Resisting Ruby Rose (The Ruby Rose Series) by Jessie Humphries Page B

would be to leave Chase alone at this hospital—and not to mention how unlikely it was we could slip out unnoticed after our incredibly suspicious behavior. In fact, I was surprised that we hadn’t already been questioned by the two feeble senior citizen security guards we passed on our way in.
    Yet Quinn had his hand outstretched to mine, his eyes urging me to exit the hospital with him immediately. Alana was still in the car, unwilling or unable to even enter the ER, but I wasn’t ready to leave.
    “No, I won’t abandon him here,” I said, shaking my head at his gesture to follow orders. “The doctors need information: his parents’ names and phone numbers, his blood typ e . . . ”
    “No, they don’t. They need to get him into surgery, and they need you out of the way,” Quinn said, patient but firm. “Just trust me. Chase will be fine. I can’t convince you of everything right here, right now, but you need to come with me.”
    “I don’t need to do anything,” I snapped back. I was reaching my limit of calm cooperation. I’d let him barge in, shove me against walls, and play boss for a little too long. “Why won’t you tell me where Liam and Sofia are? I’ve seen you communicating with her.”
    “I swear that if you walk out of here right now with me, I’ll tell you everything. Remember? That was our deal. You help us get out of the cabin alive, and I tell you everything. But this isn’t exactly the place to do it. We’ve already lucked out in that rural hospital security leaves much to be desired, but I guarantee local police will be arriving any moment. Chase is going to recover whether we stay here or not. The question is whether you want to be in custody when he does. Got it?”
    “I get it, but—” I said, looking around for any burly mountain cops responding to a call about a teenager with gunshot wounds. A few uniforms just coming in fit the bill. Maybe calm cooperation was exactly what I needed. “Fine.”
    When we got back to the car, Alana had curled up into a ball in the backseat, despite all the blood. She was in shock, with no idea what w e’d just done—left the boy she loved at the hospital alone. It was too awful to acknowledge.
    “Alana?” I said gently from the passenger seat, wanting to make some sort of contact. “You OK?”
    She didn’t answer or even open her eyes. It was as if her body and mind had turned off completely, too overwhelmed to stay conscious.
    I let Quinn get some distance from the hospital before I considered breaking the silence between us. The sleek digital clock read 5:52 a.m., and the sky behind the mountain was showing signs of dawn.
    “Where are we going?” I asked, checking my rearview mirror for any flashing lights.
    “Don’t freak out,” Quinn started, which made me freak out, of course, “but Sofia and Liam sort of totaledyour car. Don’t worry, though—only the car was injured. They’re alive and well, but unfortunately on foot.”
    As much as I was relieved that Liam was OK, my chest tightened at hearing I’d lost Big Black. He wasn’t only a car. He was my refuge and escape, not to mention a tie to my dad that I’d never get back. From Black’s custom speakers to his tailored sound system, I loved him. So much for things not being able to break my heart.
    “Didn’t you hear me?” Quinn asked. “I said Liam is fine.”
    Ashamed of myself, I tried to focus on the person I loved who was still alive.
    “On foot where?” I asked, gripping the armrest, as if Quinn’s beautiful car could comfort me.
    “Still in the mountains, and we need to get to them before anyone else does.” Quinn’s speed was reaching a record that I’d never dared myself. “And I’m not just talking about Martinez’s men. If Sergeant Mathews or anyone on his team gets involved, things get tricky. So this is what I am going to ask you to do: call Mathews.” Quinn trespassed into my personal space and reached into my pocket for my phone.
    “And