Page 6 of Drive
He came to a stop near the automatic doors and turned, facing the back seat. He wanted to say something to her, to find out more about her, but the right words abandoned him. She slung the straps of both bags over her shoulders and cast her eyes around the car, finally meeting his,frowning.
“Do I… What do I do now?” she asked, looking a little lost. “I don’t have to pay you,right?”
Jacques smile had a will of its own. “Nah, you’re good. Hopefully, you’ll give me five stars on yourapp.”
She smiled back at him, and the sight of it made his chest rise. “I’ll give you five stars,” she said with certainty. She opened the door and started to scoot off theseat.
“Don’t forget your umbrella,” he said, nodding to it on the seat besideher.
He watched her cheeks color. “Right.” She bent to retrieve it and met his eyes again. “Thanks,Jacques.”
And then she was gone, but the sound of his name in her voice seemed to linger in the car. In spite of himself, Jacques watched her trot to the hospital doors — her boots light and fast on the concrete, her skirt dancing with a tempting swish — and then she disappearedinside.
He’d never hesitated after dropping off a fare, but he hesitated now. Sighing in resignation, he pressed the gas pedal, and the car movedforward.
And something in his back seat slid back along the floor before stopping with a curiousthunk.
Jacques pulled the Impala to the curb, threw it in park, and craned back for a look. And there, unmistakable, lay a bodice ripper. Without hesitation, Jacques reached around his seat, snatched up the book, and killed the car’s engine — not caring in the least that he’d stopped in a No Parking Zone. In the next instant, he was out of the car and running full tilt toward the hospitalentrance.
As soon as he was through the automatic doors, he scanned left and right for her black-clad figure. He moved farther in, following the signs for theelevator.
“Hey—” he called as he watched the elevator doors close in front of her. She’d been looking down at the control panel as the doors met. He doubted she’d even heard him. Jacques stopped in front of the double doors, watching the numbers above lightup.
The elevator halted on the fourthfloor.
He waited and then watched as it moved down to three. And then he took off for the stairwell to his right, taking two steps at a time until he emerged breathless on the fourth floor. Corridors stretched out in front of him in three directions. Panting, Jacques scanned the first two, seeing no sign of her before moving his eyes to the left and spotting the girl all the way at the end of the hall before she turned right and slipped awayagain.
He thought better of breaking into a run. Running in a hospital might attract unwelcome attention. And if someone questioned him, what would he say? He didn’t know her name. He didn’t know the reason she was here. All he had was a romance novel. He looked down at the book in his hand. The cover featured a couple in period dress wrapped in a passionate kiss, behind them a stormy sea. The man, a hulking beast with jet-black hair, had his hand behind the woman’s raised, white-stockinged thigh, a hint of bare flesh peeking out from her emerald skirts just beyond hisfingers.
The Wayward One,the title proclaimed, surely referenced the swooning blonde. She looked pretty wayward. Jacques wondered if the girl he chased longed to be touchedlike—
“You lost,honey?”
A nurse in blue scrubs had come up from behind him. Jacques watched her take in the book cover before giving him an amused smile. “Well, that looksinteresting.”
He cleared his throat. “I’m not lost… and it’s notmine.”
The nurse, still grinning, gave a sigh. “What a shame,” she murmured as she continued her way down thehall.
Jacques unglued his feet from the floor and followed the hallway. He slowed when he reached a dead end, expecting to see another hallway where the girl had turned right, but he was met with a row of private rooms. Had she walked all the way to the last one? The second to last one? He studied the names on the patient doors as if this would give him some kind of clue. The last one read “H. Smith” and the second to last “B. Reeves.” He stared,frozen.
What the hell am Idoing?
He was about to turn on his heel and leave when the second to last door flewopen.
“It must have fallen under the seat.” The girl burst from the room, phone in hand, facing backward and talking over her shoulder. “There’s an Uber Help Li—Oh!”
She saw him then and halted in her tracks. The heavy hospital room door swung closed behind her, knocking her forward. Jacques caught her by the elbow before she could slam into him. And for an instant, she braced a hand against hischest.
“Sorry—” She righted herself. The hand over his heart was gone, but he could still feelit.
“You okay?” he asked, making sure she was steady before releasing her elbow. When he did, he could still feel thattoo.
“Yeah, I’m—” Her eyes flew to the book and then back up to his. “Oh my God. Thank you! You’re alifesaver.”
The book left his hand, and she clutched it to her chest, her look of relief breaking into a stunningsmile.
“I’mglad—”
