He didn’t speak as they ran through the emergency entrance. His mind was working, fast and hard, trying to make sense of it. Ava had been tucked away in her room with a deputy outside the door. This wasn’t a full-on assault or they’d have heard about it in a dozen different ways already.
So how the hell had she vanished?
Eli hoped he soon had the answer to that. And better yet, he hoped they had Ava herself.
Inside the hospital, fluorescent lights glared harshly against the sterile white tile. Deputy Griffin stood near the nurses’ station, his face pale and tense. Two nurses hovered nearby, speaking in low, frantic voices. A stocky security guard with thinning hair leaned against the wall, looking like he wanted to disappear.
Eli headed straight for Griffin. “What happened?”
Griffin shook his head once, jaw clenched. “I don’t know. I never left the door unguarded. I was on shift until just before midnight. Took a scheduled break. While I was out, I had him cover the door.” He gestured toward the guard. “When I got back, she was gone.”
Delaney stepped closer. “What do you mean, gone?”
Griffin ran a hand down his face. “Vivian and Olivia were both still in the room. Sedated. The nurse came in to check vitals around twelve fifteen and realized Ava’s bed was empty.”
Eli looked at the guard. “Did you see anyone go in or out?”
The man shifted, uncomfortable. “No one suspicious. I didn’t leave the hall.”
Eli didn’t believe him. Something didn’t add up. Ava was smart. She wouldn’t have just walked out of that room unless she had a damn good reason.
And someone wanted her gone. Again.
A nurse rushed down the corridor, nearly slipping as she rounded the corner and came straight toward them. Her eyes were wide, her face flushed with urgency.
“I just spoke to someone from housekeeping,” she said, slightly breathless. “One of the staff coming back from break said they saw a young woman climbing out the window of room 212 justafter midnight.”
Eli’s blood iced over. Room 212. Ava’s room.
“Was anyone with her?” he asked, stepping closer. “Anyone forcing her out? Holding a weapon?”
The nurse shook her head. “No. The staff member said she was alone. She dropped to the ground and took off toward the back of the hospital, heading east.”
Eli clenched his fists, holding back a curse. Ava had climbed out willingly. She had walked away from safety. Somehow, someone had convinced her to do it.
Delaney looked at him, alarm clear in her eyes. “Why would she go alone? After everything?”
Eli didn’t answer right away. He had a thousand theories racing through his mind, but none of them sat right. Not unless someone had given her something she couldn’t ignore.
And now she was out there, again, in danger.
He turned to Deputy Griffin and dropped his voice low. “Keep an eye on the security guard. I want a word with him when we’re done in there.”
Griffin gave a quick nod and peeled off.
Eli grabbed his phone and fired off a message to Noah, giving him the basics and requesting the APB be started immediately. Within seconds, Noah replied with a thumbs-up emoji andOn it.
He and Delaney stepped into Ava’s room.
Vivian was pacing, arms crossed tight around herself, her expression raw with panic. Olivia wason a cot, propped against the pillows. Her eyes were open, but her movements were sluggish, her gaze unfocused.
Eli’s pulse ticked up. “We need to get them both tested,” he murmured to Delaney. “They were probably drugged.”
She gave a tight nod, already pulling out her phone to make the request.
Eli focused on Vivian. “Tell me what happened.”
Vivian turned sharply, her eyes glassy with tears. “I don’t know,” she said, her voice shaking. “She was here. We were all here. The nurse gave her a sedative, and I was watching her sleep. I must have… I must have dozed off. I don’t even remember closing my eyes.”
