Coming to Colorado (14 page)

“Yes,” Roger said.

“Show me what he looks like and I’ll do it. Then we get the hell out of here as fast as we can.”

“Let me get Duff to send a picture and you can go off that.” Roger placed a call, stepping close to the window.

Davis grabbed Ryan’s arm and tugged him into the bathroom. He shut the door behind them, giving them privacy. He flipped on the light and a soft glow washed over the room.

“Really, Ryan, this is too much. I can’t let you put yourself in harms way.”

Ryan cupped his face and smiled. “I’ll be fine.”

“But...” Davis realized he wasn’t going to change Ryan’s mind so he leaned his forehead against Ryan’s and closed his eyes. “Be careful.”

“I will,” Ryan whispered.

Davis placed his hands on Ryan’s waist, letting his fingers drift over the muscles on the guy’s back and down to his ass. Ryan rocked forward, his hips brushing against Davis. They both made noises, Ryan’s so sexy it ramped up Davis’s lust even more. Davis tilted his chin and turned his head to the side as he brushed his lips over Ryan’s. He slid his tongue between Ryan’s lips, tasting and wanting more.

The bathroom door opened and they jumped back. Roger stared at them for a split second then looked to Ryan. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah, I’m good to go,” Ryan said.

“Okay, come out here and we can figure out what we’re going to do. Once Craig wakes up, he’s likely to bolt.”

“What’s the plan?” Davis asked.

“He has to die. Walking in with a firearm and shooting him isn’t going to be the best option. It will be messy, and the shooter won’t make it out of there alive. If we gave him something toxic, it would probably go unnoticed. It has to be a substance that will end his life, something he won’t recover from. But I don’t have access to what we’d normally use. God, if only—”

“Cleaning supplies,” Ryan said.

“Where would we get them?” Mike asked.

“The cleaning supply closet on this floor,” Ryan offered. “I need a ball cap to disguise myself.”

“Here.” Roger handed him a red cap and gave him a blue jacket. “You know, after this, you’ll have to leave Boston. Someone will probably identify you. It will be hard. You’ll be wanted.”

“I’m fine with that. Didn’t like it here anyway.”

“That’s a lie,” Davis said. “This will change everything for you.”

“We have the resources to change your name and set you up where they can’t find you,” Roger said.

Ryan blew out a breath and shook his head. “It may be a lie, but I can’t let this guy kill you, Davis. We may have only met, but I won’t let him go off and hunt you down when he should be dead. I may have left the Marines, but I’m still dedicated to what the Marines stand for. What did this bastard do to wind up in a military prison?” Ryan asked.

“He organized and carried out some acts of terror in England. People—kids—died. He’s not a good guy.” Mike’s voice was stronger, his eyes brighter. “Then he came to the US and attacked our home.”

“Let’s get moving,” Ryan said.

Roger stalked away then back. “We need a fool proof plan.”

“This is tricky,” Davis added. He didn’t like the idea of Ryan walking into danger. The more he knew about this Craig person, the more he didn’t like Ryan actually being in this situation. “I don’t like this at all. I can go in and do it.”

Roger shook his head. “If Craig sees you coming, he’s going to say or do something. I don’t know what condition he’s in right now. It’s too dangerous.”

“I work with danger all the time,” Davis said.

“Let me do this.” Ryan grabbed Davis’s arm and tugged him close, kissing his cheek. “I know you’re worried, but I can do this. I need to do this. You can come to the hospital with me, but I have to be the only one Craig sees. He’s dangerous.”

“Fine, I’ll go over there with you. Roger, do you have a syringe we can use?”

“Yes.” Roger went to their bags and pulled out a small medical pack. He grabbed an empty syringe with a needle on it and handed it to Ryan. “Be careful. I’ll get Mike out of the room, and we’ll head out. I’ll get the car ready. The plane will be set to go, and we can take off. Ryan, this is going to change everything for you.”

“I know. I think I was ready for a change. Really, I’m not lying about that. I’ve been skating along, not sure what I wanted to do with my life. Handing out kayaks to tourists was getting boring.”

“You’re such a bad liar.” Davis hated that they were putting Ryan in this situation, but he seemed to understand the implications. Once they went down this path, there was no going back.

“Davis, do you have everything? Nothing left at another hotel, no bags?”

“No sir, not at a hotel, just at the bus station. I need to retrieve a bag from the lockers.”

“We’ll swing by there on our way out.”

Ryan pulled on the ball cap and the jacket. Davis wished they could change Ryan’s appearance even more, but with no time, little preparation, and few materials there wasn’t much he could do.

“Wait,” Mike said, his voice still sounding weak.

“Yeah?” Ryan asked.

“I have sunglasses and some makeup. It will make your skin tone darker. It might be enough of a change to make you unrecognizable. Just keep your head covered. They don’t need to know what color your hair is.”

“I really wish we had hair color or a wig, but we don’t,” Roger said.

“I tossed my wig. I’ve got nothing,” Davis said.

“It will be okay. No one will see me deliver the medicine. Trust me.”

Ryan seemed so sure of himself that Davis almost believed him. Working undercover was different than being military. In the military, you had permission to shoot, but being a civilian made it difficult to clean up the trash. From what Roger had said, this Craig person needed to be dead. If Craig continued to live, he could do some very bad things.

Davis followed Ryan out of the room and down the hall. They easily found the bleach, and Ryan filled the syringe, capping then storing it in his jacket pocket. He didn’t like operating in the open like this. Earlier, he’d looked for cameras but hadn’t found any of the telltale dark bubbles or obvious cameras. As far as he knew, no one had caught them grabbing the bleach from the supply closet on this floor.

“Let’s go. Don’t follow me too closely. Make it look like we don’t know each other,” Ryan said.

“Okay. I can do that.”

“Everything will be fine. I’ll do this quickly, and then we’ll get out of here.”

“I just worry about the consequences,” Davis said.

They entered the elevator and both of them quieted. Though they hadn’t encountered cameras in the hall, there were probably cameras in the lift. They were leaving too many trails and too much information for the cops to follow up on. This could end up being disastrous.

Chapter Fifteen

Ryan’s heart was hammering as he entered the front door of the hospital. He immediately headed to the bathroom and into a stall. This was crazy. They were going to get caught, and he had no idea if he could actually go through with killing Craig. He closed his eyes and squeezed his temples, rubbing small circles.

Get up, and get moving, soldier.

His stomach flopped as he stood and exited the stall. He washed his hands, delaying for a few more seconds. The situation wasn’t going to change. He could bail, or just do it. Either way, he would be screwed. If this Craig jerk had seen him, he would probably hunt Ryan down and kill him. He didn’t have much of a choice.

The door to the bathroom opened, and he stepped back from the sink and turned, almost running right into Davis. He hesitated, his heart thundering.

“Give me the syringe. I can’t let you do this. It will ruin your life.” Davis held out his hand.

Ryan shook his head. “It will ruin yours, too.”

“No, I’ll be fine. I do this kind of stuff all the time.”

“Davis, I’ll be fine. I’m just a little nervous.”

The door opened, and Ryan took off before Davis could stop him. He headed toward the ER following the signs. He didn’t hesitate once until he saw a man wearing a janitor’s uniform entering a closet. Ryan acted, not even thinking twice. He stepped into the closet and shut the door behind him. The guy spun around, his eyes wide. Ryan slammed his fist into the guy’s face, watching as the man staggered and fell to the floor.

“I’m going to hell for this,” Ryan whispered.

He was about to undress the janitor when he saw another uniform hanging at the back of the closet. Ryan pulled on the extra janitor uniform and was about to walk out of the door when he realized he might need identification. He reached for the badge off the man on the floor. The guy would probably wake up soon and then he’d alert security that his badge had been taken. Ryan sighed and dropped to his knees, he’d have to bind the guy’s arms and legs. Fuck, this was getting complicated.

The janitor wasn’t wearing a belt, and Ryan was drawing a blank. He glanced over to the wall and saw medical masks. They’d have to do. Using three masks, Ryan tied the man’s hands and feet, then stuffed a mask in the guy’s mouth and covered it with another mask. He shook his head before standing, upset with what he was doing. He stepped towards the door, as ready as he was ever going to be. At the last minute, he turned back and grabbed a mask to wear over his face. He’d shoved his jacket, the ball cap, and the sunglasses into a bag that he picked up off a shelf. Once he was done with his task, he’d ditch the uniform and put the other stuff back on, hiding his identity that way.

Before he headed out of the closet, he decided to take the mop and rolling bucket with him. The disguise was thin, and he would probably be stopped, but he was going to try to get to Craig and deliver the toxic substance.

His hands were shaking as he used the card he’d stolen to get into the ER. He caught a glance of Davis in the waiting room but didn’t pay too much attention to him. Once he was past the doors to the emergency room, he kept his eyes down and his shoulders hunched. He adopted a limp, hoping that he played the part of disabled janitor well.

“Excuse me,” someone called out.

Ryan ignored them, hoping he’d be able to get to Craig and out of this hospital fast. Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned around.

“We need that mop in exam room one. Thanks for getting here so quickly, and it’s a good thing you’re already wearing that mask. Just use some of the gloves from the wall.” A young woman in blue scrubs was talking a mile a minute, her brown eyes wide. “Hurry, then you can head to wherever you were going, but get that cleaned up.”

“Sure.” Ryan moved the direction she’d pointed, hoping he’d catch a glimpse of Craig. He heard snippets of conversations as he passed each curtained off area. Two police officers stepped out of one of the patient bays, their heads together in whispered conversations. A cold sweat broke out over his skin. As he moved passed the cops, he picked up a few words. The guy behind the curtain seemed to be Craig based on the words he’d picked up as he passed the cops. As luck would have it, the cleanup was one bay over.

Ryan pulled out his phone and checked the photo Roger had sent. He knew what Craig looked like now. The knowledge wasn’t comforting at all. The cops were right outside the curtain, and if he messed up, he’d be caught. Fuck, it couldn’t be worse timing.

The mess in patient bay one was disgusting. He now knew why he’d chosen not to become a janitor. He didn’t enjoy cleaning up other people’s messes at all—at least not this type of mess. The smell almost overwhelmed him even with the mask on, but the added advantage was that people started moving away from the area as he cleaned.

Ryan heard the cops say something about the smell as they stepped away. He smiled to himself and pulled the syringe out. It was now or never. Ryan went through the curtain on the end by the wall, uncovered the needle and checked the guy’s face. No doubt, it was Craig. His fingers shook as he held the syringe to the medicine drop on the IV line. If anyone walked in now, he’d be fucked. With one last glance at the man, he shot all of the liquid into the IV. It was done. He recapped the needle and moved quickly around the curtain to the area he’d been cleaning. Ryan gave one last swipe with the mop before rolling the cart full of dirty water out of the bay.

No one looked at him funny, and he did his best to act normal. His head was down and his shoulders slumped as he limped back the way he’d come. Fear filled him and he kept waiting for someone to tell him to stop. Nothing happened. Then he wondered if the bleach had worked. What if it hadn’t? He couldn’t go back now to look. God, he could have screwed it all up. After leaving the emergency room area, he found a public bathroom and wheeled the mop bucket into the last stall. He hid the bucket in the corner, wiping the mop handle with toilet paper, hoping it would remove his fingerprints. Though he’d worn gloves while cleaning the floor, he’d touched the mop with his hands earlier.

He pulled off the janitor’s uniform and dropped it to the floor. Ryan put on the blue jacket and red ball cap, covering his eyes with the dark shades. His fingers slid over the coarse material of the doctor’s mask as he removed it, dropping it next to the janitor’s clothing. The door to the bathroom opened as he picked the clothes up off the floor.

Ryan froze, his heart thundering. He’d just killed another man, or thought he had. They’d catch him and he’d be in jail for the rest of his life. The sound of someone peeing echoed throughout the tiled bathroom followed by the sound of water running in the sink. He had to get out of the bathroom but he sure as hell didn’t want this person seeing him.

The door opened, the other person left, and Ryan took the opportunity to grab the mop, careful to use the glove he’d had on his hand to push it to the other side of the room where it looked like it might belong. Then he tossed the gloves in the bag carrying the janitor’s uniform and tucked the bag under his arm. He walked as normally as he could to the emergency room waiting area, catching a glimpse of Davis out of the corner of his eyes. He didn’t stop to tell Davis that he had completed the task. Instead, he kept moving. Getting out of the hospital was the only thing on his mind. He left the building from the main emergency exit and made an immediate right, heading to the main road. Ryan turned left at the street and walked with his head down, hoping to avoid all traffic cameras. He saw The Liberty on his left, but didn’t want to be caught on camera entering the hotel. Instead, Ryan walked across the street to a convenience store and tugged off the blue jacket. He dialed Roger, waiting for him to answer.