Although it was awkward, Melissa pulled the sheet over Caroline’s body, carefully holding the edge aloft so that she could inspect her in quadrants, her left torso, right torso, left leg, and then her right leg. She uncovered multiple faint bruises, but nothing that looked like it was caused from blunt force except for possibly the faint traces of fingerprints around her neck. Her wrists had been chafed or bled, so she either hadn’t been bound for very long or she hadn’t struggled. There were no traces of skin or blood under Caroline’s nails; overall, she had the appearance of someone who’d been well kept.
Except for the bruising. Melissa clipped on a headlamp, scooted the chair to the end of the bed, and completed Caroline’s pelvic exam under the covers as quickly as possible. She was nearly shaking with relief when she found no signs of trauma, but there were definitely more finger-tipped shaped bruises on Caroline’s thighs. He’d touched her there, but for all appearances, he hadn’t raped her.
Melissa dropped her instruments into the stainless-steel tray on the counter with a loud clatter, stripped off her latex gloves and dropped them in the trash and then went to the medicine cabinet. She would give her a strong dose of a broad-spectrum antibiotic just in case, just because there weren’t signs of trauma didn’t mean there wasn’t a chance for infection or STDs.
Reaper’s tracker remote alert buzzed against her hip. He was here.
Caroline’s vitals stabilized, her fingers stopped twitching, and her eye movements ceased beneath her eyelids. Caroline admitted a low almost inaudible moan.
No, it was too soon. Melissa needed to keep the general away, allow Reaper time to infiltrate and take them from this horrific lab experiment. Melissa leaned down, acting as though she were inspecting Caroline up close and whispered, “Keep your eyes closed. I need him to think that you’re still out. Help is on the way.”
“Reaper . . .”
“I can’t explain now, but I’m on your side. I’m getting you out of here, just pretend to still be asleep.”
Melissa straightened, praying Caroline would trust her. Caroline didn’t open her eyes, but then again, she could’ve passed back out. Still, Melissa had to continue with her plan regardless. She slid open the door and called out, “Tell the general the subject will be ready to move within the hour. I will have her ready by then.”
The technician who had been in the room with them earlier simply nodded, “Yes, Doctor.
