Page 19 of Safe
"Just keep it prude and professional, Cody."
9. LANDON
It had been all too easy to keep track of Danielle while she was in the hospital. Before the police even realized what had happened, I had already stashed Liam’s car somewhere discreet, secured a fake ID, and checked into a hotel room overlooking the hospital. All their energy went into searching for the car and assuming I was hundreds of miles away, never suspecting that I’d been hiding in plain sight for weeks.
Each day, I watched Alex enter and leave the building. There was no chance Danielle could slip away without me knowing. After that, my plan was simple: wait for the moment she was alone. At some point, Alex had to head to work. I knew where he lived. The pieces were clicking into place.
This morning, I woke up later than usual, grabbed some coffee and breakfast, and settled in by the window to keep watch. Hours passed, and Alex was nowhere to be seen. Normally, he brought Danielle dinner every night after work and left every morning at seven sharp. For weeks, their routine hadn’t changed. Now, something felt off. Alex wouldn’t go a day without visiting her, and there was no way Danielle could have left without me noticing. Even when I was sleeping, Thomas kept watch, just in case they tried to sneak her out in the middle of the night.
I picked up the phone and dialed Thomas.
"Yeah?"
"Thomas, did you see anything last night?"
"No, sir. Neither of them left the hospital at all. The last thing I saw was Alex and another guy taking her dinner in. Then Alex left. Why, what’s going on?"
Shit.
“So, you didn’t think for one second that two guys in, one guy out, meant something?”
“Well, boss. Now that you say that, I guess that is a little weird.”
“Thomas, make yourself useful, okay?” Honestly, this guy was a fucking idiot. “I need you to call the police department and ask for Detective Traser. Figure out if he is there or not, and then just hang up and call me back.”
“Sure thing, boss. But what’s going on?”
“Just fucking do it, okay?” I hung up the phone. How the fuck did she get past two of us watching the hospital? One of us would have seen Alex, or Danielle, or one of their cars, a squad car, an unmarked car, something. While I was sitting there dumbfounded, racking my brain for an answer, the phone rang.
“Well?”
“He was there, sir. I hung up as soon as they transferred the call, and he answered. What is going on?”
“God DAMNIT! Bet you she’s fucking gone, and I missed my chance all because you can’t fucking think.” I hung up the phone and ran downstairs to the lobby.
How the hell did they manage to get her out? It had to be out the fucking back or something. Before I exited the stairwell, I hid my phone and walked up to the woman at the front desk.
“Good morning, sir. Can I help you?”
“Yes, please. I need a favor. My phone isn’t working, and I was wondering if you could call the hospital across the street for me and see if my friend is still there. I wanted to go visit her this morning.”
“Sure thing, sir. What’s her name?”
“Danielle. Danielle Traser. Tell them you’re her sister.” I smiled at her, and she smiled back, now with a hint of discomfort like she just figured out she probably shouldn’t be doing this,but I knew how to turn on the charm quite well when I needed to. She didn’t question at all why I wouldn’t just go walk across the street and ask; she just picked up the phone and dialed the hospital.
“Yes, good morning,” she started, “I was wondering if you could tell me what room Danielle Traser is in, please? I’m her sister. I tried calling her, but she didn’t answer, and I don’t want to visit if she’s already left.”
There was a long pause.
“Okay, thank you, ma’am. Have a good day.” She hung up the phone and gave me a disappointing smile. “I’m sorry, sir. It looks like your friend was discharged early this morning.”
FUCK.
I had to keep my composure. I forced a smile, said thank you, and went back up to my room. I called Thomas back right away.
“Boss?”
“She fucking left early this morning. I don’t know how the fuck they got past us. I’m doing a drive-by at Alex’s house. Stay where you are until you hear from me.”
