“Ericka, we have a problem.”
Despite Mary’s alertness, Ericka had joined Greg at the nurse’s desk. The nurses had scattered, either to check on patients or they were just disappearing to go to their families.
She drew in a deep breath. The words came out as a hushed whisper. “You mean besides the bomb that just blew?”
Greg turned the screen to face her. There was smoke, but within the smoke were large men in black suits, wearing ski masks, and carrying very large guns.
Ericka widened her eyes and lowered her voice. “I guess you do mean other than the bomb.” She paused. “Do you think they’re here for Mary?”
Greg shook his head. “I don’t think so, but I don’t know. The masks conceal their faces so we can’t be sure who they are. I’m going to have the video sent to Quinn to see if he can figure out if they are from a different family or if it is someone else entirely.”
“Should we move her?”
“No, not yet. You just stay with her.” He bent over and pulled a revolver from his ankle holster. “Take this with you.”
She checked the cylinder. Six bullets. She had six bullets.
He went to walk away, but she grabbed his forearm. “Be careful.”
He covered her hand. “I will.”
He ordered some men to follow while she backtracked to Mary’s room. Inside, she held the revolver in her hand. She was ready. Just let them try to take Mary Demarco. It would be the last thing they ever did.
Sirens blared, and red lights turned in circles in the hallways. Those in charge needed to stop the system. The patients would panic. And panic wasn’t good for anyone.
Mary opened her eyes. The medications to reverse her blood thinners were helping with her brain bleed, but the staff had to be careful not to reverse the clotting factors too much or too quickly, or she would throw a clot from her artificial heart valve. This meant they were regulating her blood constantly. The bomb was going to kind of put a damper on things.
The fluids had also helped her become more alert. That might not be a good thing in light of the current situation.
Ericka would need to protect Mary without Mary knowing she knew how to do so. At least she’d admitted to the family about her time in the service. That would help.
Mary motioned her closer. She narrowed her eyes at Ericka’s weapon. She removed her oxygen mask. “You know how to use that thing?” Her voice was strained. One side of her face drooped from the stroke she’d suffered. It had become more apparent with Mary’s continued improvement.
Ericka replaced her mask. “Save your strength. And yes, I know how to use it.”
Ericka moved to the wall so she could look at the door.
“Where are my boys?”
Ericka sighed, walked closer again, and replaced the mask. “They aren’t here. They thought it best they stay away to protect you.”
“Apparently not.”
“We don’t know that this has anything to do with you. And you have to keep the mask on.”
“No, I need to know what is going on.” She drew from the mask. “Where is my husband?”
Ericka wondered that too. “I have no idea. I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting him.”
She could have added even though they’d spent days casing his favorite club. It would have been easier to approach him rather than going through the family, but here they were. They all knew that if the rumors of his family going legit were true then there would be a war. The powers that be would like to avoid that if possible.
Yet here they were. Attacking Mary in the hospital would start a war without Tony going legit.
Mary narrowed her yes. “Who are you?”
“That’s complicated.” She didn’t exactly want to say, I’m an ex-nurse that was kidnapped and volunteered to take care of you. Sounded too suspicious.
“I know I’m alive because of you.” She used the mask and breathed for a moment. “But I’m not sure why you were in my house to being with.”
Again, not sharing the kidnapping. Partial truth. “Your son hired me as a freelance nurse.”
“Why?”
That was something that she really couldn’t answer herself. “Long story, which we don’t have time for right now.”
Ericka’s phone rang, startling them both. Mary’s heart rate monitor shifted into overdrive and Ericka just grabbed her chest.
She shifted her gun to her other hand and answered. She knew it was Greg, she could read the screen, but she didn’t want Mary to know.
“Hello?”
“The perimeter has been breached. I want you to get Mary out of there. Someone from the Rosa Cartel was spotted.”
The Cartel? Why? That made no sense. Frankie had mentioned the Cartel and her being involved with them when she came to the house. Greg hadn’t said anything about it, but probably because he wasn’t allowed. What good would it do for the Cartel to try to take out Mary anyway?
Unless they wanted to use her to get to Tony…
She needed to focus. “What about meds?”
“We’ll deal with that later.”
Pop, pop, pop.
“We’re taking fire! Back up, back up!”
The phone line went dead.
Ericka looked at it for a moment, gathered her courage, and faced Mary. “All right, Mrs. Demarco, it seems it is time to make a move to some place warmer.”
“B-but I can’t go.” Mary was protesting around her oxygen mask.
She had a good point. She wasn’t physically fit enough to be moved, but Ericka would have to make it happen somehow.
A plan, she needed a plan.
Biting her lower lip, she eased the door open. The hallways were quiet, eerily so. They’d stopped the alarms, but the red light still bathed the hallway. The rooms were on lockdown. No one was out walking around. She just needed to get what she needed and get Mary out of here. Hopefully everyone else would be all right once the target was removed.
A wheelchair sat across the hall. A stretcher would have been better, but she couldn’t manage it alone and fire her weapon if needed. And with the alarms blaring from the bomb, the elevators might or might not work. So, a wheelchair it would have to be.
She reached across the hall and eased one foot out. No fire.
She went a little farther. She grabbed the wheelchair’s handle and pulled it into the room. She was going to be flying blind the entire way. Not her favorite position.
She raised the head of the bed. Mary looked pale. This wasn’t ideal. If something happened to Mary, the Demarco family would likely have her killed.
“Do what you need to do, girl.”
“Let me know if I hurt you.”
Mary nodded.
Ericka placed her arms under Mary’s armpits and lifted her into the chair. It wasn’t gracious, but it worked. She grabbed the IV bag, disconnected it from the pump and hung it on the IV pole on the chair. The oxygen canister was next. They would have to grab an extra on the way out.
Ericka rolled Mary to the door. Before entering the hallway Ericka peeked around the corner. So far, they were clear.
The elevator was at the end of the hall. She prayed that it wasn’t locked down because of the explosions. She wouldn’t be able to get Mary down the stairs. And they’d be sitting ducks if Ericka couldn’t get her out of the room.
She propelled the wheelchair as fast as she dared down the long empty hallway. Mary started to tip over and Ericka gently repositioned her and tried to hold her upright while pushing the wheelchair at the same time. Her muscles burned with the extra pressure.
At the end of the hallway, she pressed the elevator button, but nothing happened.
If she’d been alone, she would have called Quinn for an exit strategy, but she wasn’t alone. Despite everything she still couldn’t blow her cover.
“You need the nurse’s key.” The voice came from a nearby door that had cracked open only slightly.
Ericka moved closer. “Say again?”
“The key. It’s hanging at the nurses’ station. It’ll override the elevator.”
“Thank you.”
The door clicked closed once more.
“Mary, I need you to wait here while I go back and get the key.” She wedged Mary against the wall and flipped on the brake. Mary didn’t reply, but Ericka hadn’t really expected her to. Sitting upright was taking all of Mary’s strength.
Ericka ran to the nurse’s station as fast as she could. She found the key, grabbed an extra oxygen tank, extra IV fluid, and ran back to her patient. She wasn’t sure why the lady in the closed room had helped her. If she’d known about the key, why hadn’t she used it herself to get out?
There wasn’t enough time to debate the possibilities. She hoped she wasn’t being sent into an ambush, but she couldn’t wait to find out. She turned the key and rolled Mary into the elevator. The door started to close.
“There she is!”
Bullets ricocheted off the door and scattered debris around them. Ericka tried to shield Mary with her own body.
The doors closed.
“They’re going to find us.”
Mary had a good point. Especially since she didn’t know if a car would be waiting downstairs or if she was supposed to make the great escape on foot and wheelchair.
The descent seemed to take an unusually long time. If she wasn’t so nervous, she would have tapped her foot to the elevator music that played. It was a classical tune, but she couldn’t think of the title.
“Catchy tune.” As if reading Ericka’s mind, Mary said what she was thinking.
Worry suddenly filled her, and she squeezed the handle of the wheelchair. There were other people out in the hallway and in the building that could have been hurt by the Cartel running and shooting.
Was Greg okay? When the line went dead had he dropped his phone or had he been injured? How would she find out?
And if he had have called back, she would have inquired about a car. But that wasn’t going to happen. She was on her own.
The second floor light blinked on then off and the first popped on. Ericka moved the wheelchair into the corner and stood in front of it, gun ready. If she was going down, she’d be doing it fighting.