Page 74

The hospital room was a war room now. Noah stood at the center of it, gripping Ruth’s cold, fragile hand, his mind racing through the details. Every risk. Every possibility. They had one shot at this, and if they got it wrong, Ruth wouldn’t survive another attempt.

Across the room, Paul, Tristan, and James were deep in discussion. Paul was still processing everything, but his sharp gaze was already locked onto the medical side of the problem—how to move Ruth without killing her.

Charlotte stood near the door, arms crossed, eyes hard. Brad and Alex were discussing security, while Evan mapped out their route, the best ways to keep their movements off the grid.

Paul turned to James. “I need a full list of what she’s on—IV meds, painkillers, anything affecting her vitals.”

James nodded. “She’s still on mild oxygen support, but we can manage that with a portable tank. And a converter when you get there.

Tristan added, “The main concern is her brain pressure. We don’t know if the blindness is permanent, and we also don’t know if the pressure is going to get worse.”

Paul rubbed his jaw, thinking. “I’ll need to monitor her neurological status on the way. If she deteriorates, we need a backup plan.”

Noah’s stomach twisted. “And what does that backup plan look like?”

Paul met his eyes. “A hospital. And at that point? We’ll have to pray they don’t find her before we can move her again.”

That wasn’t good enough.

Noah looked at Tristan and James. “You’re giving us everything we might need before we go. I don’t care how big the kit is, we’re taking it.”

James nodded. “We’ll set up an IV kit for fluids and meds, monitoring equipment, and a portable brain pressure monitor. I’ll teach Paul how to use it.”

Paul smirked. “Please. I could run a trauma bay in my sleep.”

“Not the point,” Tristan muttered, “but good to know.”

“This isn’t just about getting her out,” Charlotte said, her voice firm. “It’s about making sure no one follows you.”

Brad nodded. “We need a decoy. Something that makes it look like she’s still here.”

Noah raised an eyebrow. “And how do you pull that off?”

“Fake medical records,” Alex answered. “We alter her chart, make it look like she was transferred to a different facility. Buy you some time before they realize she’s gone.”

Charlotte’s expression remained cold. Calculated. “We’ll also leak that false intel. Let them think we’re moving her somewhere else, somewhere with security they can try to breach.”

Brad crossed his arms. “Meanwhile, you take her the opposite direction.”

Noah nodded. It was smart.Create confusion. Buy time. Keep them guessing.

“Any chance we can get an escort?” Paul asked.

Brad exhaled. “Not without tipping them off. This has to look unofficial. The moment they think she’s in law enforcement custody, they’ll change tactics.”

Noah clenched his jaw. “Fine. We do it alone.”

Evan laid out a paper map, something Noah hadn’t seen used in years. “You’ll head west through Rapid City, then take a secondary road into the Black Hills.”

Brad traced his finger along the map. “Most people use Highway 16 to get into the hills. You won’t. That’s where they’ll watch.”

Alex tapped a different route. “Take gravel back roads through Custer County. That’ll keep you off the main grid.”

Noah studied the map, memorizing every turn. “And once we get there?”

Evan smirked slightly. “106 Sparrow Ridge Road. Completely off-grid. The house runs on solar power, water’s purified on-site, and there’s no electronic footprint. It’s the safest place you could possibly hide.”

Charlotte narrowed her eyes at Evan. “How do we know no one else knows about it?”