Page 106 of Devil's Riches

“How does that work?”

“Press the green button on the wall near the door. That’ll set off a buzzer in the secure wing, and someone will let you in once they’ve ascertained that you belong there.”

I nodded. “Right. Thanks.”

Clara picked up the phone next to her computer. “I’ll call ahead and let them know you’re on your way up,” she said. “That way you won’t have to wait at the door.”

I stiffened. “Don’t do that.”

“Why not?” she asked, forehead wrinkling.

I pulled out my cell phone and showed it to her. “I’ll just call Edward myself. It’ll save you the trouble,” I said. I leaned forward and lowered my voice. “I think I owe you after being such a prick earlier.”

A ghost of a smile played on her lips. “Fair enough,” she said. “Have a nice day, Mr. Lockwood.”

“You too, Clara.” I flashed her a winning smile before turning away and striding over to the other side of the lobby.

My heart thudded painfully in my chest as I rode the elevator to the top floor. Alexis was trapped up there in the secure wing of the hospital. I could feel it in my bones. No doubt the surgery Edward planned to oversee this morning was hers—a surgery that would leave her dead so her grandmother could get a healthy young liver and live another decade or two.

When I finally reached the top floor, I briskly headed down the long hallway, keeping my head down to avoid attracting anyone’s attention. At the end, I turned right and saw a wide glass door about twenty yards away.

My brows furrowed as I considered my next move. Obviously, I didn’t have a keycard or a code for the electronic lock, so I couldn’t let myself in. I couldn’t press the buzzer at the door either, because I wasn’t expected or welcome in the secure wing, and the second someone saw me standing there, they’d sound the alarm with Edward.

I had to find some other way into the wing.

As I pondered the issue, the door opened at the end of the hall, and a short, squat security guard stepped out. I moved around the corner and peered around it, watching as he drew closer. I could just make out an ID card hanging from a loop on his belt.

That was my way in.

I pulled out my cell phone and lowered my eyes, pretending to be focused on the screen. Then I waited for the guard’s footsteps to draw closer.

When I could tell he was only a few feet away, I stepped around the corner and purposely barreled into him, knocking him right on his ass. As he fell, I swiftly stuck my hand out and ripped his keycard off his belt.

I stuffed it in my jacket as the guard spluttered on the polished floor. “Whoa, sorry,” I said. “Wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“No shit,” he said, face turning bright red as he lifted himself back up. “Open your fucking eyes next time. You almost broke my hip.”

I flattened my lips and scrubbed a hand over my face. “Look, I’m really sorry, man,” I said. “I just got some shitty news from my uncle’s doctor, so it’s kind of hard to pay attention to anything right now.”

The guard’s face softened. “Sorry to hear that. Just try to keep an eye out from now on, okay?”

I nodded and waited for him to turn the corner. Then I headed down the hall as fast as I could in the opposite direction. It was only a matter of time before he realized his keycard was missing, and I needed to get into the secure wing before it happened.

I reached the sliding glass door at the end and spotted a black card slot next to the green button Clara mentioned earlier. I slid the security guard’s keycard into the slot, chest tightening as I waited for it to work. My shoulders slumped with relief as the lock emitted a beeping sound and flashed a green light at me.

The door slowly slid open. I stepped inside and looked around. I was in some sort of waiting room with chairs arranged around the wall and a low table in the center with magazines scattered across it. A faint smell of disinfectant and bleach hung in the air, and everything was silent aside from the whoosh of the door sliding shut behind me.

A wide hall on the right side of the waiting room led farther into the secure wing. Before I checked it out, I fiddled on my cell phone for a moment and slid it into the front pocket of my jacket so that the camera was peeking right above the fabric.

Once that was sorted, I slowly headed down the hall, peering around corners as I went. I finally spotted a person briskly stepping down another hall. It was a middle-aged woman in blue scrubs. She instantly looked familiar.

I tried to place her, and then I realized she was friends with my mother. Her name was Selina Redstone.

Based on that surname alone, I knew I needed to follow her.

She hadn’t seen or heard me yet, so I ducked around a corner and watched where she went. She headed halfway down the hall and turned left at a door. Then she lifted an ID badge that hung from a lanyard and used it on the electronic lock.

As the door slid open, a shout echoed through the hallway. I briefly turned my head to see the security guard from earlier dashing toward me. He must’ve noticed his missing card and realized what I’d done, and he had the keypad code to get into the wing without it.

He also had a gun.

As he shouted at me, a piercing scream rose from beyond the door that Dr. Redstone had just unlocked. I recognized the voice immediately.

Alexis.

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