Page 24 of Lady Death

A commotion erupted and Ronin poked his head from the drape opening. The two cops guarding Keres stared down the end of the hallway, hands on the butt of their guns. When the sound of gunfire erupted, Ronin knew he and Keres were out of time. The two cops rushed forward, drawing their weapons.

“Come on, baby, we gotta get out of here.”

He helped her off the bed and then took her hand, rushing from the cubicle but not getting very far as people ran in terror. Instinct told him not to take the obvious exit, that the gunfire might be a red herring. So, he went the way he had come, leading her through a side door and down the corridor where the orderly was still passed out on the bed. Ronin quicklystripped off the scrubs and tossed them onto the unconscious man before taking her hand once more and leading her through the construction area until they were outside.

His bike was in front, and he didn’t want to chance showing Keres while Davorin’s men scoured the hospital for her. Ronin pulled out his phone and called Ghost.

“What’s up?”

“I need you to come get me and Keres at Memorial General in the city. We’re in the back, by the construction. And hurry.”

“On my way.”

The call ended. That’s what he liked about Ghost. No questions asked. Now, he and Keres had to wait. He wrapped her within his arms, afraid of her lifeless stare. He hugged her, as if holding her close would keep her from fading away.

“Why are you here?” she asked in a low, listless voice.

“I heard about the shooting.”

“That didn’t answer my question.”

“I’m here for you. Davorin’s men are hunting—”

“You should’ve let them have me.”

He frowned. “I’m not going to play into your suicide wish.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but a car cruised by and he pulled her further into the shadows, but the flashlight illuminating the dark came too close. He tried going back into the hospital, but he saw one of the Deathmen searching the torn-up site. He could see the tattoos seared into their forearms. The assholes were like cockroaches. Where there was one, there were a hundred more. Ronin knew they couldn’t stay there and wait for Ghost.

When the car went by, he grabbed hold of Keres’s hand and hurried from the shadows, keeping low as he led them to another spot to hide until their ride showed up. On the otherside of the parking lot were dark medical offices. Moving from car to car, staying low, pausing when a car cruised by or a group of Deathmen walking and shining their flashlight in the murky darkness.

Once they made it across the lot, he led her around to the back, where the dumpsters and staff parking was located. Then he pulled out his phone.

“I’m almost there,” Ghost said as he picked up the call.

“Change of plans,” Ronin muttered. “There are some medical buildings behind the hospital. We’re in the back near the dumpsters.”

“Gotcha. Should be there in five minutes.”

The call ended and Ronin slid his phone back into his pocket. He glanced at Keres.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine,” she replied stiffly. “I’m alive, aren’t I?”

“Are you? Back there you gave some fatalistic answers.”

She ran a hand through her hair. “What do you want me to say? That I wish it had been me instead of Darby? Because yes. He lost his life because I wanted Davorin to suffer. If we had followed his suggestion, we could’ve sniped the asshole and Darby wouldn’t be in the fucking morgue!”

“Don’t cheapen his memory with guilt. Darby was adult enough to know and realize what he was doing, and the consequences that went with those decisions.”

She sighed and wrapped her arms around her waist and turned away from him. “I know. We talked about that a lot. Still, I feel so alone.”

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against his chest. “You’re not alone. Not anymore. If you believe nothing else, have that be the one thing you do.”

She didn’t say anything after that, but she also didn’t try to leave the circle of his arms. He rubbed her arms up and down.Five minutes later, a nondescript silver sedan with no lights on pulled into the area where they were hiding. Ronin stepped from the shadows, Keres held firmly at his side, and waited until the vehicle came to a stop. He helped her into the back seat before sliding into the passenger side.

“I’m going to need someone to pick up my bike,” he told Ghost. “But wait till the excitement dies down.”

---