Page 62 of Grave Peril

Reaching deep for fortitude, Rip pulled on his leather pants, then sat in the chair by the bed and put on his boots. The shirt would be trickier. Once he unhooked his arms from the machines, the nurses would be alerted. He hoped they would be too busy to notice right away.

Rip’s thoughts were of Lela. He didn’t know what had happened to her. He had to get to her. The worst thing would be to lie in a hospital bed until the cartel came for him. And that wouldn’t be long. He figured he would be dead already, except the report that he’d survived the stabbing hadn’t reached the assassin’s ears yet.

Swiftly, Rip tore off the patches attached to his arms and threw off the wires. Then he yanked the IV needles out. The rough motion made the puncture sites bleed. He hobbled toward the door, with blood dripping on the floor as he went.

*****

When the elevator opened, Lela stepped out, carrying the vase of flowers. The scent of roses was lovely. She couldn’t wait to see Rip.

The nurses were busy, so no one looked up when Lela walked past. She had some bounce in her step, despite her lack of sleep.

At the door to Rip’s room, she took a breath. Excitement over seeing him overrode her trepidation at how he might look. But soon enough he’d be back to health.

Lela leaned against the door with her elbow, holding the vase in both hands. But she was greeted with an empty room. Had they moved Rip already?

That didn’t make sense.

Then something on the floor caught her eye. A trail of blood went from Rip’s bed, out the door, and down the hall.

The vase slipped from her hands and crashed to the floor, shattering. Lela glanced down. Shards of glass were everywhere, and the yellow roses were piled together in a puddle of water mixed with blood.

Lela’s pulse raced. Rip was in trouble. The bed was a mess, with wires strewn around, like he’d been torn from the machines. She had to find him.

A nurse came up behind her and looked at the mess on the floor. “Are you okay? I’ll get someone to clean this up.” The nurse touched her arm. “I need to check on Rip. Something must be unplugged. The machine isn’t functioning.”

When the nurse went into the room, Lela vanished. The discovery of Rip’s disappearance would only mean trouble.

At the lobby, Lela stepped out of the elevator and plowed into Axel. “I left the moment you called,” he said. “Where is he?”

Lela grabbed his arm and pulled him around the corner. “I don’t know. He’s gone.”

“How can he be gone?”

“I don’t know,” Lela said. “I went to his room and…there was a trail of blood.”

“Oh, Christ.” Axel raked a hand through his hair. He wasn’t in uniform, and Lela assumed he’d worn street clothes so he wouldn’t be recognized. “We have to find him,” Axel said. “He can’t roam around on his own. I don’t know how he got out of the damn bed.”

Lela had followed the trail of blood but it had disappeared, so maybe someone had abducted Rip. “Do you think the cartel has him?”

“I hope to hell not,” Axel said. “And if they found him, they’d just bump him off in the hospital bed. They don’t give a shit about appearances.”

Then, behind Axel, a door opened. It was the stairwell. And Rip emerged. “What are you doing here?”

“Good to see you too,” Axel said, racing over to assist his brother.

“I don’t want you involved in this.” Rip’s voice was weak but his message was clear.

“I am involved.” Axel draped Rip’s arm around his neck and supported him. “I’m your brother. So get over it.”

“You shouldn’t be up,” Lela said, as lame as it sounded.

“We have to get out of here,” Rip said.

“I have a place you can go.” Axel shifted his brother’s weight to help him walk. “And I don’t think you have a lot of options right now.”

Rip frowned, then grimaced in pain and gripped his side. “How did you even know I was here?”

Lela held up Rip’s phone.

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