Chapter 7 - The Wrong Brother
Mara rushed forward—and stopped.
The man was younger than Evan, with a jagged scar above one eyebrow. His bracelet had been cut and soldered back together. He looked up with frightened gray eyes.
“My name is Noah Bell,” he said. “Your brother gave this to me.”
Mara's hope collapsed into fury. “Why?”
“Because they were hunting him. He told me the bracelet was a signal. If I made it to the hospital, someone would know he'd sent me.”
Priya closed the door. “Noah was brought in with a concussion the same night a body was recovered from the river. I reported that his blood type didn't match the identification documents attached to Evan's file. An administrator changed my note.”
“Then whose body was buried?” Mara asked.
“No one has proved that yet,” Priya said. “The remains were badly damaged, and the identification was rushed.”
Noah pulled a damp piece of paper from his pocket. “Evan said to tell Mara about the orange lunchbox.”
Mara stared at him. She and Evan had used an orange metal lunchbox to hide birthday money under the stairs when they were children. Nobody else knew.
“Where is he?”
Noah shook his head. “He sent me out through a loading dock. He went the other way. I heard a fight.”
“And Daniel?”
“He came later. He tried to stop them. I saw Price put a gun to his head.”
A knock sounded at the door. Priya opened it a crack. An orderly stood there, white-faced.
“Doctor, security says two officers are asking for the patient under your care.”
Priya stared at his empty hands. “Security normally calls. Who sent you?”
The orderly blinked, then bolted down the hall.
“There's a back exit,” Priya said. “Noah can take the service stairs.”
Mara reached for him, but he flinched.
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“There's one more thing,” Noah whispered. “Evan told me the money wasn't the real crime. It was the list of people they chose not to protect.”
A gunshot cracked somewhere in the hospital lobby.
