by Becky McGraw
It took five long minutes for the reboot, and Dave held his breath the entire time, listening intently for any sound that would indicate the attendant was returning. When it finished, he breathed a sigh of relief as he pocketed the USB drive and crept back to the end of the counter. Peering around the end of the desk, he saw the coast was clear, so he stood and smoothed the wrinkles from his suit as he walked toward the broom closet.
Dave hoped between the virus he’d just planted and the photos he’d emailed to Dex earlier, his tech guru could get something to provide a break in this case, and also figure out what was going on at this clinic. So far, they had no proof that anything illegal was going on here, but just scanning that GenMax binder and the one next to it told him something was definitely wrong.
The feds couldn’t act on suspicion alone, which is most of what they had at the moment. Susan knew as well as he did the red tape that usually hog-tied the agency when it came to obtaining search warrants and court orders to move forward on a case to get evidence for probable cause. It was very, very difficult and frustrating. Deep Six was not restricted by the same rules as the agency though. The team could usually do whatever it took to deliver up a nice gift-wrapped box of probable cause to the feds to make their life easier, which is why he got considerable cooperation in return most of the time. That sick girl and the Russian guard could give them a lot, maybe all they needed to provide that gift box to the feds, so they didn’t have to come back here. But they had to get them out of here first. And in case they did have to return, they needed to do it under the radar.
As fast as he could without appearing rushed, Logan weaved his way through the clinic to the broom closet. He passed a few couples who appeared to be making their way back to their rooms. He didn’t hear the alarm going off anymore, so the buzz about the fire must have settled down. Not good news, he thought, as he gripped the doorknob.
Dave’s body tensed as he heard angry voices echo through the hallway to his left. He opened the closet door to slip inside, and the girl whimpered. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to him to put his hand over her mouth. Her skin was fiery hot, and from the intermittent dry heaving she was doing under his palm, it could get very ugly in this closet soon. He sniffed a few times at the stale air, and thought that might have already happened. They definitely needed to get her out of this damned closet.
He heard the metal door which secured the STAFF ONLY hallway open, and the voices got louder then faded. It was now or never, he thought, as he opened the door and peeked outside. Between the broom closet and the stairs to the roof, Dave knew there were at least four cameras. And most likely guards he’d have to avoid. That was an awful lot of pitfalls and real estate to cover to get out without being noticed. His heart shot up to his throat as he led the girl out of the closet and hurried her through the lobby.
Thank goodness the attendant at the desk still wasn’t there. Hearing voices, Logan ducked into a side hall, blocking the girl with his body, until the obviously drunk couple passed. He hid her in a little alcove then put his finger over her mouth to let her know to be quiet. Her frightened green eyes widened with fear, but she nodded. Dave strolled out of the hallway and toward the camera. Instead of going out of the door, he made a quick left and reached up to clip on the zapper. With a glance over his shoulder first, he pushed the code into the app on his phone, and quickly removed the device.
When he got back to the girl, she was squatting in the alcove clutching her stomach. God, he didn’t know if she was going to make it out of there on her feet. If he had to carry her, it was not going to be good. It would attract attention he didn’t need. He reached his hand down to her, and she took it, but couldn’t seem to stand.
“C’mon, sweetheart. I know you can’t understand me, but you’ve got to stay on your feet a few more minutes,” he mumbled under his breath as pulled her up and put his arm around her for support to lead her through the door, and down another hallway.
When they neared the second camera, he hid her behind a huge potted plant, and repeated the process to disable the camera. Things went well with disabling the third camera too, and Dave thought he was almost home free, but the fourth camera, the one nearest the stairwell to the roof, seemed to be the gathering place for a group of guards who were having a meeting of some kind. Probably planning a sweep to find the girl, who they had to know was missing by now. Mario Beschi was right in the middle of them, looking angry as he gave them instructions.
God, don’t let them have Susan, Dave prayed, as he just barely missed being seen, before he tucked the girl under his arm and ducked into a vacant office that happened to be unlocked. He looked out the glass front to scan the area for any sign of Susan, and was relieved when he found none. Hopefully, she was already on the roof waiting for him, or he’d have to put the girl on the chopper and come back for her.
No man—or woman—left behind. A Marine Corps tenet he’d carried over to Deep Six.
A few minutes later, the guards finally dispersed and Dave breathed again. That left only Mario standing there looking frustrated, almost like he didn’t know what to do. He stood there a moment longer, just staring at the ceiling as if he was praying too, before he finally walked toward the stairwell.
Dave groaned, and planted his palm on his forehead. They did not need him on that roof right now. Suddenly, he heard an alarm and his insides clenched. Was that an alert to the guards that the girl was missing? That the compound was on lockdown? Or that there was trouble on the residential side of the resort, which is where the alarm seemed to be coming from? If any of that was the case, would he find out that the door at the top of the stairwell was locked when he got there? If that happened, both he and this sick girl were sunk.
Dave watched Mario hustle back down the stairs, followed by two more guards. At the bottom of the stairs, they skidded on the slick marble floor as they rounded the corner to enter the residential corridor at a run. Dave looked down at the girl and smiled, as he put his finger over her dry, cracked lips to hush her again. “One more time, and we’ll get you some help. Be quiet, and I’ll be right back,” he said, as he got up and exited the office.
He strolled toward the stairs then slid to the right to reach up and clip on the zapper. He dialed in the code, then put the device back into his pocket. When he turned, he saw Susan smiling as she walked down the residential corridor behind the Russian, who was carrying their suitcases. Right at that moment, Dave knew. He just knew. He loved that woman.
Turning, he ran back to the office to grab the girl’s hand to drag her toward the stairwell. One more hurdle. If the roof door was unlocked they would actually make it out of here without getting caught. Totally fucking amazing, he thought, as he bent to sweep her into his arms and double-time it up the stairs. Putting a hip into the door release, Dave grinned when it opened.
His grin widened when he saw the helicopter on the roof running hot. Keeping his body hunched over the girl, the flaps of his coat covering her so she wouldn’t be seen and to protect her from the dust and debris flying around under the rotors, Dave carried her to the door of the chopper and helped her inside. He pulled his weapon and sprinted back to the roof door, but the door opened and the Russian came out first, still carrying the luggage, then Susan strolled out with her suit coat draped over her arm, obviously covering her own weapon.
Dave grabbed the Russian’s arm and hurried him toward the helicopter. He shoved him inside with the bags, then climbed inside, and helped Susan up.
“Go, Hawk!” he shouted, as he slid the door shut.
Dave crawled into a seat and put on his seat belt. Susan was buckling the girl into a seat, then flopped back into the center seat to fasten her own. The Russian was on the floor board, gripping the bar on the back of the bulkhead. Hawk quickly lifted, and the bird shot forward, dragging a moan from Susan. Logan felt the tension in her body, saw it in her clenched jaw. Once the helicopter leveled, he reached over and unclicked her seatbelt to pull her onto his lap
.
He grabbed her chin in his fingers, and held her gaze. “You are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. And the best partner I could ever ask for. You saved my ass, baby, thank you.” Dave closed his mouth over hers, Susan moaned as she threw her arms around his neck. He squeezed her tight, kissing her until all of the tension left her body.
When she relaxed in his arms, Dave dragged his mouth from hers. “What did you do to distract the guards? What kind of alarm was that?”
“Just followed your lead, oh great one,” she replied smugly. “I found the laundry room and soaked a rag in a little combustible cleaner I found in the supply cabinet, then threw it into the dryer, put it on high heat and poof.” She threw her hands up to demonstrate, and Dave laughed.
“Your timing was impeccable, sweet cheeks,” Dave said with another squeeze, and Susan leaned in to kiss him again. With a growl, he kissed her harder.
The Russian said something, and Susan pulled back to give him a look and say something snarky back to him. Dave knew it was snarky, because he recognized the face she used when she delivered the words, and the Russian’s frown confirmed it. He shut up, and sat back to fold his arms over his chest.
They should probably tie him up again, Dave thought. “Did you bring the belts to tie him up?” he asked, setting her off of his lap.
“They’re in the suitcase,” she replied easing around his seat to reach it. Dave heard the zipper, then the belt flopped onto his shoulder. “You’ll have to tie him up though. I need to sit down and find my stomach. I left it behind at that takeoff.”
“He was just lifting hot, like I asked him to do. Sorry, about that,” Dave said getting up after she was seated again. “Tell him to turn around.”
Susan issued the command, and the Russian looked like he wouldn’t do it, but Dave shot him a hard look and he unfolded his arms and put them behind his back. Looping the belt around his wrists, Dave tied it tight then looked at their other passenger. She was resting her head against the outside hull, and he could see the sweat beads on her forehead, but she was shaking like a leaf.
“You might want to ask her if she’s okay,” Dave said sitting back down.
Susan reached over and swiped the girl’s hair from her forehead, and laid the back of her hand there. “She’s burning up.” Susan tapped her cheek and said something in Russian, but the girl didn’t move. “We need to get her to the hospital now, Logan.”
Dave got up again and walked through the aisle to the front of the aircraft. Hawk looked over at him and pulled his headphones off. “We need to step on it. The girl isn’t doing well. How far from the hospital are we?” he asked.
“Fifteen minutes, tops,” Hawk replied, making adjustments to instruments on the dash. “Ten now. Put your seat belts on. I already radioed the hospital that we’re coming in.”
Dave squeezed Hawk’s shoulder. “Thanks, buddy,” he said as he made his way back to his seat and refastened his belt. “Y’all hang on tight, we’re putting the pedal to the metal.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“I’m sorry, Ms. Whitmore, you’ll have to leave the room.” The nurse pushed her back toward the door, but Susan dug in her heels, and the nurse huffed a frustrated breath. “This girl is in bad shape, and we need to treat her immediately.”
“I’m the only one who can interpret for her,” Susan argued, with a glance at the lifeless looking girl on the cot, who reminded her entirely too much of her sister. She found out she was named Tatiana, and she was from a very poor village in Russia. She had come to the States on the promise of a good paying job. What she got instead, was used and abused by the doctors at that clinic. For her damned eggs, which they used in some kind of research projects, or sold to other labs around the world for the same reason. That was all Susan had been able to get out of her before she passed out, but it was enough.
The GenMax project and the drug they were developing was bad news. The drug wasn’t for curing endometriosis. It was to stimulate the egg production in those young women so they produced more eggs to feed the greed of the owners of that clinic. The more she thought about it, the more pissed off Susan became. Those people needed to be stopped.
“Please stay nearby, so we can call you if you’re needed. Right now, we need privacy for the gynecological team to come in and examine her. If you could find out what drug she was given, that would be helpful.”
“Trust me, if I could, I would.” Her own sister was under the influence of the same drug, and would probably be in this same shape soon, if she didn’t do something.
Susan nodded and left the room to go down the hall to the waiting room. Logan had left her behind to help with Tatiana, while he went to drop off the Russian, who refused to give her his name, at the compound with Mac and Dex.
A few hours ago, Hawk said he would bring Logan back later. Susan wished later would get here, because she did not like being left here alone to worry. Seeing Tatiana in that hospital bed just drove home the point that her sister could be in trouble too. And she felt guilty for sitting here worrying about another girl, when she should be helping her sister.
But Susan couldn’t help Jenna if she wouldn’t answer or return her calls.
Sitting in one of the plastic chairs along the wall, Susan dialed her sister’s cell phone again—the seventh time now since earlier in the week. When her call went immediately to voicemail, Susan hung up.
Taking a deep breath to fight the burn behind her eyes, Susan tried to get a grip on both her anger and grief. If something had happened to Jenna, she really would be all alone.
Her hand tightened around her cell phone just as it vibrated, and she quickly hit the talk button. “Jenna?” Susan asked hopefully, but looked at the display and saw it was Slade, a second before she heard his voice.
“Snapper, we have a problem…” Slade’s voice sounded sick, and Susan’s heart dropped to her toes. Something had happened to Logan.
“What is it?” she asked breathlessly, picturing Logan and Hawk going down in flames in the helicopter on the way to the compound. “Is Logan okay?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t heard from him, but your sister is in the hospital. I told Logan we should tell you what I found out about that GenMax project before you left, but he wanted to wait until you came back. I’ve been keeping an eye on her, but an ambulance just picked up her and her roommate from the dorm.”
A cold chill skated down Susan’s spine. I told him we should tell you what I found out about that GenMax project. Logan hadn’t told her whatever it was because it was bad, and because he knew she wouldn’t have gone out to the clinic with him. He had been more concerned about solving his surrogate case than telling her that her sister was in danger. Dave Logan was a self-centered, cold-hearted workaholic bastard. When the hell would she learn not to trust a man—any man?
“What did you find out, Slade?” Susan asked, as her heart crashed and burned in her chest. Numbness floated up from her toes until even her face went numb.
“God, I don’t want to tell you,” he said, and his voice was even sicker than before.
Susan had to swallow herself. “Tell me, Slade. I need to know, and I need to know where they took Jenna.” Slade just groaned, and Susan grated, “I need to know now!”
“A girl I talked to on the campus told me that the GenMax Project was bad news. Two girls were in the hospital from it, and one of them died. Her ovaries exploded.”
Susan’s blood froze in her veins. “What?!?!” she shouted as she vaulted up to her feet. “And you and Logan didn’t think that was something I should know right away?” Slade was yet another man she should have never trusted.
“I’m sorry, Snapper.”
“Sorry doesn’t cut it, Slade. Where did they take Jenna?” She demanded, as she walked toward the door.
“Seton Southwest is what the medic said,” Slade replied, then asked, “Where are you?”
Susan didn’t have time for conversation, she hung up the phone, and figured out
how long it would take her to get to her sister. Two hours probably, since the hospital Susan was at was south of San Antonio. Her phone rang again, and she saw it was Slade calling back, and pushed the button to send him to voice mail. Susan had nothing to say to him or to Logan right now. Maybe ever again. It was a good thing neither was here, because they would find out exactly how much damage her little thirty-eight could do.
But Susan needed a ride to Austin right now, and that was all she was worried about. She would deal with Logan and Slade later. Once she was sure her sister wasn’t going to die on her, she thought, and her eyes fucking burned like fire. To get to the hospital fast, she needed someone who lived close to give her a ride. The only person she could think of was Carlos’s younger brother, whom she thought had relocated to San Antonio. She wasn’t sure Carlos would answer her call, or agree to help her, when she dialed his number, but he did thank God. He arranged for Joe to pick her up and she was thankful, but truth be told, he owed it to her for wasting two years of her life on him. Dave Logan owed her too for wasting two minutes, but she wasn’t about to call him.
Susan never wanted to speak to him again.
“Logan, we have a problem,” Slade said angrily.
“I have enough problems right now, Slade, just deal with it,” Dave replied in the same tone. Dave didn’t have time to waste, he had to get back to that hospital and check on that girl. Susan wasn’t answering his calls for some reason, and he had information he thought the doctors could use to help the girl. In the photos he’d taken of those binders, he’d accidentally captured an image of the drug label for the GenMax drug. The doctors wanted to know what was in the drug, well Dave knew now. He just needed someone to tell him what it meant.