Page 78 of Relentless
A few seconds of quiet passed, then Sabina crossed her arms and spoke. “Fine, if we’re going to do this, here’s what we need to do.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE
“He’sin the hospital parking lot now,” Ava said over the radio. Kara’s heart skipped a few beats at the confirmation that her plan was working. It hadn’t taken Hilton long to seize the bait. Less than twenty-four hours had passed since Cody made the announcement at his most recent show.
“They’ll have eyes on him every step of the way,” Sabina assured Kara. Her team may be sitting in the cyber lab at HICC, but they were monitoring, and controlling, all the CCTV cameras in the hospital. Along with a few others that HICC had installed to cover blind spots.
Shift change had started ten minutes ago. And, as Kara had predicted, it was the time Peter had chosen to make his move. Doctors and nurses were efficient and watchful. But as they compared notes and transitioned patients, they were also distracted.
“Are you ready?” Chad asked Sabina, Ethan, Asher, and Ryan. All of them nodded in response. “Then let’s start this charade,” he said.
Ethan leaned down and kissed her. “I love you and I will be right here the entire time,” he said.
She smiled at him. “I know.”
He hesitated, then let her go. “You got her?” he asked, turning to his cousin—and Chad’s brother—Ryan. Ryan and Ethan looked the most alike of the eight cousins. Especially to someone who didn’t know them well. And as part of the plan, they were dressed identically as well.
“I’ll be here,” Ryan said.
“You need to get a move,” Ava said. “He’s exiting his car.”
As a group, Ethan, Chad, and Sabina filed out of the room. Ryan took a seat beside her while Asher hovered at the end of the bed.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Asher asked.
She nodded. Their plan was solid. And it had enough backup contingencies that she wasn’t worried. Well, she wasn’t worried about Peter finishing her off. She wasn’t looking forward to confronting him, though.
“Then I’ll head out and wait for Ethan,” Asher replied. The plan was straightforward as far as plans went. Ethan, Chad, and Sabina would ensure that Peter saw them talking outside the hospital. Then Chad and Sabina would “leave,” and Ethan would return inside, alone. From there, he’d meet up with Asher, and, once again, ensure that Peter saw them both walk into her room. At that point, they’d wait a few minutes, then Asher and Ryan, masquerading as Ethan, would leave again. Ethan would remain, hiding in the large cabinet closet, making it appear as if she’d been left alone.
“You’ll never be alone with him,” Ryan said. Not only would Ethan be in the room, but the HICC team, including Chad and Sabina, would be next door. Not to mention they were also all connected through their earpieces. Earpieces that allowed them to hear and speak to everyone.
“I know,” she said. “I’m more worried about not being able to get him to talk. I’ve never interrogated someone before, let alone done so while not making it appear like an interrogation.”
Ryan snorted. “Wrong. You do it all the time. You’re a doctor. How many times do you talk with patients? Ask them questions? Try to get to the root of what brought them to you? You do it all the time. Just in a different context.”
She opened her mouth to object, then shut it. She’d never thought of it that way, but he was right. Every conversation she had with patients, especially the difficult, shy, or fearful ones, was an interrogation of sorts. Not hostile, of course. But the outcome was the same—they had information she needed, and her questions helped get her those answers. Perhaps she should stop thinking of the upcoming interaction with Peter as an interview and more of a conversation. No doubt, it would come across more naturally. If she could manage it.
“He’s spotted us,” Ethan’s voice came through the earpieces. “I’m saying goodbye to Chad and Sabina now.”
“I love you,” Sabina said. “Be safe.”
“Always,” Kara replied.
“I’m waiting at the nurses’ station,” Asher added.
The line went dead for a few minutes, then Ethan came on to tell them he and Asher were together. When Ava confirmed that Peter was seconds away from stepping onto Kara’s floor, they started a faux conversation about her condition.
“He’s on the floor and…he’s spotted you,” Ava reported.
“On our way to the room,” Ethan said. A few seconds later, Ethan and his brother walked in.
“You ready?” Ethan asked.
Ryan’s earlier comment might have been blunt, but it had given her the confidence to offer a definitive nod to Ethan’s question.
“Then in I go,” he said. He stopped by her bed and gave her another quick kiss before walking to the closet and climbing in.
“Wait a few minutes before you leave the room,” Ava said. “He’s pulled on a white coat and is doing his best to blend into the crowd. A couple of people are giving him looks, but no one is saying anything.”
