Page 43 of Keeping Her Under
By the time the gun clicks empty, I’ve already snuck up behind him. I stab the needle into his arm and inject it all. He starts to turn. His legs give out, but Asher catches him before he can hit the floor.
Together, we haul him out of the house, careful not to drag him through any of the blood pools. We want the police to think Lance came home, caught his girl cheating, and murdered them in a fit of rage before going on the run. Case closed; no need to bother interviewing the neighbors.
We dump Lance into the trunk of our car, then dart back inside to clear all traces of us from the crime scene. Picking up the gun, I ask Asher if he has any more bullets.
“You’re not killing the dogs,” he says, able to read me so easily.
“He was going to have them eat her,” I growl.
“The dogs are innocent; it’s their owner who’s shit. Besides, I’m taking them home with me.”
“The fuck you are!”
“I’ll retrain them to protect Summer,” he says. “Fitting life for them, no?”
I grit my teeth. Arguing with him is pointless when it comes to animals. Besides, we can’t hang around here, waiting for the cops to arrive. The neighbors might keep to themselves, but someone would have called in an anonymous tip about the gunshots. No one wants to wait until the bodies start to smell.
“How the fuck do you plan on taking them?” I ask in annoyance.
Asher smiles with a confidence I hate. “Oh, all dogs love me,” he says. “I’m sure they’ll hop right in the car.”
Twenty-Five
By the time I step into the ICU a few hours later, all I want to do is fall asleep beside Summer. I don’t even want to fuck her right now. I’m too exhausted after everything that happened after we kidnapped Lance.
Annoyingly, Asher really does have a gift with dogs, and he managed to calm them down before he broke them free. Then he led them to the car. Maybe they smelled Lance in the trunk, so they thought we were friends. Or maybe they realized Asher was the only thing standing between them and death.
Whatever it was, they hopped straight in. I drove though. Asher needed his hands free in case the two massive pit bulls decided to attack us.
The drive back to my car was more stressful than the entire kidnapping. I could practically feel their jaws closing over my neck as my hands were forced to stay on the wheel. Granted, I would’ve crashed the car to eject them through the windshield. But if they’d gotten their teeth into me first…
A shudder runs down my spine.
Then I freeze as a nurse comes running out of Ms. Reed’s room. Ryan triggered another code blue for me tonight – after I sent him that third pic of his mom.
My heart beats like a hummingbird’s wings.
Sweat builds on my palms.
If the runner looks around as she darts to the crash cart, there’s no way she’ll miss me.
Locking my legs, I fight the urge to run behind cover. Movement always grabs attention. But if I stand perfectly still, there’s a chance she doesn’t notice anything outside of her tunnel vision. All of her concentration is on the items she needs from the cart…
But if she takes too long, then I might still get caught. Ms. Reed’s bodyguard is standing at the door, looking in. But his training will have him looking around every few minutes. He’ll see me. Come towards me. Get security to detain me. He’s no doubt suspicious about his client crashing twice in two days.
My pulse screaming in my skull, I keep my eyes on the runner. As soon as she turns –
I dart through the ICU as she runs back into the room. Slipping into Summer’s unit, I shut the door behind me. I back away, into the darkness, my heart racing, my skull pounding.
I don’t know if the bodyguard saw me. I didn’t turn around to look. Standing in the middle of her room, I wait to see if anyone comes after me.
My throat runs dry.
My hairs dance on end.
The door –
Stays perfectly closed.
