Tony's eyebrows shot up even as his heart beat a little faster. "So, he's not in a coma then?"
Duh, he wouldn't be if they released him.
"Could he be under Lex Mathis?"
The woman tapped away at her computer for a moment before shaking her head. "I'm sorry. We don't have anyone with the last name Mathis in the hospital at the moment."
Damn.
Tony tapped the countertop. "Thank you," he said before turning and heading back out of the hospital.
So, Lex wasn't here anymore. Obviously, his injuries hadn't been as bad as the lady next door had said, or maybe not as bad as she had been told. Maybe someone had been feeding her bad information, like the man professing to be his fiancé.
Kind of made Tony curious why the guy was packing up all of Lex's stuff and moving it into his place. Had Lex arranged for someone to pack up his apartment, or did this guy go ahead and do it on his own. Only one man had those answers.
Tony headed back out to his car.
Chapter Eleven
Lex tried to smile at the stranger yet another stranger was introducing him to. He'd been handed off by Detective Rain to a trucker on the edge of the city. From there, he'd been driven a couple of states over before he was handed off to a lady in a station wagon. From there, he was driven across the state to another truck stop. He spent the night at a farmhouse in Ohio before being driven to another house somewhere in Indiana.
At each stop, he'd been given a first name only when introduced, then he was shipped on to the next person with very little personal information from the people he was riding with. He wasn't sure why they didn't talk much, but he was kind of grateful. He wasn't up for much conversation. His body still ached from one end to the other. His head pounded. And he had no idea where he was or where he was going. He wasn't even sure what state he was in anymore.
"Thank you," Lex said as he climbed into the car and seat belted himself in. All of these people were helping him for reasons he didn't understand. The least he could do was be polite to them.
"I'm Gladys." The older woman smiled at Lex before nodding to the woman sitting in the front of the car next to her. "This is Teresa. We're going to take you to your next stop."
"I appreciate it."
"Are you hungry?" Gladys asked. "Teresa made some tamales before we left the house."
"I'm starving."
Teresa handed Lex a small plastic container and a fork. "They should still be warm."
"Thank you." Lex would eat them cold if he had to. He'd had a few hot meals since he left the hospital yesterday, but the rest had all been cold sandwiches.
God, had it only been yesterday? Seemed like forever.
Lex dug in, moaning in delight when he got his first bite. "These are delicious. Thank you."
"I'm glad you like them. My son can eat a ton of them in one sitting, but he's a might bigger than you."
The car got underway as Lex ate.
"Do you need any pain meds or anything?" Teresa winced as she looked Lex over. "I have some ibuprofen in my purse. It's not much, but it might make you a little more comfortable."
"Yes, please." Lex was all for being more comfortable.
He took the pills and the bottle of water Teresa handed over, tossed down the pills, then drank the water. He continued to eat until the container was empty then handed it and the fork back.
"Thank you. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this."
Teresa's smile was a little sad. "Believe me, we know."
"How exactly is this all happening?" he asked. He glanced between the two women when they didn't immediately answer. "Am I not supposed to ask that?"
"It's not something we can talk about," Gladys said. "It's not that we don't want to say anything, but the way we stay secret, stay under the radar, is by not talking about it. If people knew about us, none of us would be safe."
