attempt to stop the bleeding.
“Let’s go,” she said.
Ryan nodded and headed for the door. But he had barely gone two steps when something hit him from behind. Hard.
He stumbled forward two steps before he realized that Tess was on top of him, her arms wrapped around his neck from behind. She had clamped both legs around his waist, tightening them with excruciating strength. As he struggled to straighten, she jerked back on her arms, cutting off his oxygen.
“What the h-” He tried to turn around, but she clung to him with the tenacity of a tiny flea riding the back of the bull.
She leaned forward and whispered in his ear, “I fell for it the first time. I’m not so stupid I’d fall for it again. What are you up to?”
He tried to answer, but she tightened her arm across his windpipe. He thought about dumping her over his shoulder to get her off, but he didn’t want to hurt her. But he wasn’t going to be able to reason with her if he blacked out from lack of oxygen.
“I’m not part of this,” he managed to croak. He knew that their time was running out.
“I think we played this scenario out once already. What kind of sick game are you all playing?”
Feeling their time ticking away, Ryan bent forward and let gravity pull her body upward. She scrambled to stay pinned to his back, but Ryan didn’t give her a chance. He reached behind, grabbed her under one arm and gave her a hard yank, lifting her up and over his shoulder.
She sputtered and kicked, but Ryan ignored her, setting her down directly in front of him.
“Calm down,” he warned. “In case you missed it, I’m trying to rescue you.”
Her chest heaved and her breath came in short, little pants. She fell back a few steps and dropped into a crouch, her body with all its sweet familiar curves signaling that she was ready to defend herself should he step any closer. Her eyes regarded him with open suspicion.
Ryan knew they were in a standoff. But how could he convince her that he wasn’t part of this crazy plan to hurt her? To drug her and play with her mind? She wasn’t in any frame of mind to allow her to trust anything he said. And if he didn’t get her out of there soon, they’d both be sitting in one of Bloom’s cells.
“Tess, I promise I’m not going to hurt you. I’m here to help.” He took a step toward her, but she stiffened.
He stopped, rethinking his approach. “Look, I know it’s hard for you to trust me, but we don’t have a lot of choices here. They’re going to figure out that’s a loop playing in the system soon and when they do, they’ll be piling in here pretty fast.”
“And then what? Do I get strapped to the table, pumped full of drugs again and then you come in and we start the rescue game all over?”
She’d stumped him with that question. Hell, Ryan knew he’d think the same thing if he was in her shoes. But he had to convince her somehow.
Pain shadowed her eyes. “Bloom told me what it was all about. The whole sick scene at your house. It was all an experiment to you. A chance for you to see if you could convince me that you were helping me. You recorded everything. Analyzed it.” The realization of what she’d said seemed to hit her hard and tears swam in her eyes. She choked and swallowed hard.
He shook his head. “Tess, listen to me-”
Her momentary weakness angered her, and she slashed at the tears with the back of her hand, wiping them along the side of her thin green pants. She bit down on her lower lip to keep it from trembling.
“Shut up,” she demanded. “You like doing that to people, don’t you, Dr. Donovan. You like getting them to trust you and believe in you. You like analyzing things and seeing how people tick. Well, you’re not going to fool with my mind anymore.”
She stepped backward another step and he could see her almost stumble. She’d been through so much, and Ryan knew she was more than just exhausted. She was wiped out, overwrought and drugged beyond anyone’s limit with a dangerous concoction of psychotropic medications. But he needed her to hold it together for a little longer. At least until he was able to get her out of the center.
He kept his voice soft, trying to recreate the bond he’d established with her earlier. “I know this is hard, Tess, but I’m asking you to trust me one more time. Just reach down inside and remember how hard we worked to figure things out. Would I have done those things for you, if I wanted to hurt you?”
She rubbed a spot between her eyes as if trying desperately to concentrate. “Your damn drugs are beginning to wear off and I’m thinking clearer now.” Her breath came in quick little hitches. “And I have a feeling that you’d do anything to get me to do what you wanted.”
“Come on, Tess, you don’t believe that. Think about what you’re saying.” He tried to move a little closer, but she immediately held up a hand, telling him to stay where he was.
Frustrated, he complied. Damn, the minutes were ticking by, and he wasn’t sure how much longer the loop Brian had sent to the computers would last.
“I want to believe you, I really do.” She put her palm against the side of her head, as if fighting against something going on inside her brain. “But I-I can’t.” She glanced at the table behind her and Ryan knew she was thinking about the possibility that she’d end up back there, strapped down and pumped full of drugs.
He wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead with his sleeve. Tess’s face was flushed and her nostrils were flared. The air between them spit electricity.
She circled him, ready to spring if he made even the slightest move toward her. She had to know that she was no match for him physically, but she was willing to fight if she had to.
Ryan knew he could subdue her with brute strength if necessary, but he didn’t want to resort to that method. She’d suffered that indignity once already. He had to convince her that she could trust him without physical intimidation.
Leaning forward, he grabbed her forearm and gently pulled her toward him. Her body tensed and air hissed between her teeth.
“Listen to me,” he said. “I want you-”
The door behind them clicked open and they both froze.
A nurse, carrying a small tray with a group of syringes aligned across the top, stepped inside. Alarm immediately sprang to her severe face. Her gaze jumped back and forth between Tess and Ryan, finally settling on him. “Who are you? And what are you doing in here?”
Ryan grabbed Tess’s wrists, whipped her around so that she was backed up against him. He crossed her arms on her chest and held her secure against him. “I found her trying to escape. Put down the tray and get the table ready so I can get her back into her restraints.”
Tess’s body was still for a brief nanosecond, and then she seemed to explode. “You lying, sneaking bas-” Her anguished wail cut at him, but Ryan ignored it, struggling to hold her.
The nurse’s indecision was momentary, but then she quickly set the tray down and leaned across the table, hurrying to untangle the restraints.
Ryan winced as one of Tess’s heels cracked into his shin. Damn, but she packed a wallop. She twisted her body, bowing it outward in a frantic attempt to get loose. She bent her head down and clamped her teeth into the meaty portion of his forearm. He grunted in pain, but simply dragged her along with him as he moved closer to the bedside table and the syringe tray.
As the nurse started to straighten up, Ryan pushed Tess away, grabbed one of the syringes and sank it into the nurse’s hip. The woman’s eyes widened with surprise, and she lunged for him, but he stepped back. She staggered a few steps and then fell. Ryan caught her before she hit the floor.
“What are you doing?” Tess demanded from the other side of the room.
He lifted the nurse onto the table and started to strip off her uniform. He glanced over one shoulder. “Get undressed.”
Tess regarded him with cautious eyes. She circled around the table, keeping her distance from him. “What are you up to?”
Ryan lifted the woman’s limp body and peeled off the upper portion of her uniform. “I’m getting you some escape clothes.”
He pulled off the nurse’s pumps and threw one of them to Tess. She caught it with one hand. She continued to stare at him.
