Fight or Flight by Natalie J. Damschroder Page A

she’s on her way here…”
    “They’ll intercept her en route. I’m not lying here waiting patiently for it to happen. I’m going after her. I won’t let you stop me,” she warned. “I got the best of five guys who tried to kill me. Or something,” she amended, remembering the things they’d said. “I can get the best of you.”
    He smiled briefly. “I doubt it. But you don’t need to. I’m coming with you.”
    “Tyler.”
    “Look, I’ll cut to the chase, Regan. I know a lot more than you think, maybe more than you do. I can’t tell you who I work for or what I know. But I can tell you this.”
    He waited for her to focus her full attention on him. Her blood chilled at the hardness in his eyes.
    “You won’t get very far against these people without me.”

Chapter Four
    “Would you please get me something to wear?” Regan repeated softly. She looked steadily at Tyler, who eyed her mistrustfully but left her alone for a minute.
    Regan sank onto the bed once he was gone and rested her head on her good hand. She had to think. Her brain was still fuzzy, her reactions slow. It was an effort to talk, and she was in no condition to drive. Tyler was willing to, so she should be grateful.
    But he knew things. She had no idea what or why, which meant he couldn’t be trusted.
    Well, she didn’t have to trust him in order to use him.
    He returned a few minutes later with a set of navy blue scrubs and a pair of shower shoes.
    “Best I can do.” He dropped them onto the bed next to her. “I half expected you to be gone.”
    Regan saw no need to lie to him. “I thought about it.” She started to pull the gown forward to take it off. Tyler spun around and she smiled. “You saw me naked already, Tyler.”
    He just kind of grunted.
    “I would have left if I wasn’t drugged. I’ll let you drive.”
    “Gee, thanks.” He took a deep breath and turned back around. “You’re going to need help with that.” Regan had managed to get the scrub top over her head and her right arm through, but couldn’t handle the left arm. Tyler unhooked the sling at the back of her neck and supported her arm while he pulled the top into place, then reconnected the sling and made sure her arm was properly seated in it. She ground her teeth, hard, to avoid hissing with the pain, but it subsided once her arm was still again.
    “Thank you.” She lifted her feet as he held the pants and pulled them up to her knees. “I can take it from here, since I’m going commando,” she told him. He backed off and looked away again. “What time did Kelsey call?”
    “Nearly an hour ago,” he said. “She’s probably halfway here.”
    “We need to get moving.” She shoved her feet into the rubber flip-flops and headed for the door.
    “You need to be discharged,” he said.
    Regan stopped and stared over her shoulder. “Kelsey is in danger, and you think I want to bother with paperwork? You’re a Goody Two-Shoes, Sloane.”
    He shrugged and held the door as she went through. “I guess.”
    Regan walked as fast as she could past the nurses’ station. The nurses there didn’t even look up. The elevator doors opened right away, and Tyler barely got through before she punched the “close” button inside. She stared at the numbers as they ticked down, wishing it didn’t feel so much like ticking toward doomsday.
    Alan. Oh, Alan. Any strength she had held on to drained as she remembered. For the first time in years, tears rolled down her cheeks. It was her fault he was dead. If she hadn’t let down her guard, he wouldn’t even have been in the house when they came after her.
    “Hey.” Tyler’s hand landed on her good shoulder, squeezing gently. “You okay?”
    She sucked it up, pulled it all inside and shrugged him off. But she didn’t answer. How could she?
    “Did anyone call Alan’s mom?” she asked.
    “The police will take care of it.”
    She nodded. The elevator dinged and the doors opened. She let Tyler go through