Embrace Me Forever (Hartley Brothers #3)

30. Georgia-May

30

GEORGIA-MAY

After exiting the cubicle, I linger at the sink for a moment, the sound of running water mingling with thoughts of Coco’s astonishing progress today. She really saved the best for last this time. I smile at my own reflection in the mirror as I dry my hands. For her to run that fast, so freely, when the physio asked her to walk? Priceless! She couldn’t even do that before the surgery.

As I reach for the restroom door, it bursts open with startling force. A man in an orderly’s uniform storms in, his entrance so abrupt that I stagger backward.

Before I can gather my wits, the cold, hard barrel of a gun presses against my neck.

“Hello, Mary,” he rasps, dragging out my name.

“Tell Bertram I’m off his payroll,” I grit out.

“Don’t make a fuss, or your daughter will die.” The threat curdles my blood.

As the thought of my own survival dims, an image flashes in my mind: that unfamiliar nurse in the therapy room made Coco cry. My little girl sensed something was off, and I, blinded by routine, failed to suspect a thing.

“Don’t you touch her!” I shout, my voice resounding off the restroom walls.

His grip remains iron-clad, his presence ominous as he forces me deeper into the restroom. My heart beats double-time, my eyes scanning desperately for any way out. With no sign of Lowe, panic tightens its grip around my throat, suffocating me with fear.

Resigned, I follow his instructions, walking calmly out of the restroom and along the hospital corridor. Despite every instinct screaming at me to resist, I know I must comply for Coco’s sake. Bertram and his men never bluff.

My captor wears a mask so realistic that it portrays another person entirely. With his head bowing down, shadowed by my figure, nobody notices anything amiss. It’s mere speculation, but I can’t shake the feeling that he’s the hooded man who’s been stalking me in Denver.

We move just like the others, mingling with the normal flow of hospital foot traffic, drawing no second looks. He ushers me through the hospital’s back corridors, away from watchful eyes. His pace is unyielding, each step taking me further from the safety I had moments ago.

Outside, a dark-colored car waits, its engine quietly idling in a secluded spot.

“Act normal,” he instructs coldly.

Two other men, dressed as paramedics, await my arrival.

“So you understand,” the hooded man begins as he pulls out a rag. “My colleagues and I aren’t particularly fond of children. So believe me when I say we will kill your daughter if you try anything.”

He gags me with the rag, even though I’ve remained silent. Coco’s safety hangs on my compliance, a fact I haven’t forgotten. And I don’t know where Blake is.

I wince as my captor secures my hands tightly with a zip tie, restricting my movements further, and shoves me into the backseat, flanked by the other two men. There has to be CCTV here. Blake is vigilant and will find me.

But if Coco is with Bertram’s men, then God…what happened to my Blake?

The car comes to a halt. The journey is brief. I’m only taken a block away. The hospital building is still visible from here. I’m forced to walk down another street, where an ambulance awaits.

My chest hardens as I grasp the cunning of these men. I suspect there are no cameras here, and once I’m inside the ambulance, who will question it?

Despite the risks, I know I must leave some clue for Blake. As the men begin to strap me onto the stretcher, I summon all my strength and resist. The three men quickly overpower me, and I can’t see beyond their looming figures.

The hooded man issues another warning, and I cease my struggle, hoping my brief resistance dislodged something from the ambulance.

Then, the hooded man produces a syringe, his voice chillingly calm. “Sweet dreams, Mary. I’ll see you on the other side.”