be back to check on her shortly,” she said after adjusting the IV line.
“Thank you,” Toby said.
She left, and Toby settled into the chair next to Robin’s bed. He pulled out his phone and texted Ben an update, then leaned back to close his eyes for a few minutes.
When the door opened, he blinked and straightened. His gaze went to Robin who was resting peacefully, eyes shut, lips parted slightly. A male nurse in his late thirties nodded at him and pulled a syringe from his pocket. “Good morning.”
“Morning.” Toby frowned. “What’s that?”
“Just a little more pain medicine. Want to keep her comfortable.”
“I think she’s fine.” Toby’s gaze went to the man’s name tag. And found it missing. Toby stood. “Let me see some ID please. She just had some medicine not too long ago.”
“I know. I read her chart. But the doctor wanted her to have this.”
“What is it?”
The man huffed and aimed the needle at the IV port. “Look, I’m just following orders, okay? If you have a problem with it, take it up with the doc.”
“I will.” Toby stepped forward and grabbed the man’s forearm. “But you’re not giving her that medicine until I do. Understood?”
Fury flashed in the man’s eyes, but his lips curved in a cold smile. “Of course.”
“Where’s your name tag?”
“I forgot it today. Why?”
Toby yanked the syringe from the man’s fingers in a smooth move and shoved him away from Robin’s bed. “Who are you, and how did you know she was here?”
The man bolted for the door and Toby followed, stopping just outside the door. He couldn’t go after him without leaving Robin alone. He grabbed the phone and called security, describing the incident and where the man had disappeared, then turned back to find Robin sitting up in bed, blinking at him. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“We’re getting out of here.” He grabbed her filthy clothes from the bag on the counter. “You need to put these on.”
She grimaced. “Why?”
He went to the bed and took her face in his. Gently, so as not to cause her any more pain. “Look at me.” He waited for her eyes to meet his and focus. The nurse’s words flipped through his mind. Don’t tell her anything stressful or shocking. It’s better for her to remember on her own. He hesitated for a brief second. “Will you trust me?”
“No. I don’t know you and I’m in the hospital, and I can’t remember anything. Why should I trust you?”
At the edge of hysteria in her words, he made an executive decision. “You’re not safe here, understand?”
“Why?”
“Because—”
“Wait a minute.” She pressed a hand to her bandaged head. “There was a fire.”
“That’s one way of putting it. Someone set that fire, okay? In the form of explosives. And I’m pretty sure you were supposed to die in it.” She stared, unblinking. “When they discovered you survived, they sent someone to finish the job. I just chased him off. At least that’s the way it looks. Whether or not any of that is true, I’m not willing to chance it. We’re leaving.” Her eyes followed him, but he saw no sign of recognition in their depths. “Will you trust me? Please?”
“Someone tried to kill me?” she whispered. “Here? In the hospital?”
“Yes.” Had he said too much? Pressed her too hard? Done irreparable damage because he hadn’t followed the nurse’s orders?
“Hand me the clothes and help me into the bathroom. I’ll be ready to leave in about sixty seconds.”
Once they’d made it out of the hospital and she’d climbed into the passenger seat of Toby’s truck, Robin leaned her head back and closed her eyes in spite of the fact adrenaline wired her. Her head wasn’t pounding nearly as hard as it had been, and she figured it was the medicine that was keeping the pain under control.
When Toby hauled himself into the driver’s seat, she had a momentary blip of panic. What was she doing? How did she know she could trust him? But what choice did she have?
She tried to remember what had happened that had brought her to this point, but all she could pull from her mind was the phone call offering her the job at the university lab last week. She frowned. No, that was impossible. Last week it had been hot and muggy at night. She’d just walked out of the hospital to find it chilly. “What day is it? What month?”
“It’s December 5th.”
“December!”
“Yes, why?”
“Because the last thing I remember is getting a phone call offering me the job at the lab. That was at the beginning of June.” She swallowed the panic that threatened to consume her. “Are you telling me I’ve lost six months?”
“That’s what it sounds like, Robin, but don’t panic.”
A laugh escaped her. She noted that the sound bordered on the edge of hysteria. “Don’t panic? Too late.”
“Come on, you heard the doctor. You’ve had a traumatic experience. Once everything settles down, your mind will feel less threatened and your memory will probably return.”
“Probably. What if it doesn’t?”
He slid his hand from the wheel to grip her fingers. “We’ll figure it out, Robin. I’m here to help you, okay?”
“Why?” she whispered. “What are you to me? Why can’t I remember you?”
He drove with precise movements, showing his comfort with handling the large vehicle. For some reason that helped settle her. “You said you remember being hired to work at the lab. But you don’t remember anything after that?”
“No. Why?”
“Because we met about a month after you started working there.”
“Oh. So, we’re friends?”
“Definitely friends.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry I don’t remember.”
“It’s okay. Or it will be. We just need to get you somewhere safe until the authorities can catch whoever blew up the lab.”
“I’m all for them catching them, but I want to know more than who it was.”
“What
