True Sacrifice Read online

  How long did it take to find a nurse in ICU? It wasn’t that big. Maybe she’d gone to a different ward or had to take blood to pathology. I hated waiting.

  The door opened again and this time a dark-haired nurse exited, eying me and the other visitor before she stopped and asked, “Who’s here for Mackenzie?”

  Raising my hand like a five year old, I said, “Me.”

  She frowned. “We’re still trying to locate her. She should have been back from her break an hour ago. She missed lunch, so she went to the staff canteen to grab a coffee and apparently no one’s seen her since.”

  I stood, towering over the poor nurse like a Phoenix rising from its ashes. “What do you mean no one’s seen her since? It’s a busy hospital. How can that be?”

  “I’m sorry, sir, but if you want to hang around we can look into it more.”

  Niggles of anxiety sizzled in my bloodstream until full-blown fear cemented itself behind my ribs, deep within my chest cavity. A nurse couldn’t vanish. Especially Mac. She wouldn’t walk out or abandon her job. Unless…fuck!

  Chapter Six

  Mac

  The staff cafeteria contained nurses and doctors like me who’d forgone lunch and were grabbing a quick hit of caffeine to last them the rest of the day. Choosing not to wait in line, I continued to the ground floor to the public cafeteria, knowing Ruth would be serving. She always let me go behind the counter to make myself a ‘real’ coffee, should I get sick of the instant variety served upstairs, or if I didn’t want to wait in line like this afternoon.

  Walking down a long corridor to the bank of elevators, I turned to scan the empty area behind me as pinpricks of flesh bubbled all over. An impression of being watched crept along my spine, unsettling me. I could still hear chatter from the nurses’ station not far away seeping through the walls, so trying not to worry, I increased my pace.

  There weren’t many parts of the hospital that creeped me out, apart from the morgue for obvious reasons, so the increasing discomfort I had now made me jittery. Turning right, I relaxed slightly as the elevators came into view. Perhaps my nerves were still frayed after the break-in at my apartment.

  Stopping in front of the elevator, I pressed the down button and found the car already there. Stepping in, I turned to wait for the doors to shut. Just as they were about to, a doctor came flying around the corner, calling out, “Nurse! Wait!”

  Having seen many a frantic doctor racing through hallways, I knew it must be urgent, so I pressed the button to hold the doors open for him.

  I hadn’t seen him before, but that didn’t mean much. New doctors, interns, and surgeons were brought in regularly, making it virtually impossible to keep up with.

  Smiling, I asked, “Are you new here?” The doors closed, slowly.

  “Yes.” His curt voice had me take pause, briefly turning to check if he had a name tag.

  None.

  Suddenly the air in the elevator evaporated, leaving me with the same uneasy sensation I’d experienced in the corridor. The dark-haired doctor stood too close. Before I could move away, he leaned down to me and whispered, “We’re going to the basement. You’re not going to scream, move, or look at anyone else who enters. Understood?”

  Alarm shooting through me, I nodded without thinking.

  “If you make a sound or attempt to run, I will shoot whoever is in my path.” Pulling his blue medical shirt up, he showed me a black handgun tucked into the waist band of his scrubs.

  My heart plummeted at the same speed as the elevator. I didn’t know what to do. Fear made me remain mute as the bell dinged, signaling the arrival on the ground floor. As the doors opened and five people strolled on board, none the wiser, I felt a hand bunch my own scrubs at the back and pull me backward to make room. It stayed there, informing me to honor my vow to keep quiet.

  Why me? What did he want? Rationale attempted to break through my haze in order to figure out how to escape a man who’d clearly lost the plot. My instincts were to call his bluff and run like hell before the doors closed, but needing to keep everyone else in the vicinity safe overpowered all else.

  Quiet chatter trickled through the car. A couple smiled at each other, oblivious to the man with a gun standing directly behind them. An elderly woman beside him, watched the light on the wall signal our arrival to the basement as we jerked slightly and stopped. My chest ached, adrenalin pouring to my muscles. I knew once I stepped out of the confines of the elevator, the true terror would begin. My assailant moved forward, banging into the happy couple, who gave him contemptuous glares while he gripped my arm and dragged me out. My feet didn’t want to move. Every flight or fight response I owned had been tripped to high alert. The sound of the door closing echoed loudly in the quiet of the basement, like my world rose with the five strangers, leaving me in a new reality. One which reeked of hell.

  My voice found me finally. “Who are you? Why are you doing this? Where are we going?”

  Still clutching my arm tightly, he increased the pressure, causing me to suck in a sharp breath.

  “Don’t speak or I’ll shoot you right here.”

  I really didn’t expect him to explain himself. Someone who took another at gunpoint wasn’t exactly going to chat about the why’s of it all. He had an agenda and it didn’t involve me asking questions.

  I needed to keep my head in the game even though my stomach roiled and acid rose to my throat, threatening to upend its contents all over the concrete.

  I needed to watch and wait for him to let his guard down just a tiny bit and use it to my advantage to escape. I had no other option.

  Stopping at a black, heavily tinted SUV, he unlocked the doors and pushed me into the passenger seat via the driver’s side, whereby I had to scramble across the center console while he aimed the gun at me so I wouldn’t do anything stupid like try to escape.

  As he climbed in beside me, blood roared in my ears. Getting in the car had almost sealed my fate, but I’d had no choice. My life or the lives of other innocents. I never wanted to die a martyr, but if it came down to it, I would. To keep others safe. I’d never have chosen to become a nurse if that weren’t the case.

  We reversed and eased out of the parking lot like two regular people, heading back to normality after visiting a sick friend or relative. We passed nurses beginning their shifts and all I wanted to do was bang on the window to get their attention, but what would that achieve? I’d heard the internal click of the door locks, imprisoning me in my metal cage. So far the evil bastard had covered his bases well. He’d thought this out. Planned well. I’d need to be on extra-high alert for a window of opportunity to escape.

  What would Harley do? Shit. Harley! Glancing at the clock on the dash, I figured he’d probably be gearing up to leave the apartment to come pick me up. What would he do when I failed to appear? When staff failed to find me? Would he call Viper? It only consoled me slightly. By then I could be miles away, hurt or…worse.

  Even with military resources at their fingertips, time would be their enemy. God. Once we were out of the hospital parking lot, how would they ever find me? I could only hope, because I hadn’t been killed yet, that somebody wanted me alive for whatever sick reason they had.

  A bargaining chip? That idea suddenly had me stiffen further. My trashed apartment. Harley’s shooting. Were they connected to this? It made sense. If that were the case, I definitely had become a pawn. To what extent and for how long, I couldn’t be sure. I remained alive for now. That would have to do.

  Chapter Seven

  Harley

  Look into it more? Damn straight they would look into it more. In the meantime, I needed a cell or a hospital phone so I could call Viper. Remembering the card he’d given me earlier in the day, I found it my jeans pocket, relieved to feel the smooth cardboard.

  “I want every available person you have scouring this hospital until she’s found. Do you understand?”

  The nurse cowered slightly at my tone, but I couldn’t care about that.
She didn’t know what my gut screamed at me.

  Nodding, she padded away.

  “Wait!” I called before she disappeared through the door again. “I need to call a friend to let him know. Can I use a phone?”

  “Go back out through those double doors,” she meekly said, pointing behind me. “Follow the hallway to the end and turn left. The nurses’ station is halfway down. They’ll let you make a call.”

  “Thank you.” I didn’t wait for her to reply. I took off, anger building with each stride. This reeked of my drama transferring over to Mac. I’d brought this to her. If the cocksucker who’d attempted to kill me and then ransacked her apartment had anything to do with this, I would remove his head from his shoulders.

  Viper needed to get here pronto and organize to have the cameras scanned. Her disappearance would show up somewhere. We needed to know just what we were dealing with.

  Could I be barking up the wrong tree? Panicking for nothing? No. Every cell in my body screamed that she’d met with foul play. It sickened me, but I had to keep my head on straight. I had to dig deep for the soldier inside to take over and not the man who had feelings for his stunning nurse.

  I was on a mission, and perhaps I truly had lost the plot, but where Mac was concerned, I didn’t want to take any chances. If she turned up in the next few minutes, all would be well and good, but if my hunch proved correct, each second counted.

  Arriving at my destination, I placed both hands on the counter and interrupted the woman working at her computer.

  “Excuse me. I’ve been told I could use your phone to make a call. It’s important.”

  Eying me for a moment, she picked up the handset and offered it to me with a short smile. ”Dial nine first and then the number.”

  Grateful, I nodded at her, pressed nine, and proceeded to dial my friend’s number.

  He answered on the fourth ring.

  “It’s me, Harley. We have a problem.”

  Explaining the situation, he listened quietly until I finished.

  Being the cool, calm, and collected warrior he was, he asked, “You sure she’s not tied up with a patient?”

  “If that were the case, she’d be contactable. Someone would know her whereabouts. Besides, she hasn’t been seen since leaving to grab a coffee downstairs.”

  “How long has it been?”

  “I’ve been waiting nearly an hour, but she hasn’t been seen for at least a couple of hours.” I know it sounded crazy. How could she vanish? What if she’d been called to another wing of the hospital? It did happen, right? That way, the people in her department wouldn’t have seen her. But surely she’d have to let someone know. Everything in me screamed trouble. Better to overreact than ignore my gut instinct.

  “Call whoever can authorize us visual on the security cameras,” I ordered, my voice surprising me with its calm yet commanding tone.

  Viper replied with a curt, “On it. See you soon.”

  He hung up, leaving me with the desperate hope that we’d find something on the video footage.

  I couldn’t lose her. Not happening. Not on my watch. Not after…shit.

  Raking both hands across my scalp, briefly pulling on my hair, I found my way back to ICU to await further information. I doubted they’d find any. Hospitals always ran on skeleton staff. As if there would be even one person to spare to search every square inch of the place.

  No. Answers wouldn’t be found until Viper arrived. I’d just have to sit tight and simmer down. Easier said than done. Steeling myself against the vivid images of the night before and how Mac had surrendered herself to me, I squeezed the edges of the chair tightly, tamping down my heart’s attempt at knocking down the emotionless wall I fought to keep erected.

  A quick vision of her suffering already at the hands of evil had me standing and pacing.

  The deserted waiting room allowed me the space to stride out my frustration. Viper had better bring the God-damned cavalry with him because we’d need all the help we could get.

  Seek and destroy. I remember hearing that mantra in my dream-self’s head before walking in on Reno strapped to a chair. Fat lot of good that did. I wouldn’t let it happen again.

  Shoot and ask questions later. Kill or be killed. No hesitation. Each second that ticked by without any trace of Mac felt like a countdown to doom. My instincts were on fire, every cell on high alert.

  Each time the ICU door opened, my heart leapt with hope that a stunning blonde would walk through, gifting me with her killer smile. Each time she didn’t, I knew my fear had been well-founded.

  It seemed forever before I turned and spotted my friend striding toward me.

  “Hey man. I got here as quick as I could.” A slap on the back failed to appease my jittery nerves.

  “Jesus, man. I need some asshole’s heart ripped from their chest,” I growled. “What have you got for me?”

  “Hospital security is sending through footage as we speak. Do you think it’s related to Reno’s captor? He was the leader of the cell we brought down. That has to have some kickback.”

  Letting all the air out of my lungs in a rush, I conceded, “It’s looking more and more like it. If that’s the case, Mac is in deep shit. Fuck, Viper. How the hell do we deal with this?”

  Before he could respond, his cell pealed out into the quiet.

  “Viper.”

  I listened for any sign of what was being said on the end of the line, but with my friend’s one word answers it proved difficult.

  The call ended and he pinned me with a hard look.

  “Sit down.”

  “Bullshit I will. Tell me. Where is Mac?”

  Rage singed my insides. I could tell this wouldn’t be good. My teeth clenched together, my jaw a rigid plane of knotted muscle. A pivotal moment where everything would change.

  Staring at Viper’s face for any sign of distress proved futile. He had wiped all emotion away and stood rigid—almost inhuman. Pity I couldn’t hold the same composure. My face scrunched up, eyes squinting as he began.

  “A male of Eastern appearance, dressed in doctor’s scrubs entered an elevator with her. They both exited at the basement and got in a black SUV. My guy’s running the plates now.”

  I almost collapsed as my legs threatened to give out. Catching my balance, I skulked to the wall of the small waiting room and pounded my fist into it. Once. Twice. Three times.

  A hand on my shoulder and a forceful pull backward stopped me from punching it a fourth time.

  “I know you’re raging right now, man, but we need to focus. Save your anger for the dead man walking.”

  Damn straight. The hunter just became the hunted. So help me, I couldn’t wait to give him a slow, painful death.

  Chapter Eight

  Mac

  The sun dimmed and so did my hope. We’d been traveling nearly an hour. Inside his black SUV was another man of Middle Eastern appearance whom I hadn’t noticed until we were out onto the main road. He also had a gun aimed at me.

  I hadn’t spoken and neither had my captors. With each minute that ticked by, I became more anxious. Being locked in a vehicle on the move to God knows where didn’t bode well for me. By the time anyone realized I’d vanished from the hospital I would probably be too far gone to be found. Blood surged in my ears at the hopelessness of the situation. I should have raised the alarm before getting locked in the car. Would the gunman really have opened fire on innocent staff and patients? And more to the point, should I have called his bluff? Ugh. Too late now.

  When Harley arrived to pick me up, I wouldn’t be there. What would he do? I had a fair idea, but how in the hell would I ever be found? How much time did I have left before they killed me? Although, if they wanted me dead, why bind my hands and drive me anywhere? They’d obviously been watching me for a while.

  I sank back into the seat, watching the sign for Detroit appear. Ugh. Really? With a population of over 670,000, it would be easy for us to disappear. Maybe the plan entailed that. Why thou
gh? I had a million questions running through my brain, and the more I thought about it, the more I wondered if they would use me as leverage to draw Harley out.

  Exhaustion began to set in, but I couldn’t allow myself the luxury of falling asleep. I needed all my faculties. I needed to wait for my captors to let their guards down. While not wanting to risk my safety further, staying focused might be my only chance.

  Finally, the vehicle jerked left as we crawled through the city center to a rough part of town, turning into an underground parking garage beneath an unassuming two story building wedged between a laundromat and a vacant, boarded-up shop.

  Winding down his window, the driver spoke in a foreign accent into an intercom. A second later the large security door barring anyone access lifted, allowing us entry.

  My hands shuddered and a gag erupted from my throat as bile swirled up my esophagus in despair. My throat burned. While we’d been on the road and moving, I’d been relatively safe. And alive. Now, I couldn’t be one hundred percent sure. Even being used as leverage, they could do whatever they pleased to me. I just wanted to wake up from this nightmare and be back in the staff cafeteria at the hospital, awaiting a coffee.

  If this had anything to do with Harley, why take me? Why not target him alone as they had when he’d been shot? They obviously wanted him dead, and had ample opportunity to take him out. What game were they playing? They didn’t need me as a bargaining chip.

  Remembering my cell sat in the leg pocket of my scrubs, I prayed they wouldn’t search me and confiscate it. If given the opportunity, I could send an SOS to Viper. Thank God, I had his number in my address book.

  Drawing his gun out again and aiming it at me again as we parked in the almost vacant lot, the driver spat, “Get out!”