Page 11 of Axton

I did and found what I expected. “Yep, she was raised in a polygamous community in Utah, I presume. It’s a common Mormon last name. Wasn’t Jeffs a fundamental Mormon or something like that?”

“I believe so.” He sounded distracted so he must have been reading something. “Yeah, that’s her, and I bet she can tell us exactly who the girl was escaping from. I’ll give her a call when I hop off here. Did they say what they think happened to her?”

“She has a minor head injury with a small brain bleed. They are medicating her to keep her asleep to escape the pain she would be in if she was conscious. They found glass in her hair, leading them to believe she was in a car accident. The authorities are searching the area for a crash site. Do you think you could call Wrenly’s dad and get some information on any cops in the area that’s involved with their MC? I can’t take the chance of getting kicked out of her room. Their security here is pretty much non-existent and I think it would be best if I camped out here until we know she’s safe. They led me straight to her and didn’t even ask for identification.”

“Yeah, that would probably be best if that’s the situation. I’ll call Allred then contact Clint about getting you some backup. I’ll also have the team start doing some digging. Go ahead and send me a picture of her, get her fingerprint, and I’m hoping you have a DNA swab? If necessary and we come to a dead end, we can have some genealogy testing done with it. At least to narrow down some family members.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll do some research through our scanner database and see if there were any car crashes reported in the area. The dimwits around here are probably not checking and just driving around in circles. The social worker said the blood on her was dried when they found her, so she may have traveled a bit of a distance from it.”

We ended the call, and I took a photo of the girl then touched her delicate hand to get a fingerprint on my phone app, but as soon as I touched her a zap went through me, like literal electric static,and I could even see it. “Damn.” It actually hurt a little. I got the fingerprint and sent both to Creed, then reached into my bag for the DNA kit. I had to fit the swab beside a tube in her mouth and hoped it wouldn’t disturb the test having a foreign object that had been touching her inside cheek. I had it done before the doctor walked into the room and was already seated with my laptop.

Chapter Seven

Axton

My protective instincts kicked in the moment a tall gray haired man in scrubs and wearing a white lab coat entered the hospital room. I was instantly at the girl’s side, but then he smiled, and I questioned what the hell was wrong with me. That was a little too protective.

“Dr. Ford, and I believe you are Mike Axton from Creed’s Motorsports?” He reached across her still body to shake my hand, and I shook his in return.

“That’s me.” I said as he shook it.

“I’ll admit, I’m surprised someone showed up. I am familiar with Creed’s Lake Motorsports. I’m a fellow bike enthusiast myself. Plus, your boss has been in the news lately.” He was all smiles.

“Yes, he has with his marriage and all.” I agreed.

He gave me a wink. “Clint Carlson just gave me a call.”

My brows lifted. “You know him?”

“Let’s just say we have some common interests, and I know why you’ve taken such an interest in our sleeping angel here. I was here when she was brought into the ER, and as soon as I sawthat business card. I knew she would be a particularly special case. I’m the neurologist that was called in last night, and I asked Tara not to give you any problems.” He looked down at the girl. “She reminds me of a broken angel, and I’m presuming she was escaping a bad situation. Do you get the same feeling?”

“I do.” I answered as I studied the name on the badge clipped to the pocket of his lab coat. Dr. Robert Ford, I’d have to do a background check on him and run his name by Clint.

His eyes met mine. “So, any clue who our mysterious girl might be?”

I gave him my best smile, although the trust wasn’t quite there yet. “I’m getting close, I believe. May I ask you a few questions?”

“Sure, I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

“Upon examining her, did you find any distinguishing marks? Maybe a tattoo, scars, some old bruising or anything?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No tattoos, and let me see about the scars. The only thing I remember is the birthmark under her left arm.” He walked over to a computer and started looking at her file while I reluctantly lifted her arm, and in that moment, I gasped at what I saw. An oddly shaped birthmark, the very one I have seen every day of my life. It matched the one I had on my left arm, in the exact same spot. I quickly set her arm back down and hid my arm instinctively.

He turned toward her. “She has a small scar on her right foot. It looked like a puncture wound, like maybe she stepped on a nail at some point. It’s a scar and looks like it healed well. She’s a healthy weight for her height and all of her tests came back good. She’s not diabetic, and we didn’t detect any other underlying health issues.” He pulled a small flashlight from his pocket and leaned over her. “She has blue eyes as you can see.”He lifted her eyelid, and I saw the most gorgeous cornflower blue eyes I had ever seen. “She’s healthy and I expect a full recovery. The swelling and brain bleed are very small and won’t need any intervention. The best we can do for her is use the magic of drugs and save her the pain she would be feeling if she was awake. Wherever she came from was somewhere she was well cared for, that much is evident.”

“Has security detected any unusual activity since she arrived?” I asked.

“Not that I’m aware of, but I could ask Tara to give them a call and ask.” He offered.

I didn’t exactly have much faith in the security and patient privacy in that particular hospital. “Do you have any idea how long she will be in this medically induced sleep?”

“That depends on her and what her daily testing tells us. I’d say at least another two days.” He answered.

“The fact that you know Clint tells me you know who and what we are, so what can you do to ensure I can stay here and watch over her? I’m sure you are aware the security here isn’t exactly the strongest, and we both suspect she was running from someone, right?”

He nodded. “I agree, and I’ll have Tara mark you down in her file as an approved visitor, but I’m not sure how much time that will buy you with the authorities. I’m sure Clint is in contact with someone.” He pulled out a notepad and started writing on it. “If you need anything, you can reach me at this number.” He pulled the paper from the pad and handed it to me. “I’ll be back around later before my shift ends. Good luck and I hope you have her identity soon.”

He left the room, and I sat back down with my laptop to look up Dr. Robert Ford for a background check. When I didn’t find anything suspicious, I went back to scanning for possible car crashes that could have been linked to the girl. It wasn’t long when Creed called back.

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