Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
“And where’s my ribbon now?” Her eyes dart to my lap before she looks away.
“I keep them all close to me.” Reaching out, I stroke a finger on the underside of her chin. “Would you like to be alone with me tonight?”
She looks shocked by the question and then glances around the room like someone could overhear us. “How?” she finally asks.
“There are parts of this hospital that aren’t easily seen by cameras.” I nod to the one in the corner just above where we’re sitting.
“Wait, can someone see us sitting here? What about when I…” She trails off, but we both know what she’s referring to.
“This particular area of the table is in a blind spot. That's why I sit here every night.”
“Oh.” She thinks for a second and then checks her watch. “People are always watching me. I don’t know if I could get away for very long.”
“Technically you’re supposed to go on your lunch break right now. Correct?” I realize a lunch hour at midnight is odd, but that’s what happens on the night shift. She nods, and I take her wrist. “Go tell the night manager you’re going to chart in the locker room. I’ll meet you at the bottom of the stairs.”
“What about Alton?” she asks.
“I’ll take care of him. Just get your bag and meet me down there.”
“Okay.” She looks at my mouth like she wants to kiss me goodbye, but it’s too dangerous to risk in front of the other patients.
“Now,” I tell her, and she hurries out of the room.
Once she’s gone, I take my book back to my room and leave it on the desk. As I suspected, Alton is in the hallway watching me.
“I need a night off,” I tell him as I cross my arms over my chest.
“You know I can’t do that.” He nods to the end of the hallway that leads to the executive offices. “Dr. Crane doesn’t like the way you look at the new nurse.” When I don’t say anything, he sighs. “All I’m trying to do is cover my ass. If he finds out, then—”
“You owe me,” I say, cutting him off. “My chart will say I requested sleeping meds. You did your rounds and everything was as it should be.”
Alton hesitates, and I know I’ve got him. “Fine. But bed checks are at three, and if your ass isn’t tucked in tight, there’s nothing I can do to protect you. Do you understand?”
“It won’t be a problem,” I assure him. He gives me one last look before he goes to walk away, but I stop him. “Oh, and I’ll need the keys.”
He sighs deeply but unhooks the large set of keys at his hip. Instead of giving me all of them, he unlatches the smaller ring with the three keys he knows I want. “And I’ll find these in my locker before bed check, right?”
“Safe and sound.”
He tosses me the keys and then exits the men's hall while I go in the opposite direction. I use the first key to unlock the emergency exit at the back staircase and then make my way to the locker rooms below.
Mia is there looking nervous, but some of it goes away when she sees me. “Are you sure about this?” She’s checking the ceiling for cameras.
“We’re good. The only cameras down here are at the exit doors.” I take her hand, and her eyes meet mine. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes.” She doesn’t pause to think as she answers, and I nod in approval.
“Come on, I want to show you something.”
I lead her through the locker room and past the rows of lockers. At the back of the room, I use the second key to unlock a solid wooden door. It's an old storage closet, but behind the boxes of dirty towels and cleaning supplies is a false wall. I pull the hidden switch above the frame, and it opens to a stone hallway.
“Where are we going?” she asks when I lock the closet door behind us.
“Did you know this hospital was constructed during the Great Depression?” I ask, and she shakes her head. “The story was that the market crashed before it was completed. But that’s just what they told people.”
“I don’t understand. Why would they tell people it wasn’t completed?”
“My guess is they used all this storage down here to run liquor. If they told people it wasn’t completed, then you’d only know about the area of the hospital you could see. But all of this is underground, and it’s a shit ton of space to finish and not use.”
“I had no idea this facility was that old.”
“Most of it has been updated to the point that you’d never be able to tell. They updated the locker rooms about eight years ago and sealed this section off. I found out because I happened to overhear Dr. Crane talking to Alton about it.”