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hands.
    Trahern shook his head. “This isn’t the time to play hero, not when we don’t know how many of them there are. We’ve got to get her out of here. Now.”
    They could hear the sound of running feet from the far end of the hallway. “The cops will be crawling all over this place soon. This confusion is our best chance to get her out of here without being seen.”
    A female scream rang out down the hallway, and Brenna understood all too well how the woman felt.
    “Is anybody looking this way?” Blake asked.
    Jarvis poked his head out of the room long enough to scope out the hallway. “No, it’s clear for the moment.”
    “I’ll lead. Bring her when I give the signal.” Trahern ducked out into the hall, turning away from the commotion at the other end. He kept his back to the opposite wall, looking from side to side as he made his way to the exit sign a short distance away. When he reached the door to the staircase, he opened it and disappeared for a few seconds. Then he stuck his head back out and waved them forward.
    Jarvis shielded Brenna’s body with his as they silently slipped across to where Trahern waited. She tried to check out what was happening down at the nurses’ station, but Jarvis blocked her view. She only caught a glimpse of a guard writhing on the floor outside the door to her room, his uniform shirt soaked in blood.
    “Oh, God, how bad is he hurt?”
    “I don’t know, but one of his buddies will get him help. Move!” Trahern’s orders were abrupt, but his touch was gentle as he supported her with his free hand.
    Jarvis shoved the door closed behind them. “Up or down?”
    Trahern jerked his head up. “Up one floor, then across to the other wing and down. There’s an exit to the parking lot from the day surgery on the second floor.”
    How did he know that? Brenna didn’t have enough breath to ask; it was just another in a long list of questions she’d want answers to when they reached safety. If they ever did.
    “Brenna, can you keep up this pace or do I need to carry you?”
    “I’ll make it.”
    Jarvis waited on the landing, his gun and eyes aimed on the steps above them. When they reached the top step he slowly opened the door and peeked out. “No one seems to be aware that there’s a problem.” He slipped his pistol into his waistband and pulled his shirt down over it. “I’ll be back in a few.”
    He disappeared, leaving the two of them alone again. Brenna leaned against the wall. This was far more excitement than her battered body needed; her legs trembled with near exhaustion, and it was hard to catch her breath. Trahern looked remarkably unperturbed; he and Jarvis acted as if this was second nature to them.
    “Is this how you spend your time?” she whispered.
    The dim light in the staircase cast his face in harsh lines. “Not now, Brenna.” The flat words didn’t invite conversation. Then Jarvis was back, motioning that the hallway was safe.
    She said, “All right. But you owe me answers, and I intend to have them.”
    Then she joined Jarvis out in the busy hallway, letting Blake follow as he would.

    Blake wanted to throw Brenna over his shoulder and run like hell; her face was gray with exhaustion and pain. But their best disguise was to blend in with all the other patients and their families going about their business as if nothing were wrong. As long as they were inside the hospital, they were sitting ducks. Each and every person they passed could be a paid assassin on a mission to end Brenna’s life—or his or even Jarvis’s, for that matter. Whoever wanted the judge dead had to wonder who he’d talked to about his suspicions. He and Brenna were the obvious choices, but no one within the Regents was safe if the judge had left any records that could be traced back to them.
    It was hard to keep to such a slow pace, but the three of them would draw less attention if they walked at a rate comfortable for Brenna. In a few more seconds, they’d reach