Every last ounce of strength that Casper possessed, which was precious little at this point in time, melted away like the snow under a newly bright Colorado sun. Trouble was, he wanted to assist her, but doubted he could lift a finger to even help himself. Ashley had every right to make such assumptions and clearly she was operating for his benefit, albeit through selfish needs of her own.
Can I blame her? I’d do exactly the same thing under these circumstances. Sticking with her might provide the answers that I need. Maybe she’s the key to getting my memory back.
Casper inhaled sharply and gathered up the last vestiges of his energy. He eased himself up and pivoted into the wheelchair. Now all he wanted to do was go to bed and sleep the rest of this day away. She tucked the blanket around his torso.
“If we get out of here, what exactly is your plan?” Casper asked.
Ashley bent over and unlocked his wheelchair, her exhalation whispering past his ear. A hint of citrusy body spray lingered in her wake.
“I haven’t thought that far ahead. I’ll probably take you to my mother’s house. If you knew my father maybe she knows you and can help me figure out if I should be worried about Jared coming for you or not.”
“So you don’t necessarily believe your father? That this man is his enemy?”
“It’s hard to put faith and trust in a man who deserted his family. My father said a lot of crazy things. Did a lot of scary stuff, but the one thing he was always consistent about for several years before he disappeared was his hatred of the man who just came looking for you.”
Ashley wheeled him to the door and peeked around the curtain. Seemingly satisfied, she yanked the curtain aside and pushed him through the sliding glass door. Making two quick turns, they came to a vacant hall. She locked the chair.
“Hopefully, everyone will be tied up for shift report. I need to grab my coat and purse. Don’t go anywhere.”
She disappeared behind the door to the doctor’s lounge and he was left alone. The chill was beginning to dissipate and he appreciated the warmth the blanket provided. If he’d been found in the snow, it likely hadn’t melted in the few hours since his arrival, particularly with the blackness of night making its claim against the last remnants of daylight.
Just as the door clicked closed behind Ashley, Lance rounded the corner.
“Mr. English, are you lost?”
The spry nurse rounded to the back of his wheelchair and unlocked the brake. “CT is wondering where their patient is.”
Casper took his left hand and shoved the brake into place just as Ashley came through the door, zipping up her coat and holding her purse and a large manila envelope.
“It’s okay, Lance. I’ve got it. Just didn’t want to come back to the department after I dropped him off.”
Lance nodded, though unsurely, but backed away so she could scoot behind the chair.
After a few more turns through the halls of the ER, Ashley came to a side entrance. “My car’s not far, but it’s going to be hard to get this wheelchair through the lot with all the snow.”
He nodded and flipped the footrests up. He stood, shakily. Ashley scooted next to him and fit herself under his right arm. Just the right size to act as a crutch. He leaned heavily against her, worried that she might topple over, but her strength surprised him and they soldiered through the door into the biting wind.
They walked perhaps thirty steps until they reached a pine-green Toyota Highlander. She pressed her key fob twice, unlocking the passenger door, and he poured into the seat, barely able to hold himself upright. After she grabbed the blanket and hastily threw it over his chest, she buckled the seat belt around him and hurried to the driver’s side. After starting the car, she turned on the heat, and he was immediately met with a blast of cold air that the thinly threaded blanket did little to protect him against, and the chill reasserted itself with a vengeance. His teeth chattered.
She turned down the flow and put the SUV in Reverse, making her way through the parking lot.
Just as the parking lot arm was about to release them, a security guard came running toward their vehicle from the left.
“We shouldn’t stay,” Casper warned.
Ashley powered down her window, ignoring Casper. “Everything okay, Noah?”
“Dr. Drager. A patient has been reported missing from the hospital. A Casper English.”
She glanced back at Casper and he shrugged, his mind a muddled mess of frozen brain cells.
“He’s all right,” Ashley called out the window. “Mr. English is here with me, and he’s refused any further medical care. He’s asked me to drive him home.”
“Dr. Drager, as you know, it would be highly unusual—even against policy—for you to transport a patient off hospital property regardless of their wishes.”
“It’s fine, Noah. He’s an old friend. I think the hospital will—”
Ashley jerked back and Casper felt the warm spray of something hit his face. When he looked left, he saw a fine mist of red droplets covering Ashley’s hands, which gripped the steering wheel so tightly they were stark white. Noah staggered back a few steps away from the car, a hand held tightly against his neck as blood gushed between his fingers. The guard dropped to his knees.
“Drive!” Casper yelled.
Ashley reached for the car’s door handle. “I can’t leave him,” she cried.
The next shot cracked the back driver’s-side passenger window.
“Ashley, go! We’re going to die if we stay here.”
The next shot punctured through Ashley’s open window into the dashboard.
Ashley stepped on the gas and flew out of the parking lot.
* * *
The night rushed past Ashley. Light snow flurries danced unabashed. Everything seemed quiet and peaceful other than the fact that she was speeding through neighborhoods preparing for slumber—braking, sliding on the icy streets. The dropping temperature crystallized what little snow had melted during the day. Ashley used a wet wipe from her glove box to clean the blood spray off her hands. She took another and wiped the left side of her face.
She was crying. Thinking of Noah. She prayed her call to the emergency department and 911 about Noah’s injury and the shots fired got help to Noah in time and no one else was hurt. When one of her fellow physicians pressed her for information, she’d disconnected the call.
Ashley’s thoughts spun. Adrenaline-fueled blood rushed through her head and there was a faint pitched whine ringing in her ears that masked Casper’s voice. She looked at him, barely able to see through her tears, wondering if she’d have to resort to reading lips because she couldn’t discern what his words conveyed. Gibberish. What she did see was the surprise and apprehension that covered his face.
It was the worry that concerned her the most. Who were these people?
This is exactly why patients can’t talk when I tell them bad news. Why they can’t process any information. What is this insanity?
Clenching her teeth, she wiped the tears from her face.
I have to pull myself together. Crying isn’t going to help either one of us right now.
She gripped the steering wheel so hard her hands ached. Casper glanced behind them, his movements stilted. “They’re coming.” A simple statement filled with so much danger.
Ashley glanced up in her rearview mirror. A black SUV was quickly closing the distance. Perhaps two blocks behind. A crack of metal jolted the car.
A