"Julian, he needs more medical hands," Elizabeth said.
No longer caring about the appearance of private duty, he texted Pete to make the assignments.
The August weather did nothing to take the chill off the warehouse. Martin shivered as he was kicked in the back by Vernon's steel-toed boot. The fact they no longer covered his eyes affirmed his belief that their endgame was his death. The ride in the van took ten minutes, according to Martin's internal count. He acquired numerous bruises from hard starts and stops, leaving his head pounding and his ribs burning with each breath.
Boyd and Vernon joined Danny Logan and Beck Ferguson inside. Martin fought even with the confining shackles. A fifth set of hands joined the fray, grabbing his throat from behind. A sting. "What did you give me?" He struggled to his collapse.
"Sweet dreams," Hailey Ullman said.
Under the watchful eyes of the senior executives and level-three operators, Lola and Austin were evacuated from the hospital along with Joyce, Jamie, and Austin’s PAs. Forty-five minutes later, Kip pulled the Navigator carrying Lola up to the entrance of the farmhouse. Fay and Dennis Bailey greeted the group as they entered the large front parlor.
"Jamie," Fay said, “there’s a crib for Lola in the nursery with Austy, and I can put her bassinet in your bedroom."
"Thank you," Jamie said. "I don't plan on sleeping when I'm caring for Lola. Eric will take the next shift in the morning."
Joyce witnessed the fear and worry in Fay's face. "Austin is here, and you need to believe Marty will be home soon too."
Julian stood between the guards and Troy's door. Noah and Caleb walked with precision down the ICU hallway in crisp tactical uniforms. Len "Buck" Rodgers stood at attention. "Carlson, where are you going?" McAllister snapped.
Len's lips turned up. "Alden, my name's not Chip Carlson. My name is Len Rodgers, and those two men are here to take you into custody at the behest of the Department of Homeland Security."
Alden started to reach for his weapon. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Julian withdrew the weapon tucked into a belt holster at the small of his back and pointed it between Alden's eyes. Noah and Caleb also drew their weapons.
"Alden McAllister, you have harmed your last prisoner." Len removed McAllister's pistol, searched, and handcuffed him.
As Julian watched McAllister being escorted out, Len returned to his position outside of Troy's room and notified the jail of the situation. His Chase orders were to remain undercover until Troy's official release came down.
Julian worked at the nurse's station, making the necessary arrangements with Pete for Troy's extra care. Elizabeth and Steven joined him. "I need to put the orders in. Julian, call his family. They need to be here." Elizabeth's eyes filled with tears.
"Beth, he's a prisoner; we need to call the jail. They will know who to call," Steven said.
"No, he's not. He was working undercover trying to find out who was hurting prisoners and why. His name is Troy Bremen. He works with Martin and Homeland Security." Elizabeth took a deep breath. "Steve, how much did they pay you to look the other way?"
Julian's eyes widened at her words. He moved to protect Elizabeth. "Keys?”
Steven held his forehead. "I'm so sorry, Beth, more than you know. When did you figure it out?"
"When they rolled Troy, you gasped. I realized you were seeing the extent of his injuries for the first time. Steve, we've worked together for eighteen months. Never once did I hear that sound come from you. And then I looked at your face. I wanted to see surprise, but there was only guilt. Why? Money?" Her eyes misted.
"Chris's family saddled us with a huge debt when they left him the ranch. Even if we sold it, we'd never climb out of the hole. Five years ago, right after I was hired, I reported a suspicious injury to Hillinger. He offered me three thousand dollars a patient just to take whatever they said about their injuries at face value. He never asked me to harm them,” Keys stammered.
Elizabeth swiveled in her seat. "Did you ever think about what happened to the ones who wouldn't give the medical staff an excuse? You’re as guilty as the ones who hurt them." Her voice rose in pitch.
Julian placed a confining hand on Steven Keys' shoulder. "Someone is coming to take you in."
After Kip and Bruce removed Keys from the hospital, Julian wrapped his arms around Elizabeth. "I'm so sorry,chère."
“I thought he was my friend. How can I trust anyone ever again?” she cried. Julian continued to hold her and rub her back.
When Elizabeth's phone vibrated on the counter, she pushed from his embrace. "I hope this is the lab." She hit the speaker button.
"Hello, Sunshine.” The insidious voice of her ex-husband still caused chills to run down her spine.
Elizabeth pushed back from Julian. "What did you do to Marty?"
"He's hanging around," Clay snickered.
She refused to call him by his new name. "What do you want, Lewis?" Julian twirled his fingers, signaling her to keep him talking, and texted their tech department to put a trace on the call. "I want to speak to Marty."
