Page 47 of Fearless

“Three minutes.”

“How soon?”

He glanced over his shoulder. Looked like the shift meeting was about over. The less people around, the better. “Next three minutes.”

Foul curses spewed. Couldn’t blame the guy. He was being asked to do the near impossible, but it would be done.

The man gritted out, “Fine. Get ready.” The call went dead.

He looked down at the unconscious man. Somebody had worked him over within an inch of his life. Needing to know what he was working with, he grabbed the chart from the small bedside table. Scanning the pages, he grew more frustrated than before. He couldn’t just take him to a hotel and drop him off. This guy was going to need medical care for several days.

He had to work quickly, and it would be helpful if Sean Donavan was awake for the next part.

“Donavan, you hear me?”

Swollen eyes blinked open and then barely squinted up at him. As someone who’d had his face used as a punching bag more times than he could count, he knew well what Donavan was feeling. Even the slightest twitch would feel like a knife stab. Couldn’t be helped. Pain was part of life—a big part. When you felt it, at least you knew you were alive.

Based on the doctors’ notes, he knew the man was in serious but stable condition. Getting him out of here might cause harm and delay his recovery, but it couldn’t be helped. They needed to move. Now.

He started unhooking the various leads, IVs, and other medical devices attached to Donavan.

“Who…”

“Doesn’t matter. We’ve gotta get moving.”

Grabbing a wheelchair from nearby, he rolled it toward the bed. “You able to get up?”

“Not going anywhere until you tell me who you are.”

Half the words sounded garbled, but he had no problem understanding them. And while Donavan’s reluctance was understandable, a long introduction would have to wait.

Since it might cause more questions than they had time for, he simply said, “I’m the man who’s saving your life.”

Donavan would have likely had a comeback, but fortunately the distraction he’d been waiting for came through. Lights started flickering, machines started making weird noises, and darkness fell.

With limited time to work, he growled out, “Gut up, soldier. It’s going to get rough.” He then scooped the injured man up and deposited him into the wheelchair. He had to give it to Donavan. Other than an initial grunt, the man remained stoically silent.

Now came the tricky part. Since the entire hospital was cloaked in darkness, and even the backup generator was disabled, people would be scurrying around like mice in a maze. That didn’t mean there wouldn’t be some savvy nurses close by. He’d have to be quick and quiet.

“Hang on, Donavan. Might get bumpy.” With that, he took off toward the door, whirling the chair around so he could push the door open with his back. Once out, he took a quick look around. With the exception of a few flashlights and phones, the area was pitch black. People were scrambling, snapping at one another, and generally acting just as he’d hoped. He headed down the hallway and stopped at the stairway door.

“Sorry, man, but I’m going to have to carry you down.” He didn’t wait for an answer. Donavan was a tough guy. Former military, trained in black ops. He’d already been through several levels of hell. This was just one more. At least he had some pain meds in him to help this time.

Again, he was impressed because the man made no sound when he lifted him over his shoulder. He ran down the three flights of stairs. It was dark here, too, but having steady balance and good instincts made things easier.

Within two minutes, he was on the first floor and out the side door of the lobby. Forty-five seconds later, he opened the back end of the van and settled Donavan’s limp body on the floor. He quickly checked the man’s pulse, relieved to feel the strong beat. He’d lost consciousness at some point, and that was likely a blessing until he could get him to his new location.

He jumped into the van and started it. The cameras would be back up in a matter of seconds, and he needed to be several miles down the road. The hideout he’d planned to stay in was now out of the question. He and his passenger needed to get the hell out of Dodge within the next half hour. When his employer learned that the man he’d been hired to kill had disappeared, they’d have bounties on both their heads.

His brief stint as a hired killer now over, he took a moment to feel a small amount of relief. He’d hated every second of it. Despite the fact that his original plan was now null and void, and plan B was way shittier, he couldn’t deny the easing of dread that he’d been carrying with him.

For right now, he had a new priority. Saving Donavan’s life had screwed up his plans. He wasn’t about to let the man die on his watch.

Glancing in the rearview mirror, he noted Donavan was still out. He grabbed one of his burner phones and punched in a number. A gruff, sleepy-sounding voice said, “Yeah?”

“Hey, Doc, you got room for one?”

“Yeah. Just got a vacancy.”