Page 250 of Deep Cover

"For fuck's sake," she was saying as she grabbed the phone. "It's simple. Sweet baby Cole's requisitioned a chopper. It will be ready to leave the airport in 30. You need to be on it. Because you don't want to leave loverboy here alone, do you?"

"Don't do anything, Kie." There was as much warning in my voice as I could muster without causing staff to come in, calling for a doctor, looking worried.

"Oh, not till you get here, sweet girl," Kie said. "If you have trouble with the chopper, call from the airport." Pause. Then in a syrupy, terrifying voice: "We're just dying to see you."

She disconnected.

The big plastic-framed clock said I had minutes to get back to my room before Zach arrived. If I tried to hurry, if I exhibited anxiety about getting there on time, I'd be held up by concerned staff and some unconcerned it's my job doctor.

I hung up. I didn't bother with meaningless pleasantries to the open line. If they were listening in, they'd have already known she'd hung up.

I knocked on the door. I stood back and waited calmly, my hands folded in front of me, for the slow-as-shit Bunny to come let me out.

"Everything all right?" she chirped and I froze for a second, but this was just Bunny, being Bunny.

"Pretty much the same as it has been. When's the wedding? How do I feel? He's testing the cakes without me!" I managed a smidgen of indignant to creep into my voice.

"He has a nerve." Bunny laughed.

I made some kind of strangled sound, thanked her, and went into my room.

Zach was there less than two minutes later. I was still shaking.

"I have to get out today."

I thought he'd freak out at that. Zach struck me as a ‘make a plan and then stick to the damn plan’ kind of person.

He surprised me. "I've been backing the bus up to the dock every time I come by," he said. "Just in case it was now."

I gave him a quick, nervous smile. "I owe you, dude."

His grin split his face wide open. "I'm having fun," he said.

He could lose his job for this. But though I felt that and thought he hadn't considered it, I said nothing.

I had to get to Cole.

Being outside even for the minutes it took to go through the hospital back entrance and to the waiting van was frightening. It's easy to become institutionalized and the hospital was one of the few places I'd been really safe in a couple years. They even kept Mark away from me. I'd never had anyone do that for me. Even I hadn't been able to do it.

Before. I thought ending the engagement would be a lot easier now.

The flesh on my back crawled, waiting to hear an alarm sound or someone shout for us to stop. But me talking to Zach had become a routine sight. The bus pulled up to loading and unloading, that was definitely familiar.

There were no alarms. There was no anything. Just Zach giving me a hand up to the back of the bus and me lying down on the stretcher and the other tech, one I hadn't met, raising a brow at Zach, getting his nod, helping me onto the stretcher, explaining briefly the straps were seatbelts of a sort. He didn't put on the wrist restraints after I growled, and sat down to start routine monitoring.

I didn't mind that. My blood pressure would probably convince the guy I actually needed to go to the hospital.

Zach slammed the back of the bus shut and jumped into the driver’s seat.

We drove away from the hospital.

Just like that.

The chopper was waiting. All I had to do was identify myself as Cole St. Martin's guest.

"His fiancée?" the desk clerk burbled.

Really? And was that Kie or Cole? Because if Cole knew where I was, he might have already been putting plans into action.

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