Chapter 17
Miguel and Meredith didn’t look back as they pressed through the hospital lobby doors into the sun-drenched parking lot outside.
Meredith blinked and shaded her eyes against the morning sun as her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight. She still clung to Miguel’s hand as her eyes raked the surrounding buildings, looking for a place to hide.
“Meredith?” The smooth, male voice had a surprised lilt to it.
Meredith’s attention trained onto the voice’s owner, a man who had been walking up to the lobby of the hospital. His golden eyes and dark blonde hair were familiar to her, but she couldn’t place him immediately.
“Do I know you?” she asked, glancing behind her. The orderlies were coming through the lobby doors now, headed straight for them with grim expressions on their faces. Returning her attention to the man who had said her name, she asked, “Can you get us out of here?”
He looked over her shoulder at the orderlies, understanding the situation immediately. “Yeah, come on.” He turned on his heel and led them across the parking lot, fishing his keys out of his pocket as they ran.
Behind them, the orderlies called for them to wait. Meredith didn’t look back as she heard their footsteps behind them, drawing nearer.
They reached the man’s car, a gray SUV, and scrambled inside. Miguel and Meredith slid into the back seat and buckled in as the man started the car and backed out of the parking spot, nearly hitting one of the orderlies. Meredith locked her door as the other orderly pounded on the window, yelling for them to go back inside.
Meredith breathed a sigh of relief as they drove away, leaving the orderlies standing alone in the parking lot. She looked down at her left hand, which was still clinging tightly to Miguel’s right. Their eyes met. His were so dark they were almost black, yet they held a storm of emotion.
“What changed your mind?” Meredith asked him quietly.
Miguel withdrew his hand and looked away. He said in a cool voice, “You’re the most level-headed person I know. Whatever you learned must have been pretty convincing to get you to skip the surgery.”
“Ah,” Meredith said, folding her hands together in her lap. The man drove the car onto the freeway, and Meredith was grateful to be getting as far away from the hospital as possible.
Meredith scrutinized their driver, trying to remember where she had seen him before.
He met her gaze in the rear-view mirror and asked, “Where are we going?”
With a sinking feeling, Meredith suddenly remembered who he was. “You’re that reporter from the hospital, aren’t you?”
“Nate Dowering,” he affirmed.
“What a coincidence,” Meredith said, eyes narrowed. She wondered whether he’d followed her specifically or if he had learned about Miguel. Then she remembered the other familiar face she’d seen in the hall outside Miguel’s room. “I take it your lackey has been keeping you apprised of the situation?”
“My lackey?”
“Yeah, the meathead I saw inside. The one who told you to get down here?” Meredith said hotly. “You here to collect your big story?”
“I could take you back to the hospital if you want,” Nate said smugly, knowing full well that they wouldn’t take him up on his offer. He didn’t speak as he merged with traffic, carefully checking his blind spot before shifting into the fast lane. Once he was finished, he repeated his earlier question. “So where are we going?”
Meredith hesitated. Miguel looked at her with raised brows, and she knew that she had a lot to explain to him. “We can’t go home,” she said in a gentle tone.
“That narrows it down,” Nate remarked sarcastically.
She felt her anger surge even higher as the reality of her situation hit her. She couldn’t go home, couldn’t contact her family, couldn’t return to the normal life she loved... and now she was at the mercy of a smug reporter who just wanted to exploit her.
“Go screw yourself,” she snapped. When he didn’t immediately respond, Meredith seethed quietly, watching the freeway’s red rock landscaping whiz by.
Nate let out a wearied sigh. “Obviously you guys are in some sort of trouble. I’m not the bad guy here, remember? I helped you get away.” He paused and waited for an answer that didn’t come. Then, “Why don’t I take you to the police station and you can explain it all to them?”
“No!” Meredith said sharply, her anger draining out of her as quickly as it had come. She had always been like that--quick to fire up, but just as quick to simmer back down. She took a deep breath and let it out shakily.
Miguel touched her arm gently. “Are you okay?”
Meredith looked at him sadly as she considered how much to say in front of Nate. Miguel was in the same situation now; he would have to give up his life and go into hiding, just like she did. “I just wish…” she began, searching for the words to explain the regret that she felt not only for herself, but also for him and all the other magicians that would emerge.
Miguel’s touch traveled down her arm and found her hand, and he gave it a warm squeeze. “Your level head isn’t the only reason I didn’t have the surgery,” he confessed with a wry smile.
Meredith searched his face, wondering if it was one that she would come to love. He was beautiful, with rich brown skin and soulful eyes. He had dimples in his cheeks when he smiled, and a crease between his eyebrows when he concentrated. His hair was thick and wavy, and Meredith loved the way it slid between her fingers when they kissed. In a low voice, she said, “I do want you to know me, Miguel.”
Miguel pulled her hand to his mouth and gave it a small peck. “Good.”
Nate huffed impatiently in the front seat. “Okay, the police station it is.”
“We can’t go to the police, Nate,” she said, annoyed at his intrusion. She turned her attention to the front seat reluctantly, glad that Miguel still held her hand. “I don’t even know what we would tell them.”
“Why don’t you tell me?” Nate suggested, glancing at her in the rear-view mirror. He took the overpass to switch freeways, heading into Tempe.
Meredith rolled her eyes. “So you can post our story online for the whole world to see? I don’t think so.”
“You can either tell me or tell the police,” he negotiated. “Which one will it be?”
“Fine,” Meredith growled. “Can we go somewhere to talk?” She hoped that by delaying their conversation she could use the time to think of an alternate plan, having no intention of telling Nate Dowering a thing.
“Yeah,” he said. “I’ll take you to my place. Your buddy back there could probably use a change of clothes, and I think my roommate is around his same size.”
Miguel spoke to Nate for the first time. “Thanks, man.”
The two men exchanged a glance in the mirror, and then Nate was quiet for a few moments as he watched the road. “Yeah, no problem,” he said finally. His voice sounded distracted, as his private thoughts commanded his attention.
For the rest of the drive, Meredith watched Nate’s face closely, wondering whether he was a man they could trust.