“That does seem unlikely,” he said hesitantly.

“Unfortunately, this is not the first time she’s hallucinated stuff like this happening. It was only a week ago that she broke into the Johnson Tower because she was sure her fiancé cheated on her. James Johnson—the millionaire—can you believe that? If we had let her wander around, imagine what might have happened.”

“Shit.”

“You can see why we need to get her to this facility as soon as possible. The longer she’s off her medication, the more likely it is that she’ll lose all touch with reality and do something really stupid.”

He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. “I’m going to have to confirm this with the mayor?—”

“He’ll deny her existence. That’s why we’re transporting her to another location. You heard about his run for governor.”

His eyes widened. “No, I hadn’t.”

“As mayor, a scandal like this is nothing, but as governor…” I tsked as I shook my head. “The scandal of hiding her would be too much. He’d lose the race. I’m trusting you with this information,” I said, my voice turning grave.

“Of course.”

“And you can see why she has no ID, and we can’t let this story get out. The woman would be hounded at the institution. She’d never know a moment’s peace, and trust me, with those delusions, she needs a break.”

The officer swallowed hard, giving me a nod that I hoped meant he was going to let us go. The last thing we needed was to draw more attention to ourselves. “I’ll start the paperwork to release her.”

My hand shot out and I grasped his arm. “It would be best if it appeared she was never here at all.”

“Understood. I’ll escort you back to the cell to collect her.”

“I’d appreciate that.” I stood, grabbing my crutches, and followed him to the door. “You’re a good officer. I’ll be keeping my eye on you. The company is always looking for a trustworthy man who can handle a delicate situation.”

His chest puffed up in pride, and I almost felt guilty leading him on, but the man really should have verified the information first. Not that I was going to get upset over the win. As soon as Piper saw me, she stood and gripped the bars.

“When am I getting out of here? I need to get my things!”

I shot the officer a knowing look, to which he walked over and unlocked the cell. “Right now.”

Piper flinched in surprise. “That’s it? You’re just letting me go?”

“Mistake in paperwork,” the officer smiled. “You’re free to go.”

As soon as Piper opened her mouth, I knew I had to intervene. “My leg is killing me. Maybe I need to get back to the hospital.”

Piper’s face instantly went to my leg and she frowned. “I knew it was too soon to release you. What if you have a massive infection from the bear attack? Rabies or…we should get you back now.”

I turned and winked to the officer as Piper guided me toward the door. I hammed it up and pretended I was injured for all parties involved. I kept everything inside until we were just outside the car.

“Keep moving. Do not look back.”

“What happened in there? Why did they just let us go?”

I stopped at the car door and frowned, sure she was going to smack the shit out of me. “I may have implied that we were taking you to a mental institution.”

And with that, I got in the back seat and chuckled when she flung herself in beside me and glared.

“You told him I was crazy?”

“Piper, you were rambling on about planes crashing and bear attacks. To anyone normal, that sounds batshit crazy.”

She turned to me and glared. “Of course, it’s always the woman who’s crazy.”

“Really? Did you want me to tell him I was crazy? I wasn’t the one who was racking up more charges than a terrorist.”