Page 58 of The Silent Note

No one’s there.

“Did you see someone?” I ask, ready to grab her and run.

She ignores the question. “We’re good to go.” With a disgruntled huff, Grey stalks ahead.

I follow her, easily catching up to her with my long-legged stride. “Hey, are you feeling okay? Did the tests show that you’re not ready to be walking around?”

“The doctor said I’m good.”

“So you’re not feeling lightheaded or…” I think about her snapping at me to shut up when I didn’t speak. “Confused?”

Grey stops. Her mouth turns down into a severe frown. “No.”

With that, she stalks ahead angrily.

“Okay then.”

I’m probably overthinking it. I’m no doctor and it’s not like I have any chance of diagnosing her. She’s got a lot on her mind, which probably explains her behavior.

Grey turns the corner to enter through the emergency exits. I follow right behind her and nearly bump into her back.

Why did she stop in the middle of the path?

I glance up and bristle when I see a security guard, swinging his flashlight around.

He looks just as startled to see us. In a blink, his wide eyes narrow in suspicion.

Nerves threaten to take over, but I inhale, let it out and motion for Grey to walk past him normally. The security guards have already been informed to look the other way if they see anything. Money will make this guy blind.

We get three steps in before the security officer lifts a hand to block us. “Who are you guys? I don’t recognize you.”

My eyebrows tighten. Did we not pay them enough? I told Finn to take it out of my royalties.

Grey steps in front of me, eyes brimming with confidence. “I’m Dr. Carmel and this is Nurse Kimmel. Please step aside. We need to do our rounds.”

“Dr. Carmel? I’ve never heard of you before.”

I slip my cell phone out of my pocket and send Finn an SOS text.

It buzzes a second later.

Finn: The security team had a last minute shift in personnel. Be careful of this guy.

Dammit. That means this guard has no reason to let us pass. We’ll have to wing it.

I exchange a loaded look with Grey, both eyebrows raised.

Time’s ticking. Sol’s probably already set the fire. We need to get inside that nursing home and grab Slavno’s grandmother before the plan goes completely off the rails.

“You’ve never heard of us before?” I say, giving the guard a cursory scan. He’s older, thin. I believe I can win a fight one-handed against him. “That’s funny. We’ve been working here for at least a month.”

His eyes waver. His hand inches down to his baton.

Grey’s hand slams into my chest as I take another threatening step forward. She doesn’t look back at me but keeps her hard gaze on the officer.

“What about my job description is so unbelievable?” she demands.

The officer pauses.