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As he approached, a nurse rose from behind the desk and hurried past him. An empty chair sat outside the observation unit. Security must be busy elsewhere. How convenient. Zep slipped inside the room, finding only one of the two beds occupied.
The olive-skinned man in the bed had a bandage around his left shoulder. Brodie’s bullet had missed the heart, but shattered his collarbone. He seemed in his own world until he saw Zep approach, then his eyes narrowed and he tried to sit up.
“You know who I am?”
Kypianos nodded, a snarl splitting his mouth.
“You threatened my daughter.”
“Just following orders.”
The rage coursing through his veins quieted, his heart thumped steadily in his chest. Zep snatched the pillow from behind Kypianos’s head and pressed it down onto his face. The other man struggled, punching his fists into Zep’s arms, his feet kicking out beneath the blankets. Zep leaned all of his weight forward, pinning his head to the bed and placing his knee on Kypianos’s chest.
Kypainos struggled against the pillow for three or four minutes. This wasn’t some scene in a movie—suffocation takes a long time. But panicking makes it worse. After five minutes, the fight went out of him. Zep kept his grip firm for another two minutes. He removed the pillow and checked for a pulse. Satisfied the man was dead, Zep replaced the pillow under his head, tucked the blanket back in around his legs and closed his eyes.
The chair outside the room, and the nurses’ station, was still empty when he emerged. Keeping a reasonable pace, he walked back down the corridor and followed the signs to reception. He waved his goodbye to the ladies at the help desk and walked out the front door.
Mick picked up on the first ring.
“Let me know when the cops arrive.”
Mick chuckled. “Will do.”
Chapter 11
In the light of a new day, Abby was fuming. What the actual hell was going on? Her mother had made drawings of an outlaw motorcycle gang member and some stranger had turned up on her mother’s doorstep… looking for Abby.
She’d spent the morning at the police station going over her statement and confirming the man brought into the hospital with gunshot wounds was her assailant. His name was Nikos Kypianos, and he was not a member of The Devils MC. Apparently, he had links to a crime syndicate based in Melbourne. What any of this had to do with Abby was a complete mystery. There was no reason they’d be targeting Scott either.
Abby suspected the answer may well lay with her mother. It was taking every ounce of her self-control not to confront Rachel and demand answers.
But first, she needed to deal with Nikos Kypianos. Arriving at the hospital, she and Scott only got as far as the doors to the General Ward. Three nervous-looking hospital security guards blocked the way and were not interested in hearing anything she had to say. Kypianos had been placed in a bed just metres from her mum. He was being treated as a victim, rather than the criminal he clearly was. Scott’s request for a uniform at the door had been ignored, and Abby intended to let the hospital administration know that their current measures were not good enough.
“I’m sorry, Miss Sloane, we can’t let you onto the ward.” The security guard had dark hair and eyes that were full of doubt. He was barely an inch taller than her and that was possibly the result of the heavy boots he was wearing.
“My mother is on that ward, and I insist on seeing her.” The anger she’d struggled to keep contained all morning was dangerously close to erupting.
“Abby?” One of the nurses appeared behind the guard. “I promise you, Rachel is fine. It shouldn’t be much longer. Why don’t you go and get yourself a coffee?” The older woman gave her a sympathetic smile.
She opened her mouth to argue when Scott touched her arm, gesturing for him to follow her. She hadn’t even noticed him step away until he’d appeared again. Abby glared at the guards and the nurse, before following Scott back through the corridor.
“Where are we going? I want to see Mum.” She realised he was leading her back outside and halted. She stopped short of stamping her foot.
“Abby, please?” Scott came back to stand in front of her, keeping his voice low. “I found out what’s going on, but I don’t want to talk in here.” He headed for the exit again.
Abby clenched her fists at her side. He knew she’d follow him, the infuriating bastard. Why could no one just tell her what the hell was happening?
Once outside, Scott kept walking until he reached a tree offering shade and privacy. Abby wanted to scream. Instead, she stood before him and tried to school her face into a facade of calm. She wasn’t confident she’d succeeded.
“It’s Kypianos.”
Her heart rate spiked painfully in her chest.
“He’s dead.”
Shock numbed her alarm. “I thought his injuries weren’t life threatening?”
Scott shook his head. “They weren’t.”
