We make decently quick progress on Maddox’s door, even though it’s just me kicking this time. Now that we know our process will work, we’re doing it with a lot more confidence.
Finally I pry the door open with the crowbar and we rush in.
There he is, lying on the bed in his underwear. Paler than Alissa, and the muscles in his chest and arms have begun to atrophy.
My heart sinks. He’s not moving.
I run over to him. “Maddox! Are you okay?” I grip his shoulders, shake them gently. Lightly slap his cheek. No response. I lower an ear over his mouth and nose.
He’s breathing, thank God. But barely.
I place my ear against his bare chest. A faint pulse. A very faint pulse. Much weaker than Alissa’s.
He’s alive, but he’s hanging on by a thread.
If we had waited until morning like I originally suggested, he wouldn’t have made it.
I’m not convinced he’s going to make it anyway.
“We’re going to have to carry him to my car,” I tell Bianca. “Luckily, I don’t think anyone will see us in the cover of night. We can get them into a wing of the hospital that has a little less traffic, have Dinah keep an eye on them the next few days.”
“We need to get them something to eat, don’t we?”
I shake my head. “They’re completely starved, but we can’t start feeding them solid foods. That will be a major shock to their digestive systems and they’d probably vomit it right back up. The applesauce Dinah is giving Alissa might even be too much, honestly. We’ll get them on IV’s until they have their strength back.”
She presses her lips together. “But what if Rouge finds out they’re gone?”
“We’ll have to act fast. You said she only checks in once a week, right? And she just checked in a few days ago?”
“Right. The night we met. At least, that’s what she said she was going to do.”
I swallow. “Great. Then we have a few days to get all our ducks in a row. At the very least, Rouge will have no way of knowing that we were the ones who got them out. By then, we might be able to move them to a more secure location. We’ll figure it out. But right now, we’ve got to get them to the hospital. Maddox especially.”
“Okay.” Bianca squeezes my hand. “Let’s do it.”
34
BIANCA
I escorted Alissa to Harrison’s car while he and Dinah fireman-carried Maddox. I offered to help, but they have all the medical training and know how to handle him in his fragile condition, so I let them do it.
Harrison found them two vacant rooms in the ICU. Alissa was able to keep Dinah’s applesauce down. Maddox still hasn’t regained consciousness, so he’s hooked up to an IV. Harrison said he’ll get him a nasogastric feeding tube when he’s ready. Then, when he’s conscious and strong enough, Harrison and Dinah will reintroduce him to solid foods to see what he can handle. They’ll need physical therapy too, since they’ve lost a lot of muscle tissue.
Harrison is getting Alissa settled, and I’m in Maddox’s room tucking him in when his eyes flutter open and his heartbeat monitor goes haywire.
I grab his hand, give it a light squeeze. “It’s all right, Maddox. Everything’s okay.”
He squints slightly upon seeing me. “Bianca?”
I can’t help a smile. “Maddox. Yes. It’s me. You’re okay. We got you out of the hotel.”
He blinks a few times. “Alissa?”
“Yes, we got her, too. She’s fine. We’re getting you both back into fighting shape.”
“Tell her…I love her…”
My heart warms. That’s so sweet.
