Page 34 of Going Down Smooth: Part Two

I reach the elevator doors and press the button to go up and wait. I sigh and try to prepare myself for what I’m about to see.

“Mercy?”

I turn at the sound of my name and smile at the woman rushing toward me. “Miss Caroline?” I raise my eyebrows in question, wondering what she’s doing here, then quickly dismiss it. She could have a family member here she’s visiting. Before I can ask her more, the elevator dings and the doors open. I hurry inside and she rushes in behind me.

“Oh, Mercy, it is so good to see you,” she says as she scoots past me, hands clutching her purse to her chest as she leans against the back wall. I turn and face the doors as she blows out a shuddering breath.

“Are you okay?” I ask as I reach over to press the button with Executive Level written on it. Looking over my shoulder, I see she’s shaking slightly. It’s only then that I realize she’s not wearing a winter coat, hell, she’s not really dressed for the weather outside at all. Is that a night dress?

“I’m fine, Mercy,” she replies quickly. Something feels off about her.

“Miss Caroline, is your pack okay? Are you visiting one of your mates? I didn’t know any of them were sick,” I ask, trying to keep her talking. At her age, she should retire, and I know eventually she will, but she was determined to help with my transition, especially after the fire. For all I know, Miss Caroline is a patient and she’s wandering around the hospital confused.

“Oh no, I’m here to visit Faith. It’s such a shame what happened to her. I have to say I was worried sick, I am just glad she was found. You know, you girls are like family to me. Especially you, Mercy,” her reply has me freezing in place. My mind races because there is no way she could— Wait.

“Miss Caroline, how do you know Faith—” My words are cut off by a sharp sting to my arm, followed by the sound of a sob. I turn around fully, ready to interrogate her, and see tears on her face. I step forward and she steps back, then she moves around me as the elevator begins to spin. It jolts to a stop abruptly, pitching me to the back wall. A wave of nausea hits me. I throw my hand out to grab the guard rail but miss it. I hit the wall and slide down, my legs no longer want to work.

“Miss Caroline. . . How? What did you do to me? Why?” I ask as my vision begins to blur.

“I’m—I’m so sorry, Mercy,” Miss Caroline stammers, her eyes wide, looking almost crazed. “They came to my house, took my mates and me,” she says in a panic. I try to blink, to focus, but I am failing. “He said they would kill them if I didn’t find a way to get you to them. He sent me here. I had no way of knowing you would be here. I—I panicked. How was I supposed to get to you? I told them it was impossible, but they gave me no choice. You being here. Oh God, it was by chance that I stumbled across you. I’m so, so sorry, Mercy.” She turns to push a button and the elevator comes to life. I can just make out that we are moving down again.

“Miss Caroline, ple—ase,” I whisper, my words slurring. I don’t know why I am begging, whatever she gave me is working fast, my fate, whatever it is, is sealed.

“I would never hurt you, Mercy. You know that, right? I had no choice. Oh God, I had no choice.” She sucks in a deep breath. Her entire body is trembling from what I can only assume is fear. She lifts a phone to her ear. I didn’t even see her reach for it as I try to widen my eyes to help me listen. No, wait, that’s not right.

“I—I have her. We are coming down now,” she says, voice shaking nervously as she listens to whoever is talking to her on the other end.

“You promised me. I did what—what you asked. Just set them free.” She cries, and all I can do is feel sorry for her. They used her and her family to get to me. Here’s another person’s life in jeopardy because of me. When is this going to end? It ends when I’m dead, Mercy Smooth.

“It’s okay, Miss Caroline.” I wave my hand at her in an attempt to reassure her. Why? Because drugs do terrible things to your brain. “It’s going to be o—kay. We will get through this to—gether.” I slur once more as the elevator doors open.

“Well, fuck me. The old bitch did it.” I don’t see him, but I hear him. The voice that has haunted my dreams for months. Derrick. I can’t cry out for help, no one’s going to help me this time. I can’t even help myself. I try to fight the effects of the drugs, but it’s useless. My eyes close as I’m yanked off the elevator floor to the sound of Miss Caroline’s sobs. I’m sure they will be added to my nightmares.

* * *

LOX

There are times like this when I wish to truly embrace the possessive Alpha-hole nature that I push down inside of me. Mouse’s safety is more important to me than her feelings, and I should have done what I planned to do months ago. There are instances where I would rather her hate me for my actions. I love her, and eventually she would forgive me, but if she didn’t, then I could live with that. I would knot my way back into her heart if I had to. If this situation wasn’t life or death, then I would take her home, bend her over my knee, and take it out on her nice, plump ass. Fuck. This can’t keep happening. I should have implanted the tracker under her skin like I intended. When we get her back, I’m not giving her a choice. I’ll be damned if someone takes her from us again. If she wants a crazy stalker-type mate like the ones she reads about on her e-reader, then she’s just created one.

“We need to get to the hospital’s main security room, check their system, and do a more thorough check with their cameras,” one of Dez’s security team members says quickly as we all pile out of the elevator onto the ground floor.

“What’s your name?” Nate asks the guy as we run behind him. Ever the sensible one, yes, we might need to learn names considering we are going to be relying on them to help us out. It’s a nice thing to do, and I am all out of nice at the moment.

“Quincy. I’m Dez’s team leader. Don’t worry, we will find Miss Smooth,” he says confidently. Pointing to another guy to his right, who I hadn’t really paid attention to, I hadn’t even realized he was clutching his laptop like it was his lifeline until now. “This is Malcolm, Mac for short, he will be doing the heavy lifting once we get into the system.” Mac nods at us all in greeting but his steps are steady and controlled as his fingers drum rhythmically against the laptop.

“How could someone reach her so fast? We were right fucking behind her,” Trey asks in frustration as we make our way down the main hospital corridor. Patients are being wheeled around for treatment, some in walkers attached to drips, and some in beds as we pass. We are given a wide berth as people stare at us apprehensively. I am sure the manic look I am sporting did the trick.

We all turn a corner like men on a mission, and a woman shrieks in horror as she sets her widening eyes on the security team in full tactical gear. I’m sure the sight of big, six feet plus men in black, with guns and knives strapped to them, will scare the shit out of anyone inside a hospital. She holds her chest as she slumps against the wall trying to catch her breath. None of us stop, but I hope we didn’t just give the woman a heart attack.

“Well, I am sure we are about to get some answers,” Knight says, answering Trey’s question from earlier. “But can we all tone down the menacing expressions on our faces? This is a hospital, and I don’t want to be responsible for scaring someone to death.”

I grunt in response as we reach the main door to the security room. Quincy knocks on the door, and we wait impatiently for someone to answer.

“Greg, I told you we don’t. . .” The security guard stops whatever he was going to say as he glances at the army at the door. I can see him visibly swallow as his mouth opens and closes in shock. Geez, he is supposed to be a security guard. Why the hell does he look like a frightened deer caught in headlights?

Knight clears his throat, then leans forward to read the man’s name tag. “Sam, we have a situation, and we need access to your security cameras. Our mate is missing, and we need to see if it’s possible she’s still in the hospital.” The man nods but doesn’t move, so Knight continues, keeping his voice calm. How the hell he is managing to be polite is beyond my comprehension. I would rather have knocked the man out and stepped over his unconscious body to get what we need, but this works too. “Time is crucial, Sam. So, can we come in?” Sam nods his head and moves out of the way to make room for all of us.

Mac sits down at the desk; candy wrappers and empty coffee cups litter the counter, making him scrunch his nose in disgust. Sam sees the look and nervously scrambles to remove the trash so that Mac can get to work. Mac grabs the office chair closest to the multiple monitors in front of us. Each screen gives us a glimpse of the different corridors and treatment rooms throughout the hospital. We all crowd around the chair Mac’s sitting on as Quincy leans forward and points to a screen in the right-hand corner for us to focus on. It’s the reception desk in the ER.

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