Page 32 of Savage Reckoning

“Where’s Megan?” the woman wants to know.

“On her way. What happened to the doctor with the sedative?”

“He just left, a moment before you arrived.”

Just left? I saw no one except… Fuck!

“Tall, skinny? Pale-blond hair?”

“That’s right,” Beth confirms. “Did you pass him?”

Too right I fucking did. “If anyone apart from Megan comes in, hit the panic button.” I’m already halfway out the door.

“But—”

I race back along the corridor to the lift. He was just shoving his trolley in when I passed hm. I run that image through in my head again. What button did he press?

I close my eyes, recreate the scene. G. He pressed G, for ‘ground’.

I don’t wait for the lift to come back up. Instead, I head for the stairs again and rattle down them at breakneck speed. Luckily, the hospital is more or less deserted at this time of night, so I don’t meet anyone coming up. I burst out of the double doors on the ground floor into the brightly lit foyer. The night-time security guard blinks at me from behind the main desk.

“Sir…?” he begins.

“Did an orderly come this way?”

“An orderly?”

“A porter, with a trolley?” I scan the entrance hall for any sign of the bogus medic.

“I don’t think—”

He’s lying. There’s nowhere else the guy could have gone, and this so-called guard must have seen him. I’ve no time to fuck about. I approach the desk and draw my handgun. In my experience, the barrel of a Glock firmly planted between someone’s eyes will do wonders to jog their memory.

This occasion is no exception. The guard points to the outside door, stammering. “Th-that way. He was r-running, and—”

I’ve heard enough. I charge outside, just in time to spot the shadow disappearing around the corner into the ambulance bay. I set off at a dead run, skidding around the corner to crash into the trolley which has been abandoned. I pause just long enough to shove it into a space behind a large wheeled bin and carry on running.

CHAPTER 7

Megan

What was I thinking? Christ…

I fling my clothes back on and stamp into my shoes, no socks, berating myself as I go. I can’t believe I did that. I was there, cavorting on the bed with Gabriel fucking Sawyer, when… when…

It may have been nothing. It could have been an innocent mistake, some new staff member doing the night rounds. Maybe they got a bit confused.

Who am I trying to kid? This is a slick, modern hospital where clients pay a small fortune for the very best medical science has to offer. They don’t make mistakes like that.

I arrive at Aaron Savage’s room to find him out of bed and Beth close to tears. They both round on me when I enter.

“What’s going on?” Aaron demands. “That bloke…?”

“The doctor?”

“No. The other one. American by the sound of it. Sawyer?”

“Gabriel,” I confirm. “He’s—”

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