Bobby showed his badge. “Show me to Taryn Hillman, please.”
The nurse checked her computer. “She’s still in recovery.”
“This is FBI business,” Jace said. “We need to see her immediately.”
The nurse looked between the two of them before she nodded and rose from behind the counter. She walked around and motioned for them to follow her. The entire time they walked down the stark hall with its bright lights, all Jace could think about was all the different ways someone could get in—and out—without being noticed.
His heart thumped with dread, but he also held tightly to hope. He couldn’t get Taryn back, only to lose her again. The bullet had missed any major organs or bone, leaving only a scar. Though in his opinion, that was enough after all she had suffered at Boyd’s and Payton’s hands.
But he didn’t get to decide.
He should’ve listened to his instincts earlier when something had told him to remain with Taryn. It wasn’t like he could go into the operating room with them, but that didn’t matter. There was still danger out there, and he had just found out about it.
“Boyd won’t get to her,” Bobby said. “Not here.”
Jace glanced at the FBI agent. “You’d better hope to hell he doesn’t. I won’t be responsible for what I do to you if anything happens to her.”
“There are agents everywhere here.”
“And he got away from your undercover agent,” Jace pointed out, not bothering to hide the rage in his voice.
Bobby’s lips twisted as he glanced at Jace. “Fair enough.”
“Do you know how Boyd got away?”
“I wish I did. We found our undercover agent unconscious. He was brought here with Taryn, and I’ve not had a chance to check on or speak with him.”
That only confirmed that Jace had to get to Taryn immediately. He quickened his steps. The nurse ahead of them glanced over her shoulder. He didn’t care if she had heard their conversation or not. All that mattered was getting to Taryn. Jace would remain by her side, making sure she wasn’t alone again until they found Boyd and put him behind bars.
“There,” the nurse said as she pointed to the closed curtains.
Jace hurried over and opened them. Only to find an empty bed.
Chapter 30
Adrenaline pushed Taryn to keep moving despite the stabbing pain of her wound. And both had wiped out every drop of painkiller within her.
Getting out of her bed had been easy. Yanking the IV out of her arm had been a little more difficult. She pressed against the small wound the needle had left behind when she pulled it out so blood didn’t drip on the floor and give her away.
She’d thought the hardest part would be slipping away from her bed, but that had been the easy part. Once she was in the hallway, looking for a place to hide, she realized that anyone could be after her. Taryn hoped that she ran into Jace. Maybe then he could tell her if she was being rational or if she had completely lost her mind.
Her heart beat a quick rhythm as she slid against the wall and walked in an effort to stay upright. A few nurses gave her questioning looks, but she smiled at them. That was all it took to keep them at bay.
“Can I help you?”
Taryn jerked to a stop as she looked at the older nurse who stepped before her. So much for thinking she was fooling everyone. Taryn licked her lips and smiled. “I’m fine. Just walking around.”
“You’re bleeding,” the woman said and nodded to Taryn’s hand, her short, graying hair in its neatly styled fashion bobbing.
Taryn glanced down at her forearm to see that blood had oozed through her fingers and even now dripped onto the floor. Her mind blanked as she tried to come up with a reason for the blood.
“I’ll put a bandage on that,” the nurse said with a chuckle. “You aren’t the first patient to yank out an IV, and you won’t be the last, honey.”
Taryn couldn’t believe her luck. She slumped against the wall as the nurse hurried away, only to return a moment later with everything needed to dress a minor wound. Even as the nurse tended to her, Taryn looked around. She seriously doubted her sanity at the moment, but there was no denying the persistent and constant urging from her instincts, telling her that she was in danger.
When the nurse finished, she looked up at Taryn with kind, brown eyes that crinkled at the corners. “Now, why don’t you tell me what you’re really doing out of bed?”
“Walking,” Taryn replied.
The nurse clucked her tongue as she gave Taryn a stern look. “You’ve walked out of the recovery area, which tells me you’ve only recently come out of surgery.”
“No. I’m walking like I was told to do.”
“Why don’t I help you?” the nurse said as she pulled up the neckline of Taryn’s gown.
It hit Taryn then that the garment’s back was open, showing off her bare backside to everyone. She hadn’t thought about that when she had been running for her life.
“I need to find my husband,” Taryn said.
The nurse nodded and moved around behind her to tie off the back of the gown. “All right. I can help with that. Why don’t I take you back to your bed?”
“I need to find Jace.”
“Okay,” the nurse said as she came back around to Taryn’s front. “I can see that you don’t want to return to your bed. Come. Lean on me as we walk together. I’m sure your husband is in the waiting area.”
Taryn accepted the nurse’s arm to lean on as they began a slow walk down the hall. “Thank you.”
“Hey, Mona,” a doctor called out as he walked past.
Mona smiled at him. “How are you, Dr. Davis?”
“Couldn’t be better,” he replied with a grin.
A wash of emotion filled Taryn. She couldn’t believe that she had found someone who could not only help her but would also keep whoever might be after her at bay.
“Honey, you look plum wore out,” Mona said in a motherly tone. “Wait here. I’m going to get a wheelchair for you.”
Taryn nodded as tears filled her eyes and spilled over to fall down her cheeks. It had been so long since anyone had looked after her like her mother had. It felt good to be surrounded by that kind of protectiveness again.
“There, there. It’s going to be just fine. You’ll see. Things always have a way of working out like they should.” Mona smiled and patted her hand before hurrying away to get the chair.
When she returned, Taryn eagerly sank into it. Her shoulder throbbed, and she wasn’t entirely sure how much longer her legs would’ve held her up. As Mona wheeled her to an elevator, talking nonstop about nothing in particular, Taryn’s mind wondered. Her decision to leave recovery had been reckless and idiotic. She didn’t know this hospital or anyone in it. Wanting to get out and actually doing it were two different things.
Her eyes grew heavy, and it became harder and harder to keep them open. Taryn let them close. Mona’s words were like a song, lulling Taryn to sleep. She knew she should stay awake, but it was hard. Besides, she was safe with Mona. None of Boyd’s men could get to her with the nurse beside her—someone who knew everyone at the hospital.