave him a mock salute.

  A half-smile turned up the corners of his mouth as he stood and walked out of the room.

  Jane wiggled a bit on the seat and tried to make herself more comfortable. All the abuse her body had taken in the last twenty-four hours crashed down on her. She ached down to her very marrow.

  Thank God, this was over. Lex wasn’t out of the woods yet, but he seemed to be healing. She’d make sure nothing else happened to interrupt that healing.