“Launch is a couple of weeks away,” I confirm. “I can call a cab to pick us up, but I need to get Nick out of the hospital before Andreas kicks me out.”
“Hospital? So you’re at General then. Nicky will probably sleep off the anesthesia for another fifteen, twenty minutes. I need about a half hour unless traffic’s with me. Can you distract everyone until then?”
Dragging Lia into the middle of this mess wasn’t my intent. “I thought maybe you could call your dad or something in a couple of minutes, keep him on the phone while I try to get Nick out.”
“Cass. You’re my friend. I love my brother. I want to help.”
She’s the only one. “How do you know he’ll be asleep that long?”
Something slams shut on the other end of the line. “I know Simon. He’s a stickler for procedure and patient safety. Not even Dad can get him to budge, and since having Simon on staff at a major hospital is a good thing, he doesn’t try too hard.” She sounds a little out of breath. “Half hour,” she repeats. The call disconnects, and I shove my phone back into my pocket.
Somehow I have to keep both Simon and Andreas occupied until Lia arrives.
Nick’s father is still on the phone, and Simon hasn’t returned, so I take my first good look at the waiting area. The elevator bank is to my left. The hallway runs through the waiting area and off to the right. The double doors to the surgical suites are in front of me. Using the elevators to the left is out. Nick won’t be able to walk down stairs. A place as large as Angels General will have multiple elevator banks. The question is finding the next one and figuring out where it ends up.
A quick glance shows Andreas hasn’t moved. I walk to the hallway entrance to my right, searching for a You Are Here map. What I get is a diagram directing me to the nearest emergency exits. I hurry down the hall, ready to stop the first hospital employee I find to ask for directions.
Up ahead, a slim blond woman turns out of a doorway, and I rush to catch up with her. “Excuse me.” She half turns, and I stop short. It’s Tish, and the last person I expect to help me. “Never mind,” I mutter.
“It’s Cassidy, right? Are you looking for Simon? He’s back the way you came.”
I inch closer as a couple of people pass us, discussing some hospital policy. “Actually, I was looking for the elevator. I know where the one we came up in is,” I add hastily. “Is there a different one I could take?”
She makes a sympathetic noise. “Andreas is a pain in the ass. If you want to avoid running into him, just continue down this hall and turn right. There are two elevators there.”
I flash a smile. “Thanks.” Next order of business: get to Nick. If I can get him in the wheelchair and to those elevators, we can figure out where the exit is once we’re on the ground floor. “Restroom’s behind me?”
“There’s another one near the elevators I told you about, but yes, the one behind you is closer.”
I thank her again and turn around. The restroom is about halfway between where I ran into Tish and the hallway entrance. I duck inside, count to a hundred, then do it again. I poke my head into the hallway. No Tish. I make my way to the waiting area. Maybe I can talk Andreas out of taking Nick home, and I won’t need Lia’s help after all.
But he’s nowhere to be seen.
Heart thudding, I push through the double doors to the surgical suites and scan the hallway. Two men in green scrubs are standing far enough away I can’t hear what they’re saying, but no sign of Andreas or Simon. I tug at the hem of my scrub top as I weigh my options.
I glance down slowly as an idea forms. Simon did me a favor when he gave me these scrubs to wear. As long as no one looks too closely, I should be able to get Nick in a wheelchair and push him right through the front doors.
Straightening my spine, I start down the hall, straight past the two men. I sneak a quick look at the doors as I pass. All I see are operating rooms, and my heart rate kicks up the farther I get from the waiting area. Recovery should be on the same floor, and with the layout, it makes sense it would be nearby.
I round a corner, still scanning doorways. Another set of double doors is ahead, which will be convenient only if it connects with the rest of the floor and doesn’t dead end in a more restricted section.
I’m starting to lose hope I’ll find Nick in time when I look through an open door and spot him. He’s still unconscious, blankets halfway up his chest, his face pale. A wheelchair’s conveniently sitting in a corner. I step inside and shut the door. My shoes squeak lightly as I cross the room.
He stirs, eyelids fluttering, then opening completely.
“Hey,” I say softly. I ease a hip up onto the bed and take his hand. Relief slides through me as he curves his fingers around mine. “Your dad’s here.”
“Where?” he mumbles.
“Not sure. I figured either he or Simon would be in here waiting for you to wake up.” He shuts his eyes and mutters something. I ease in. “Sorry. What did you say?”
“Get me out of here.”
“Lia’s on her way to run interference. I thought I could get you out with her help, but I need your crutches and pills first, and I don’t think Simon will hand those over voluntarily.”
Nick lets go and strokes his hand roughly up my arm, coming around to cup the back of my neck. “Dad wants to take me with him, right?”
“He mentioned it.”
“He won’t allow you to come along. Get me in the chair. We’ll worry about the rest of it later.” He releases me and pushes at the blankets, his movements feeble and weak. He’s not ready to move. Not yet.
I place a hand on his shoulder. “Stay in the bed for a little bit longer. You can barely move.”
“No time. Help me into the chair.”
Sweat breaks out on his forehead, his mouth pinched tight as we maneuver him off the bed and into the chair. I rip one of the blankets free of the bed and cover his legs. My phone buzzes as I’m attempting to open the door and push Nick through at the same time. Thinking it might be Lia, I pull the chair back into the room and answer. “Where are you?”
“A few blocks away,” Lia replies. “Where do you need me? Is my father around?”
“I don’t know. I’m trying to get Nick out of recovery, but we need his medications and his crutches.” I don’t tell her my growing fear of leaving the room; I don’t want to get us lost, but I think that’s exactly what will happen.
“If Dad’s not around, it might be simpler to just get to the front. If Nicky gives the okay, I can drive you home.”
I tip the phone away from my mouth. “Lia’s offering to drive us.”
“Fine,” he grits out. “We need to go, Cass.”
When we get back to the warehouse and Nick’s had a couple of pain pills, I’m going to ask him why he’s so insistent on avoiding his family. I tell Lia we’ll meet her outside the front entrance, hang up, and stick the phone into my pocket.
As soon as I open the door, I hear voices. Familiar ones.
Andreas is coming toward us.
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