“Please,” I begged, letting my real desperation shine in my eyes as I finally looked up at him. “I miss it. Coffee is normal. And I haven’t… I couldn’t…” I trailed off, letting Dex read whatever dark things he wanted into my unfinished sentences.
His jaw worked as he ground his teeth together, and he nodded tightly. “Okay, Sam. I’ll get you coffee.”
“Is there a Starbucks here? You know what I like. Quad venti iced Americano with two pumps of mocha syrup. Please,” I added again when he looked hesitant.
“That’s all the way downstairs,” he said gently. “It will take a few minutes. I don’t want to leave you here by yourself.”
“I’ll be fine,” I said, feigning a yawn. “I’m still so tired. I’ll nap while you’re gone.”
“Okay,” he said reluctantly. “There’s a CPD officer just outside the door. She’ll keep you safe while I’m gone. You don’t have anything to worry about.”
“Thank you,” I forced myself to say.
Shit. Now, I had to talk my way past a police officer, too.
I set about formulating another plan as I watched Dex leave my hospital room. A small pang speared my heart as he walked away. This would be the last time I saw him. In person, anyway. I fully intended to keep in touch online, if he was willing.
As soon as the door closed behind Dex, I got out of bed and quickly pulled on the clothes Chloe had brought for me: a pair of yoga pants made for a woman with a much more toned butt than me, and a soft black t-shirt. It felt weird wearing clothes after spending so much time naked in Andrés’ bed, but they were comfortable enough.
I picked up Dex’s car keys and made my way to the door, opening it with purpose.
“Excuse me,” the officer said as soon as I stepped into the hall. “Where are you going?”
“I need to find a nurse,” I said. “My call button isn’t working, and I need some painkillers.”
The woman eyed me, assessing. “You don’t look injured to me.”
I dropped my eyes again to hide my lie, hoping it made me appear frail and damaged. “Um, you can’t really see where I’m hurting.”
“Oh. I’m… I’m sorry. I’ll go find someone for you.”
“Thank you,” I murmured. I watched her walk down the hall through lowered lashes. As soon as she rounded a corner, I took off in the opposite direction. I wasn’t familiar with the hospital’s layout, but it wasn’t difficult to find my way to the elevators and ride down to the parking garage. Once I was there, I hit the panic button on Dex’s keys so I could locate his car.
I raced across the garage, sprinting toward the sound of shrill beeping. As soon as I got to his black sedan, I turned off the panic signal and got into the driver’s seat. I was careful to leave the garage at a normal speed, even though I wanted to tear across town to get to Andrés. I couldn’t get a cop tailing me for speeding right now.
I was only a few blocks away from the hospital when a phone started ringing in the glove compartment. Sighing, I retrieved Dex’s personal phone and noted his work phone number on the caller ID. I also noted that he had a spare SIG stashed in there.
Good. I could use a weapon, just in case.
“Don’t be mad,” I requested as I answered the call.
“Where are you?” he growled. “You took my keys. The officer said you were wearing Chloe’s clothes. Do you know what I thought when I came back and you were gone? I thought he’d come back for you. I thought—”
“I’m fine,” I promised, cutting off his tirade.
“Why?” he demanded. “Why would you leave? And where the hell are you going?”
“Back to him,” I said truthfully. “I have to save him, Dex.”
“You’re going back to Moreno? Are you crazy?”
Dex probably thought I was unhinged, warped by my time in captivity.
I hadn’t been warped, but I had been changed. Maybe I was a little darker than I had been, a little less pure. Maybe some of my light had spilled into Andrés, just as some of his darkness had seeped into me.
I had to get back to him, to grab him and his laptop and get the hell out of Chicago before Cristian realized I’d been freed. Once we were off the map, we could take Cristian down. I wasn’t exactly sure where we’d go, but I’d make sure to set enough of Andrés’ money aside in an offshore account to establish a safety net for the two of us. The rest could be donated to various charities, to start to set right some of the evil Cristian had brought into the world. Evil that Andrés had facilitated, even if he hadn’t wanted to do it.
I’d help him atone.