Chapter 3

Nathan Mercer?

Wasn't that Gina's husband's name?

I remembered what Gina had said. Her husband's phone had been pinging near the hospital all night.

It hit me.

My heart lurched. I spun toward Gina. "Drive faster! Gina, your husband's been in an accident! I have to save him!"

She slammed on the brakes. "What are you talking about?"

I held up my phone, jabbing at the report that had just come through. The name on it was unmistakable: Nathan Mercer.

"The hospital just sent the test results. The accident victim is Nathan. He's in the ER right now!

"Floor it!"

I kept swallowing, but Gina made no move to drive.

A twisted smile spread across her face. "How do you know his name if you two barely know each other?"

I sputtered. Of all the things to fixate on. "I found out his name when I brought him medicine that one time."

One night after work, a medication delivery for Nathan was left at my door by mistake, so I took it over to him.

That was the only real interaction we'd ever had.

"Bullshit! He only ordered aspirin, but you brought him ibuprofen! And you're saying you weren't making a move? Who shows up at a married man's door with medicine in the middle of the night?"

I could have screamed. A doctor's instinct had made me ask a couple of questions that night, and when I learned he had a fever, simple compassion made me bring him a box of the right medication. I never imagined it would be twisted into this.

But this was not the time to argue.

I glanced at my watch. Three more minutes, gone.

For a patient with intracranial bleeding, every second mattered.

I couldn't waste another moment.

"Just get us to the hospital. You can follow me the whole time. I'll explain everything later, okay? I'm begging you!"

Gina suddenly screamed. "So you admit it! You knew about the tracker, and you two came up with a new trick!

"You didn't expect me to follow you to the hospital, so you had him fake an emergency and wait for me there. Clear your names and make me feel guilty! Right?

"Tell me, Dr. Kent, will Nathan be 'discharged' the minute I walk in?"

I took a deep breath, forcing myself not to lose it. I zoomed in on the test results again and held the phone right in front of her face. "Intracranial hemorrhage! Look at the ID number! Your husband is really hurt!"

She didn't even glance at it. She just slapped my hand away.

"I'm not looking! AI can fake a medical report in seconds! Why would I believe that? Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"Just look at it!" I shouted.

Gina clamped her hands over her ears and shrieked. "I don't want to hear it! The harder you push, the more suspicious you look!"

The car swerved as she let go of the wheel. I lunged for it and steadied us.

I wanted to slap her awake.

My phone buzzed again. "Dr. Kent! Where are you? Hurry! The patient's blood pressure is dropping! We tried Dr. Harrison too, but he's on a trip in the mountains and isn't answering! You're the only one who can save him. Please hurry!"

I typed back as fast as I could. "Stabilize his blood pressure! I'll be there as soon as I can! Buy me ten more minutes!"

But Gina was completely unmoved. The car didn't speed up.

I dropped all pretense of composure. "Gina! I'm trying to save your husband! Every second you waste is a second of his life!"

"Save the bullshit. You two planned this." Her fingers trembled as she swiped the dashboard screen and called Nathan through the car's Bluetooth.

The ringtone filled the car, each ring echoing through the cabin.

My heart was in my throat, even though I already knew it was Nathan in the ER.

I still prayed it was a false alarm, prayed to hear a man's voice on the other end.

No such luck. No one picked up.

"The number you have dialed is not available."

The automated voice killed something inside me.

"See? He's not answering because he's hurt! Get me to the hospital so I can save him!"

Gina's eyes drifted, as if she were thinking.

Or searching.

She found what she was looking for.

"Tell Nathan to give it a rest. If something had really happened, his assistant would have called me." Gina seemed to draw fresh conviction from thin air. "At least make your stories more believable."

"With acting skills like yours, you should be in Hollywood, not a hospital!"

I didn't know why the assistant hadn't called Gina. All I knew was that if I didn't get there soon, Nathan was going to die.

I looked up and realized the scenery had changed.

At an exit where we should have kept going straight, Gina suddenly swerved right, left the highway, and turned down a side street.

I shouted, "You took the wrong turn! The hospital is straight ahead!"

Gina glared at me with bloodshot eyes. "What, afraid I'll take the long way and ruin your date?

"I'm going to crawl the whole way there, nice and slow, and grind you two lovebirds down inch by inch!"