Page 23 of Lady Death

“No, some dude named Darby Monroe was killed. A female was taken to the hospital, but they didn’t list her name.Probably to protect her.”

“Which hospital?”

“Memorial General.”

“Thanks, Mac.”

He hung up and sprinted to his bike. Fuck his winnings, he needed to get to Keres immediately, and he didn’t even question why. Nor did he question how he knew it was her since he still didn’t know her full name. She seemed to be a ghost, but he was determined to catch her and learn her secrets.

Revving the engine, he sped off toward the city. Speeding, it didn’t take him that long to get to the hospital, less than an hour had passed since Mac had called him. Out of habit, he parked in a camera dead zone and rushed into the ER. The place swarmed with people, from doctors and nurses to family members and even a few waiting to be seen. Keres wasn’t among that group, so he stepped up to the check-in station.

“I’m looking for a woman who was brought in from the drive-by shooting,” he said.

The young woman looked him up and down, interest in her gaze. In the past he would’ve used her to get to where he wanted or what he needed, but that was before Keres. A picture of her against the wall with her legs wrapped around him crashed through his mind, and that was not the distraction he needed now.

Damn it! When did she take up residence in my head?

“Her name?”

“Keres.”

“Last?”

“Fuck,” he muttered. “Never mind.”

He turned away and stepped out of the hospital, walking away to try to sort out his thoughts. To put her back into the box he needed her to be in, but even her memory demanded to be front and foremost in his thoughts.

Some scaffolding caught his attention, so he started walking in that direction. The hospital had construction underway, and because it was late at night, no one was working. Ronin glanced around before backing up and melting into the shadows. Wasn’t hard to find a way in and he kept his senses on high alert as he made his way further into the hospital. Luckily, the halls were nearly empty because of the work going on. Following the signs for the ER, he walked confidently past an orderly who was wiping down rolling hospital beds. Ronin struck quickly, wrapping a hand around the man’s mouth and pinching hard on his carotid artery. Ten seconds later, the young man fainted.

“Sorry,” he muttered to the unconscious man. “I don’t have time for a proper disguise.”

He placed the man on one of the beds and quickly stripped him. Taking the scrubs into the restroom, he put them on top of his own clothes and clipped the badge to his chest. Everything was a little snug, but he didn’t care. He left the man in the corridor and moved quickly to the ER department. A set of police officers guarded one medical bay and he knew she was there. He grabbed hold of a rolling blood pressure cart and made his way in.

“Time to check her vitals,” he said to the cops, and they nodded, stepping aside so he could enter the draped examining bay.

Fucking imbeciles.

Keres lay on the hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling. Unmoving. Unblinking. She was almost comatose with pain etched into her defeated look. It broke his heart. He stepped closer and turned her chin toward him, waiting for the sign of recognition in her cerulean gaze, but she never saw him. She was lost.

“Keres, please, baby, look at me.” He kissed herunresponsive mouth. “Come back to me. Keres, come on, I know you can see me.”

He kissed her again, lingering for a moment. Then he felt her move. Only a fraction, but still, movement was better than being catatonic. When he pulled back to look at her once more, confusion filled her beautiful blue eyes as she blinked up at him.

“Why are you here?” she whispered.

“I’m here for you,” he replied softly.

A tear trailed down her cheek. “Darby’s dead.”

“I know.”

“I wish I had died with him.”

He pushed some of her hair off her face. “Don’t say that.”

She went back to staring into nothing, and that scared him. All he could do was show her just how much he was glad it wasn’t her who had been killed, so he kissed her once more. Keeping it simple, lips to lips.

“Baby, I know you’re hurting,” Ronin whispered against her mouth. “Listen to me. Sometimes you find a person to die for, but there are also people worth living for. So, I’m asking you, Keres, to live for me. Live for Darby. He wouldn’t want you to give up.”

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