Lex's jaw dropped. "You want me to get in the trunk?"
"Green arranged for the cameras to be turned off here in the parking garage, but we still have to get past the security guard at the entrance. If he sees you in the car, he can tell Carson who you left the hospital with. If he sees me only me in the car, he can report that no one was with me."
Right.
Lex had misgivings about it, but he couldn't say Rain was wrong. He climbed into the trunk then lay down. "How long are you going to leave me in here?"
"Just a couple of blocks. Long enough for us to get away from the hospital and anyone who might be watching."
Lex whimpered when the trunk slammed shut and he was plunged into darkness. He was really starting to hate the darkness.
He braced himself when the car started to move. Granted, Rain seemed to be going slow, but Lex knew that wasn't going to last. Once they got out onto the street, he was going to be tossed around like a piece of chicken in a breading bag, and there was nothing in this trunk to soften the blow. If he wasn't already covered in bruises, he knew he would be by the time this ride was over.
The car slowed and he heard Rain talking to someone for a moment before it started moving again, this time at a far faster rate of speed. Lex was able to find a spot where he wasn't being thrown around, but he could still feel the hard rumble of the car going down the street.
Adding that to his already bruised body, and he felt as if someone was beating him all over again. Tears flooded his eyes and he tried not to cry. He wasn't much of a crier, but lately, that seemed to be all he was doing. He'd probably cried more in the last few days than he had in his entire life.
Lex wasn't sure how long it was before he felt the car start to slow, but he doubted it was just a couple of blocks. He winced when he was tossed to the other side of the trunk. By the time he righted himself, the car had stopped moving.
He blinked wildly when the trunk lid opened and he was blinded by the light. He held his hand up in front of his face until he could look without feeling as if his eyes were being burned out of their sockets.
"Come on, time to get out of there."
Lex was all for that. He took the hand that was held out to him and slowly climbed out of the trunk. Rain tossed him a gym bag. "What's this?"
"There's some real clothes in there for you. Thought you might want to change."
He did.
"There's a bathroom right over there."
Lex turned and looked where Rain was pointing. He hadn't realized until that moment that they were parked next to a gas station. He walked to the bathroom and went inside. He locked the door when he went in then set the bag on the sink.
Jeans, simple white cotton shirt, long-sleeved pale blue shirt, socks, and a pair of tennis shoes. Not necessarily what he would have chosen, but he knew he wasn't in a position to be picky. They were better than hospital scrubs.
Lex changed clothes then stuffed the doctor's scrubs into the bag along with the shoes they'd given him. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with them, but he figured Rain could get them back to Dr. Green.
He splashed some water on his face then grabbed the bag and walked back outside. He handed the bag to Rain. "I wasn't sure what you wanted me to do with the scrubs, so I stuck them in the bag."
"It's all good." Rain tossed the bag in the trunk then walked around to the driver's side. "Get in, we have a ways to go yet."
Lex quickly climbed in, shut his door, then put on his seatbelt. "Where are we headed?"
"With any luck, a safe place where Carson will never find you."
Lex was all for that.
Chapter Ten
Tony slept through the alarm, so he'd had to skip breakfast and coffee before taking off toward the city. He arrived at the airport with just enough time to get through security and get to his airplane.
By the time he was scrunched in his seat between two other people and flying through the air, he was ready to scream, and he had a couple more hours of this. He hated flying anyway, so this just about made his day.
The second the wheels touched down and the flight attendant said they could disembark, Tony stood, grabbed his bag out of the overhead, and headed for the door. He was so ready to be out of this tin can.
He marched off the plane then down the passageway leading to the interior of the airport. He had to weave around people and slow in some places so he wouldn't trample anyone, but he made pretty good time.
Since he had his bag with him, he made a beeline directly for the car rental counter. Luckily, that had been part of the package he'd purchased when he bought his plane ticket. He hadn't gotten a motel room this time because he was kind of hoping to stay at Lex's place.
