was also the one who had gotten her into this. And beside that, he was—
The sound of a chime from the other end of the corridor put a halt to her list of Ethan Snow’s crimes and attributes. The chances that the occupant of that arriving elevator was her captor were remote. Unless…
She tried to picture the elevator bank where she’d pulled off her escape. Had the floors where the elevators stopped been shown above each car? If so, it was possible he’d tracked her by simply watching those numbers flash by until the elevator had stopped on this particular floor.
The spurt of adrenaline produced by that realization pushed her to increase her speed. Breathless, she finally rounded a corner to see a small offset with a double bank of elevators.
She rushed into the center of it, pushing the up and down arrows on both sides repeatedly. Rationally she knew that wouldn’t make them arrive any quicker, but she felt she had so little control over what was happening that doing something—even if it were pointless—seemed to help.
The first car to arrive was going down. And it was empty. As she stepped in and pushed the close-door button, she heard what sounded like someone running down the corridor she’d just traversed.
The footsteps were heavy. A man’s hard-soled shoes, slamming against the polished tile with each step.
When the elevator doors closed, she leaned, weak and panting, against the cool metal wall before she realized she hadn’t made a floor selection. She straightened, looking at the control panel. The only lighted indicator was for the first floor. If she didn’t do something soon—
The chime and a soft bump indicated it was too late to change her destination. An upward glance at the numbers above the doors confirmed she had already arrived on the main floor.
Maybe that would be an advantage, she told herself. More people. More protection. Security guards.
The doors opened to reveal none of those things. She was in another offset hallway, the corridor that fronted it as deserted as had been the one she’d just left.
Except for the sound of those running footsteps, she amended.
She shot a look above the elevator she’d just exited, which confirmed her worst fears. The numbers of all the floors were displayed, the L, for lobby, now brightly lit.
He would have been able to follow her from floor to floor, so the footsteps she’d heard had undoubtedly been his. Which meant there wasn’t a moment to lose. As soon as he could get an elevator, he’d follow her down here, too.
She ran out into the corridor and turned right without taking time to look at the signs on the wall. Her most immediate need was to get away from the elevators. As far away from them as she could before he arrived.
Despite the rather obvious fact that this wasn’t a major hallway of the hospital, she passed far more people than she had since she’d made her escape. Not enough to constitute a crowd. Certainly not enough to hide among.
Several stopped and gaped as she ran by. Belatedly she realized that calling attention to herself like this meant that any of them would be able to describe her to her pursuer and tell him exactly which direction she’d been heading.
She slowed to a walk, at the same time trying to ease her ragged breathing. Trying desperately now to blend in with the other visitors.
Suddenly the corridor she’d been following came to an abrupt end. Her two choices were clearly communicated by the arrows on the wall. The one that pointed to the left said Main Lobby. The other indicated that it led to the financial and administrative offices. And the cafeteria.
She hesitated, weighing the advantages and disadvantages of entering either of the most public areas of the hospital. Could they possibly have someone watching the main entrances and exits in case she managed to escape from the man with the gun?
If so, she’d be better off following the arrow that led to the business offices. There would be plenty of exits there. Fire doors if nothing else. And at this point she wasn’t averse to setting off some alarms.
She adjusted the strap of her purse more securely over her shoulder, taking a quick look behind her. The man who’d held a gun to her back wasn’t behind her. Not yet at least.
She turned in the direction leading away from the lobby, walking purposefully down the cross corridor. There were a comforting number of people, most of them probably headed to the cafeteria. The smell of food was tantalizingly close, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast.
She walked past the line of patrons waiting to go in, careful to keep her face turned away from the glass-enclosed serving area. Beyond the relatively crowded entrance lay a broad hall, whose tile floor gleamed empty and inviting.
Business offices. Administration and finance. All she had to do now was to find an outside door—
Just as she congratulated herself on having successfully evaded her pursuer, a masculine hand closed painfully tight around her elbow.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
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