Big Data: A Startup Thriller Novel

Chapter 52

I begged Heath for hours to go back and get Alex, but he said we couldn't. That it would be too big of a risk. But I felt I was risking everything every moment I was away from him. Heath took me back to his hotel suite to rest. I slept only a few minutes at a time, between obsessively checking the news to see if I could learn anything more about Alex's condition. The news mentioned a crash and fatality on El Camino Real, but nothing about any guns, and they were not releasing names. It was driving me mad.

I called the local hospitals. But I couldn't remember Alex's last name. And trying to describe him wasn't getting me anywhere. Heath didn't sleep, either. He was working on something on his laptop, letting me freak out in peace.

"What are you working on, anyway?" I finally asked. "And how did you know I was about to be killed?"

"I followed you from the coffee shop," Heath said, not bothering to look up from his laptop.

"Why?"

"I told you, I don't trust Alex. I'm your lawyer. It's my duty to protect you."

I laughed.

"You're my lawyer, not my bodyguard."

He looked up at me with eyes full of something I couldn't place. Then he shrugged.

"Luna, you know you're knee-deep in shit, don't you? You're in the crosshairs of some very nasty people. You can't trust anyone."

"Can I trust you?"

He stared at me in silence for a long moment.

"Of course you can. I'm your lawyer."

"You keep saying that like it means something. If memory serves, you're technically Ancien's lawyer, aren't you? I mean, it's Ancien paying the bills, not me, right?"

He didn't respond. He went back to typing.

"I want to go," I said. "I need to go—now."

"No. As I said, we're waiting here for a while."

"Waiting for what?"

"For it to be safe."

"For who? I want to go." I stood up. "I'm going, and you can't stop me."

Heath slammed his laptop shut and got up.

"Fine. Fine. Where do you want to go?"

"The hospital in Stanford. I need to check on a friend."

There was a knock at the door. I saw Heath look toward the door, his eyebrows furrowed. My heart skipped a beat. My mouth felt like I'd been chewing a large ball of tinfoil.

As Heath went to see who it was, I ran to the bathroom. I kept the door open a crack so I could see. Peeking through the slit, I saw Heath checking the peephole. He kept the chain on as he opened the door.

"Room service, sir. I was just checking to see if you needed a fresh pot of coffee."

"No, thank you, we were just about to leave."

Heath started to close the door, but the man stuck his foot in the crack.

"Are you sure? I have a fresh pot right here. I was told to come by at six every day."

Heath looked confused, then all at once he seemed to understand. He grabbed something from his pocket. I couldn't see what it was, but I assumed it was cash. He stuffed it through the door, and the foot disappeared. Heath shut the door.

"Where'd you go, Luna? Are we going to the hospital or not?"

I flushed the toilet and ran some water in the sink. I splashed my face.

"I'm ready when you are," I called back.