Page 98 of Fatal Intent

Rayne envied his ability to drop off to sleep so fast. She struggled with that. Probably had something to do with her drunk father waking her out of a dead sleep more than once and beating her for some ridiculous infraction.

For an hour, she watched Grant, grateful he slept so deeply. Hopefully, she was part of the reason he felt safe enough to let down his guard and rest.

For the next few hours, the nurses dropped in like clockwork to check Grant’s vitals. No one said a word about her lying beside their patient.

At midnight, Elias tapped on the door and slipped into the room. “Take a break. I have the watch until you return.”

“What about you?” she whispered. “You and Iona must be exhausted.”

He shrugged. “Go.”

Rayne eased away from Grant, freezing when he tightened his hold on her, frowning. “I’m going for coffee and a snack, Grant. Elias is here with you.”

“Be careful,” he murmured.

“I will. I promise.” Since he was halfway awake, she kissed him lightly and stood. “Thanks, Elias.”

“Take your time.”

She nodded but knew she wouldn’t stay away for long. Grant wouldn’t go back into a deep sleep until she returned. His instincts were in full-on protection mode even though at the moment she was better able to protect herself than he was.

Rayne perused the offerings in the vending machines. Her stomach twisted into a knot at the choices. Nope. No way her stomach would tolerate that food. Since she didn’t want to be far from Grant in case anything happened, she opted to go to the cafeteria which was open 24/7 on the ground floor.

She went through the line quickly, choosing easy-to-consume food for Elias, Iona, and herself. Rayne carried thefilled to-go boxes to the elevator. A minute later, she exited the car on Grant’s floor.

When she neared his room, she saw a man dressed in scrubs and wearing a surgical mask enter Grant’s room without knocking and carrying a tray. Rayne frowned. That was odd. Every time she’d been in a hospital, the nursing staff had always knocked before entering a patient’s room. Why didn’t this guy announce his presence before barging in?

Rayne was practically running by the time she shoved open the door and charged into the room. She set the to-go boxes filled with food on the small table across from his bed. “What happened?” she asked Elias.

“Nothing until now. The nurse says he needs to inject some meds into Grant’s IV. Know anything about that?”

Rayne’s hand inched toward one of her concealed knives. “I think there’s been a mixup in communication. Grant spoke to the hospitalist an hour ago and convinced the doctor to stop the pain meds after the visit from him. He said the medicine made him woozy.”

Elias grunted, his gaze still locked on the nurse who waited for them to decide what they wanted him to do.

That bothered Rayne. The nurses who had treated her in the past always insisted on doing what the doctor ordered or contacted the physician for new orders.

Another red flag was the way the nurse’s eyes constantly moved and assessed. No medical professional Rayne had met scanned the area like someone in law enforcement or the military.

She scanned the man for his hospital identification. Nothing. Her heartbeat sped up. “Where is your identification?”

He shrugged. “I must have left it at the nurse’s desk. Look are you going to let me do my job or not?”

Elias’s eyes narrowed to slits as he stared at the nurse. “Not. Sounds like you need to check your orders. You aren’t injecting anything into Grant’s IV without an explanation from the hospitalist and Grant’s permission.”

“But my patient is asleep, and I’m following the doctor’s orders,” he protested.

“Not this time. If the medication is that important, get the hospitalist in here to explain the change in plan.”

The nurse raised his hand in a placating manner. “All right, man. Whatever you say. I’ll be back.” The man backed his way across the room, and at the last second, spun and fled.

Without giving herself time to think, Rayne was in motion. “Stay with Grant,” she snapped and barreled into the corridor.

At the end of the hall, she caught sight of a running shoe the same color as the so-called nurse wore and followed. Something had been off with that man, and she should have listened to her instincts.

Rayne raced after him, her steps soundless. She skidded around a corner and increased her speed when she saw the door to the stairwell slowly closing. Grim determination filled her as she ran to the stairwell, hugged the wall, and pushed open the door.

Three gunshots rang out.