blaze to bother noticing him. Law enforcement and campus security were on-site, but until they figured out the reason for the explosions, they would have no cause to stop him. He hoped.
Once they started their investigation, if there was foul play involved—and after overhearing the conversation in the woods between the two men, he was pretty sure there was—they’d watch security footage and see him leaving in his truck. And they’d want to talk to him. Which was fine, but for now, he wanted to get Robin to a safe place where she could receive the care she needed for her head wound.
Robin woke with a start and bit back a groan, swallowing the nausea that clawed at the back of her throat. She lay still while trying to get a grip on the pain that came from every part of her. She finally registered the gentle movement beneath her. The hum of the engine, the low volume of the radio. No Christmas music on this one, but someone saying something about a fire at the university lab?
She was in a vehicle—a large one since she stretched the length of the back seat without any trouble. But who was driving? And why was she sleeping in the back? And why did her entire body hurt?
Sitting up required effort so she stayed still, her pounding temples convincing her that moving would be a mistake. She forced her mind to work. Or at least she tried to. But it rebelled. She simply couldn’t remember where the headache had come from.
Get rid of her.
She’s dead.
The words echoed, bouncing in her brain but unable to take root and tell her what they meant.
Cold fear enveloped her and the desire to run, get away, nearly strangled her. All she could see was the back of the driver’s head. Who was he? Someone who wanted her dead? Was he taking her somewhere to kill her?
Get rid of her.
She’s dead.
Her head rested behind the passenger seat so when the truck slowed to a stop, she reached up, popped the door and shoved it open.
“Robin! Stop!”
No, she had to get out. In an awkward half crawl, half lunge, she managed to propel herself from the back seat onto the asphalt.
But she couldn’t move fast enough. The pain was too much, the nausea overwhelming. She lost whatever she might have had left in her stomach.
Gentle hands held her head while she dry-heaved. “You have a concussion,” a man said. A white tissue appeared in front of her face. She took it and wiped her mouth. Then a water bottle replaced the tissue. She took that, too. Rinsed and spit. “Who are you?” she whispered.
“Look at me.”
She did. Familiarity flashed, but no name came with it. “Who are you?”
He blanched. “I’m Toby, Robin. Toby Potter.” His hand went to the wound on her forehead. “We need to get you to a doctor. We’re almost to the hospital.”
“I... I’m scared. Why am I scared?” Tremors shook her, and Toby’s look of concern deepened.
“Someone tried to kill you,” he said.
Get rid of her.
She’s dead.
She blinked. “Who?”
“I don’t know. I was hoping you could tell me.”
Robin raised a hand to her head. “I...can’t think. Everything’s a jumble. Why can’t I remember? You’re acting like I should know you. But I don’t!” Panic clawed at her.
His warm hands gripped hers and she flinched. He turned them over to look at her palms. “What happened?”
She stared at the cuts. “I don’t know. Why don’t I know?”
“It’s okay. Shh...” He pulled her to him and for some reason she let him. She needed to believe him. To believe that he wouldn’t hurt her, and he was there to help her. “You’ve had a really traumatic experience,” he said. “Give it some time and it’ll all come back to you. But for now, let’s continue on to the hospital.”
She had no words or energy left to argue. The pain was constant, and she just wanted it to go away. If Toby was out to harm her, he could have just done it. Instead, he was loading her into the front passenger seat this time. Probably so he could catch her if she tried to nose-dive out the door again.
Once she had her seat belt on, he rounded the front of the vehicle and climbed behind the wheel. “You ready?”
“I’m ready.” Ready for what, she wasn’t exactly sure, but Toby seemed to know what he was doing. And for now, that was going to have to be enough.
The remainder of the drive to the hospital didn’t take long and was, thankfully, uneventful. When Toby pulled into the parking lot, Robin was asleep, her head propped against the window. “Robin?”
She didn’t move.
“Robin, can you walk?”
She groaned and pulled away from him.
Toby rubbed his eyes, then the back of his neck. Just as he’d decided to simply carry her inside, his phone rang. Ben. “Yes?”
“Are you all right?” his friend asked.
“I’m at the hospital. I’ve got Robin with me.”
“They know she’s alive.”
“What? How?”
“The same way I know. The broken bathroom window. It’s obvious she got out.”
“It could have been anyone in that bathroom.” Toby sighed. “But they’re going to rightly assume it was her since no one else was there at the lab.” He paused. “At least I don’t think so. There were two guys in the woods where we were hiding. They were talking about making sure she was dead. I’m not sure if they were actually in the lab when it exploded, but I got the impression that they weren’t.”
“Got it.”
“And, Ben?”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t remember seeing any other cars in the parking lot except Robin’s, but that doesn’t mean someone didn’t park elsewhere and walk over. You’ll need to scour the security footage from different areas on campus.”
“Okay. Local police are already here. They’ve requested FBI presence and resources, so they made it easy for us.”
“Meaning you’re already looking into it.”
“We have a team of local and federal agencies questioning people who were on campus at the time and near the lab. So far, no one’s come up with anything useful.”
“Okay. Let me think.” Toby drummed the steering wheel for a moment. “First and foremost, Robin’s got a head wound that needs to be checked out.”
“Anything else besides the head wound?”
“Some superficial wounds to her hands. What worries me the most is the confusion and memory loss.” He paused. “She doesn’t know me.”
“Oh no. That doesn’t sound good.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Okay, get her checked out but don’t linger. They’re probably going to be checking the hospitals. I’m going to be gathering information on this end and see if I can figure out who’s behind the blast. You just keep her safe.”
“Got it. Bye.” He gave her a gentle shake and frowned when she only blinked and closed her eyes again. He gave up and went around to the passenger side, hefted her slight form in his arms and carried her into the emergency department. With one eye behind him and one in front, he caught the attention of the triage nurse. “Got an