Kara found another dry pot and dumped water into it. “And I don’t think he’s in love with Allegra. She’s back in Houston now—out of the picture.”
“I agree. But don’t you think it’s possible his feelings dwindled when we weren’t together? I mean, that’s sort of what I was trying to test in the first place—whether what we had was just a comfortable habit or something strong enough to last.” Though Ellery kept her voice steady, speaking her fears aloud was slicing her heart open.
“I think you’re reading too much into it.” Kara plopped down on the seat and leaned back, crossing her feet at the ankles. “I don’t think any man would show that much devotion out of sheer guilt, especially a billionaire who’s used to paying other people to do things for him.”
“Then why is he treating me like his sister?”
“Isn’t this Logan we’re talking about?” Kara said. “From the time you met him, you told me how awkward he was. Sure, you’ve helped him a lot, but deep inside he’s still the same uncomfortable guy who’s terrible at communicating with real people.”
Dying embers of hope sparked to life. Could Kara be right? Was it possible Logan loved her but was simply awkward at showing it?
A knock sounded, and a man in a lab coat rolled a familiar-looking instrument cart into the room.
“Ughh! The vampire is back,” Ellery joked. “It’s only been about an hour since they took the last gallon of blood.”
The technician, a new one to Ellery, simply grunted, donning a pair of gloves that seemed too tight for his gargantuan hands. Then he cleared his throat, staring expectantly at Kara, his mask obscuring all but his almost-black eyes.
She hopped up from her seat. “I guess I’ll go grab a coffee and talk to Jake for a second.”
“I don’t care if you stay while I get blood drawn,” Ellery said, wondering why the lab tech was so grumpy. Maybe he’d worked all night and was at the end of his shift.
“It’s no problem.” Kara scampered toward the door. “I don’t like needles anyway.”
When the door shut behind her, Ellery stuck her left arm toward the lab tech. “You’ve got to use this one. The other one has so many scars it’s hard to find the vein.”
He opened a drawer in his cart, fishing noisily for something inside. “Why do you have scars?” he asked in an odd accent she couldn’t quite place.
“They’re burns.” She hadn’t had to explain to anyone after the first few days. “Are you new? I’ve been here almost two weeks, and I’ve never seen you.”
He grunted again, looking over his shoulder as if to be certain the door was closed. Something about his mannerisms made the hairs stand up on the back of Ellery’s neck.
She was probably worried for nothing, but she wished she hadn’t left her cell phone on the bedside table adjacent to him. Could she retrieve it without looking awkward? She averted her gaze when he caught her eyeing it.
“Tell me about the accident.” His voice went steely as he casually picked up her cell phone and dropped it into the trash bin behind him.
Ellery’s pulse raced like a rabbit. He had to be one of Krupin’s men. He could kill her in seconds. But maybe if she screamed, the agent in the hallway could make it inside in time.
“Your guard is in the men’s room,” the man said, as if reading her mind, “asleep. He will have a headache when he wakes.”
If the guard was gone, screaming wouldn’t help. It would only bring someone innocent running into the room, like a nurse or nurse’s aid. Maybe even Kara.
His dark eyes impaled her, but she refused to be cowed. Men like him despised weakness.
“I’m not afraid to die.” She jutted her chin forward to compensate for the quake in her voice.
“That is an advantage in your situation.” His expression didn’t waver as he placed a scary-looking syringe on the tray in front of him. “But you must answer my question.”
“Look, whatever Logan’s stepfather did to you, Logan had nothing to do with it. The guy is a jerk and they’ve hardly spoken in years.”
“My time is running short,” he said. “Tell me about the accident. How did you escape?”
“If I tell you, will you call it even and leave Logan alone?”
“I am losing patience!” he hissed, picking up the hypodermic in his fist. Would he stab it into her heart?
“Okay, I’ll tell you.” If she kept him talking long enough, someone might discover the FBI agent in the men’s room. “It started at the fundraiser, when—”
“I knew this would be a waste of my time.” His voice ground through his vocal cords. “I will tell Sophia you refused to cooperate, as I predicted.”
“Sophia? The woman in the van?” Ellery had been asking for updates on the woman’s condition, but none of the agents had told her anything beyond her first name and that she was still alive. In her heart, Ellery felt Sophia hadn’t wanted to harm her. She’d glimpsed sympathy in the woman’s eyes when one of the captors had shoved her to the ground. “Have you seen her? Is she okay?”
“Why do you care?” He seemed so furious Ellery figured the Krupins must be blaming Sophia for the accident. Even if the woman survived, they might kill her.
“I care because she’s a human being. That’s why I tried to save her. I heard her screaming, and I didn’t want her to suffer like I had.” Ellery’s blood throbbed in her ears, but she babbled on. “And if there’s any humanity left inside you, you won’t punish her. She’s endured enough already. I caused the accident, okay? It was me. I found a fire extinguisher and sprayed the driver in the face. It wasn’t Sophia’s fault. I’m sure she did her job as best she could.”
For the first time, his expression altered, his eyebrows arching slightly. “You are asking me to spare her life?”
“If you explain it to the Krupins like that, maybe they’ll listen.”
“Sophia belongs to me,” he said. “She will not be harmed.”
“Okay, then.” At least Ellery hadn’t given her life for nothing.
He shook his head as he unfastened a button on his lab coat and reached inside. “I will probably regret this, but Sophia insisted.”
This is it. He’s got a gun! Or a knife! Her heart pounded against her ribcage. Her only chance of escape was the element of surprise. He probably assumed she was weak and bedridden, but she’d been walking the halls for days.
She freed her legs from the covers, preparing to dive off the other side of the bed as she glanced around for a weapon. Maybe she could get the lid off her coffee and throw it in his face.
