“You okay, Doc?” Ray asked, his brow furrowing in concern. Maybe it had something to do with my disheveled state. I didn’t usually go out looking like I’d been hit by a wrecking ball, but it was crunch time. He would either help me or report me.
“I need to call in that favor…” I said, cutting right to the chase, “… but what I’m about to ask you goes beyond anything I ever wanted either of us to be involved in.”
It was more than paying for medication for his sick wife.
It was more than settling the lease on his apartment.
It was asking too much from a man who had everything to lose, maybe more so than I did. He listened as I outlined my plan. I was clear about the risks and the options for him if we were ever caught, and still, he shook my hand and told me to be at the spot at the chosen time, and he would deliver what I’d asked for.
“Doc, I don’t know why you’re doing this, but I have to believe you know what you’re doing.”
I shrugged, and he nodded.
When Ray left, I ordered myself toast. Nothing else seemed appealing. It had nothing to do with the food but rather my wilting confidence.
When I was younger, my father always thought I’d go into something like law enforcement. He could see me uniformed and armed, standing at the frontline. When I decided to pursue forensics and eventually became a forensic psychiatrist, although he was always genuinely proud of me, he often asked me if I was happy where I was, and I would respond without a doubt in the world that I was.
I’d undergone basic training and qualified as a police officer, but right now, I wished I’d trained a whole lot more because I had a feeling I would need that in the days ahead.
Have you ever sat under the shroud of nightfall and wondered what was lurking there in the shadows? Every shadow the trees or branches cast was someone out to get you? You felt the guilt of your actions weighing you down long before the act was done? That’s what it felt like sitting there in my vehicle waiting for Alyssa. I turned the radio on, but the volume was down. It made no sense to have it on at all, but the light sound gave me some comfort. I took the advice I gave to my patients and counted down from ten, then from one up, taking deep breaths into my lungs and expelling air into the small space of the vehicle.
This moment right here was it.
If he didn’t come through for me, if something went wrong, I had no idea what I would do.
This was a risk, and I’d transferred it to someone else without even thinking about the repercussions.
What would his family do without him?He was the sole breadwinner, and I was a selfish bastard. I had a good mind to drive up there and set things straight, but just as I was about to, I saw a lone figure approaching. My heart was in my mouth.
It couldn’t have been that simple, but I didn’t care about simplicity as she reached the car, shivering from the cold night air.
ChapterNineteen
Alyssa
Present Day
After I had spent the day crying on my bed, facing the wall, a nurse came in and medicated me. I slept for a few hours and didn’t see Nurse Jones. I wasn’t surprised.
She was a liar, a fraud. She’d lied to me and made me trust her.When did I get so stupid?Had I not learned my lesson? For all I knew, she was working with him, which meant those letters in the wrong hands could be my undoing. The same nurse returned, appearing edgy.
She kept looking at the cameras, then prepped the needle and whispered, “I can’t give you this right now. You’re leaving tonight.”
I said nothing, fearing this was yet another trap I’d fallen for, like with Nurse Jones.
“Luke sent me. There’s someone who will help you get out of here, but it has to be done at supper time when all the guards and staff are preoccupied. I won’t lock the door,” she said, fiddling with my clothing as if she were giving me the shot.”
“How will I know who he is… the one who is going to help me?”
She smiled, probably glad I spoke to her.
“You’ll know. He has the kindest eyes, and he’ll make himself known. He won’t have time to explain. You’re to keep running south. There’s a small hole in the fence, creep through it, and you’re home free. Luke will be waiting for you at the bottom of the embankment.”
I nodded, afraid to even accept this olive branch from the man who was most likely responsible for my daughter’s kidnapping. I kept thinking we wouldn’t be in this situation if he hadn’t snooped around.
“Thank you,” I whispered, knowing what a risk she was taking.
“Good luck,” she said and cleaned up her tray, leaving quickly.
