Rio focused on his face for the first time since he’d walked through the door into those private quarters. He looked . . . exhausted nearly to the point of sickness, with black circles under his eyes and lids at half-mast. Although she couldn’t tell whether the latter was because he still thoroughly disapproved of what she’d insisted she do.
“I won’t,” she said as she tucked the kilo against her. “Can you take me directly to the clinic?”
“Can’t you just tell me what to do? You can stay with Apex and Mayhem in the private quarters—”
“I’ll answer that the same way I did to Apex. At least I know what I’m doing.”
Luke cursed. Then rubbed his head like it hurt. “Look, we can’t stay down there long. This place is going to start waking up soon. Once that happens, we need to get you out fast and it’s easiest from where we were. All we do is go right out the other door.”
She left that potential argument alone and headed for the exit—except then she doubled back and went around behind the desk. Going through the drawers, she pulled them open one by one—
“Thank God,” she muttered as she reached into the big one down by the floor.
“What is it?”
“Narcan pens. In case I get it wrong.”
The entire drawer was full of them, loose and out of their boxes, like their use was a fairly normal occurrence. She speared into the collection and took as many as she could fit in her fist. Then she shoved them at Luke, making him hold the load.
“Okay, we’re ready.”
Luke filled his pockets with the pens. And then stared across the space at her.
“What,” she demanded.
“We go down there, you do whatever you have to, and then we’re going back to those private quarters.”
“All right. Fine.”
Lucan emerged from the workroom first. Apex and Mayhem were right out in the hall, guns that they’d lifted from the Executioner’s stash by their sides. They hadn’t changed into the uniforms of the guards, but the weapons spoke for themselves. If any prisoners happened to break curfew and run into them? No questions would be asked.
And up here? Well, the Executioner pegged on that wall like a side of beef was a helluva banner.
“We’re going to the clinic,” he said. But as if those males didn’t know what the plan was?
Lucan stayed by Rio as the four of them proceeded down the corridor. Rio kept looking around like she couldn’t believe the scale of the operation.
“Checking out to see if we can take care of your boss’s needs?” he heard himself say bitterly. After all, Executioner or not, he shouldn’t kid himself. There were still drugs that had to be sold, weren’t there.
She glanced over her shoulder. “I’ll tell him all about it when I see him.”
As she refocused ahead of herself, he pictured her back in Caldwell, living her life. Without him. The stab of pain in his chest made him wonder why he couldn’t pull out of this . . . whatever it was . . . with her. Deal or no deal, she was going back down south. He was staying here.
But hey, they’d be able to see each other as they made new deals.
How fucking romantic.
When they came to the stairwell, he opened the door and put his palm up so she didn’t immediately follow him. Then he sniffed at the air and listened.
“The nurse is already down there,” Apex said. “I told her we needed her.”
Lucan nodded and motioned Rio through. As they jogged a descent, the other two brought up the rear.
When they got to the bottom floor underground, he didn’t need to tell Rio where to go, which turns to take, how to be as quiet as she could. She went right down to the clinic and immediately inside.
The second they all entered the storage room, the curtain around Kane’s bed was pulled back, the nurse’s flowing robes like an extension of that which fell from the ceiling.
“You shall not hurt him?” the female said from behind the mesh covering her face.
Rio shook her head gravely. “No, never. I just . . . want to help.”
“I never dared to try to secure any of that.” The nurse pointed out from under a voluminous sleeve, her gloved hand shaking as if she were emotional. “It’s secured and difficult to obtain, and if you are found with it, the consequences are dire.”
“I understand. Do you have any distilled water? Or boiled water?”
“Yes, here. Come.”
As the females disappeared behind the draping, Lucan crossed his arms so that the gun in his hand pointed out behind his armpit. “I’m not going in there.”