Caden frowned at the thought of her going on her own, but he wouldn’t be long. “All right. Hopefully this won’t take long.” She walked away and Caden pressed the phone to his ear. “Hi, Daria, what’s up?”
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
Ava was so glad he hadn’t said the word “date.” She would have had to decline. But if he was “making” her clean up, then he wasn’t thinking date, so that was good. Right? They were just two friends hanging out, watching classics and eating food not cooked by her. It was a win all the way around. Wasn’t it? Of course it was. So why did she feel . . . deflated?
From the corner of her eye, she studied Caden and admitted if she was going to date anyone, it would be him. Assuming he was interested. Which she was pretty sure he was.
So why hadn’t he said, “It’s a date” instead of “It’s a deal”?
Well, duh. She’d told him she didn’t date, so being the gentleman he was, he wouldn’t push the issue. “Just take it one day at a time,” she muttered. “It’s not like you have time for dating right now anyway.” Not with a killer after her.
However, while the thought of not visiting her mother saddened her, the thought of Caden fixing dinner for her tonight softened the blow. She’d admit it made her happy to have something to look forward to besides dodging bullets and running from bad guys.
When Ava reached Mickey’s room at the end of the hall, she frowned. The guard was gone. She glanced back over her shoulder and didn’t see anyone. Maybe Mickey had been taken for a test or something and the guard had gone with him. Ava eyed the chair, the fatigue swamping her. She was so tired. Physically and emotionally tired. Her head throbbed, her arm ached, and her cheek stung. Surely no one would begrudge her the guard’s chair until he needed it.
She sat, knowing it could be a while before they returned. She could still see Caden where she’d left him, phone pressed to his ear, pacing back in the small area near the elevators.
A noise came from inside the room and she stood. Were Mickey’s grandparents waiting inside? Surely they were here by now. She knocked and pushed open the door. A man dressed as a surgeon, complete with head covering and mask, stood next to Mickey’s bed.
With a plastic bag held over the teen’s head.
“Caden!”
Ava launched herself at the man and tackled him to the floor. Her injured shoulder slammed onto the tile. Pain swamped her and the breath left her, but she was desperate to keep the momentum of her surprise attack and forced herself to her feet.
He was doing the same and she pushed herself forward once more to land an elbow in his throat. Only she missed when he stepped to the side. Pain radiated through her head as his hand, wrapped in her hair, snapped her back. She let out a scream when the door slammed open.
“Ava!”
Caden. The man swung a hand up and aimed a weapon at Caden. Then brought it against her temple. “Back up or she dies.”
Caden stopped, his eyes locked on hers. They flicked to her attacker. “Let her go.”
“She’s my ticket out of here. Back through the door.”
“Check on Mickey,” Ava cried. “He was suffocating him!”
Caden glanced at the boy in the bed, pulling at the bag and gasping for air. He started toward him.
The weapon pressed harder against her head. “No, no. Do not move.”
Ava’s heart pounded while Caden’s gaze darted between her and Mickey. “Security is on the way up here,” he said.
“Then I’d better be leaving now.” Her attacker continued toward the door and stepped out, the weapon still on her head. He swung her around to face the security Caden was talking about. Ava didn’t think he’d shoot her until he was out of the hospital. At least not unless he was provoked and had no way out. Or unless he had a way out and thought he could shoot her and run. Hospital security had their own weapons drawn and aimed at the two of them.
“Let her go! Put the weapon down!”
Their mingled shouts echoed in her ears and the man simply ignored them, pulling her along until he got to the stairs.
“Open the door.” His order was low, his voice steady.
“Mickey saw your face, didn’t he?”
“I’m not here to talk.”
He backed through the door, pulling Ava with him, and a plan formed in her mind as he spun her toward the stairs. As soon as she placed her foot onto the first step, she gripped the rail with her left hand and bent her knees to drop to the step in a sudden move. The gun slid from her head as she’d hoped. At his surprised grunt, she released the rail, shifted to her right, and shot up, her hands latching onto his wrist before he could aim the weapon at her once again.
She had to use her wounded arm and her shoulder burned, fire shooting along her nerves.
“You stupid—!” He jerked hard, almost unbalancing her from the narrow step. Before she fell, she yanked on his arm and banged it against the rail. He gave a shout and the weapon tumbled from his fingers. His left hand grabbed her hair and yanked her head back.
Ava cried out but swept a leg against his knee. He lost his grip on her and gravity worked in her favor. He tumbled toward her, and she grabbed the rail with her left hand once more, using her right to lash out, hitting the back of his head. She gave it an extra push, her fingers tangled in the mask strings, snapping his head back. She yanked the mask from his face. He gave another scream as he fell, his arms pinwheeling, scrambling to grab something to stop his fall. He bounced and crashed down the steps to the bottom.
When he landed, he lay still, his leg twisted at an awkward angle. The door behind Ava slammed open. Her attacker rolled, keeping his face from her.
“FBI! Stay there!”
“Police! Don’t move!”
The officers’ shouts behind her seemed to spur him to shake off the effects of the fall. He lurched to his feet, favoring his right leg, and pushed out of the exit.
“Get him!” Caden’s shout resulted in hospital security pounding past her. She dropped to the step, head reeling. “Ava!” Caden’s grip on her upper arm almost made her smile. Even in the midst of the chaos, he made sure he didn’t grab her wounded one.
She turned to him. “I’m all right.” A sigh slipped from her. “Do you have an evidence bag?” She held up the mask by the strings. “Maybe this has some DNA on it.”
Caden gaped. Then snapped his mouth shut. Would she ever stop surprising him? “Yeah, I’ll get one.” As soon as he stopped shaking. When she’d screamed his name, it had echoed through the floor of the hospital, sending his adrenaline into overdrive. He’d darted into the room to see the man dressed as a surgeon with a gun to her head. Caden had been unable to do anything but watch him pull her into the stairwell, then race after them. He’d opened the door just in time to see the man take his tumble down the steps.
Caden waved to one of the hospital security officers. “I need an evidence bag. You have one?”
“Be right back.”
Caden sat beside Ava while she held the mask as she’d grabbed it. “You think they got him?” she asked.
“I don’t know. If not, at least now we should have a face to circulate.”