Page 42 of Nowhere to Hide

Fuck.

Stone’s face remained impassive. “Get some rest. I’ll know more tomorrow, but she’s covered for tonight. I need to talk to Miranda. She’s not going to like what I have to say, but I have to make her see it.”

I didn’t believe that. Not since the guy got through their so called security. To me, it showed it was more than just impulse. Had this asshole been watching her when she was at the bar?

Had he picked her out?

Or just picked her because she was easy prey.

I rubbed at my temple. “Show Diaz the grid we made up. If that doesn’t convince her, your partner is an idiot.”

“She’s not.”

I arched a brow in answer.

“She just follows the rules. And maybe I wasn’t focused enough the first time I showed her the victims, but we pulled a lot more solid victims in more streamlined parameters.”

“I don’t need to play by anyone’s rules.”

“Which is why I want your help. I don’t want her to end up like the girl on the beach.”

I shut my eyes at the thought. I could see her crumpled on the rocks far too easily.

I stood. “The guy on the door is decent?”

Stone nodded. “He’s a solid cop and Nelson’s only got a four hour shift before someone else will relieve him. No need for a break.”

“Yeah.”

Being in personal security was a different animal than the mindset of a cop. They knew know to look for trouble on the beat or with a suspect, but situational awareness was a different strength.

Boring as fuck sometimes, but part of the job.

“I’ve got to go on shift. I’ll check in later.”

I nodded and waited for Stone to head to his car.

Still uneasy about leaving her, I took a walk around the building. I wasn’t sure how the jackass got onto the floor. I supposed it was easy enough to sign in and get upstairs. Then again, the hospital wasn’t exactly brimming with security either. It would be easy enough for someone to go right up to the ICU floor if they just looked like they knew where they were going.

The visitor badge was little more than a sticker.

The back of the hospital was fairly buttoned up, except for a door propped open with a broken picnic table leg.

For the nurses or perhaps the cleaning crew. Maybe even the small eatery open this late in the evening.

I was waiting for a security guard to come looking for me, but no such luck.

I snuck through the open door and found very little resistance. A janitor was dumping trash, but he barely looked at me when I walked by. It was far too easy to gain entrance if someone didn’t want to be seen on the main entrance cameras. Or to check in.

Annoyed, I power walked through the halls to signs for the elevators.

No need for a badge to swipe in through the doors.

Hell.

My annoyance surged as I went directly up to the ICU without incident.

The hallway to the rooms on that floor was quiet. It was well after hours of visitation, but with such extreme cases there were a handful of visitors there to see patients on borrowed time.