“Sorry. I thought that would be better.”

A sticky residue from the tape coated my cheeks, wrists and ankles. “That’s okay.” I touched his arm. “Thanks.”

He gave me a shy smile. “You certainly keep a guy hopping.” Bubba Boom freed a few strands of my hair that had stuck to my cheek, and tucked them behind my ear. “Doctor Lamont’s on the way.”

“I’m fine. Just starving.”

He took my right hand in his. Turning my wrist, he traced the tiny scar on my forearm. “We would have found you sooner if you hadn’t taken the tracer out.”

“We?”

“Hank and the others. And Doctor Lamont. We’ve all been searching for you.”

“Did she rat me out about the tracer?”

“No, but we figured it out pretty quick.” He grew serious. “Who locked you in here?”

“Sloan.”

He nodded as if expecting that answer. “Who were the two guys who took you from the infirmary?”

“Jacy’s goons. I don’t know their names.”

“Do you know why they grabbed you?”

“I think Jacy found out about my tracer. He wanted to know what I had been doing and I wouldn’t tell him. It’s obvious he’s up to something and he thought I’d figure it out and cause trouble.”

“So he made a preemptive strike,” Bubba Boom said.

“Sounds like—”

“Trella!” Lamont rushed into the room. She dropped her medical bag and wrapped me in a tight hug. Her muscles trembled.

Stunned, I didn’t move.

“I’ve been so worried!” She pulled away to look at me. “Are you all right? If they’ve hurt you, I’ll dismember them without antiseptic and feed them to Chopper one tiny bit at a time.”

Impressive. All I wished to do was slap Sloan a few times.

“Can you walk? I want to do a full scan right away.” Lamont checked my pulse.

“I’m fine. Just really thirsty and hungry.” I appealed to Bubba Boom. “Can you come with me to the cafeteria?”

But Lamont wouldn’t take the hint. “I’ll come along. You haven’t eaten in at least twenty-six hours. You’ll need to be careful about what you put into your stomach.”

“Twenty-six hours? Are you sure?” That seemed too long. I wondered if Logan had been successful and what was going on with the Outsiders.

“Oh yes. I felt every one of them.” Lamont thumped her chest. “You were stunned and, since you’re small, it probably knocked you out for ten to twelve hours.”

Funny, I didn’t remember being unconscious. I’d been stunned before and hadn’t blacked out.

Bubba Boom helped me stand. The room spun for a moment and my knees considered buckling. He put his arm around my shoulders, steadying me before we headed to the cafeteria.

Our ragtag group caused quite the stir in the dining room. At this point, I didn’t care. Lamont fetched me a tray of food. Then everything blurred together as if a part of me had already fallen asleep. Gulping water, eating, returning to the infirmary and being tucked into bed by Bubba Boom combined into one long dream.

Before leaving, he kissed my forehead. I slid my hand into my pocket and clutched my pendant as I slipped into a deeper sleep.

When I woke, I took a long, scalding hot shower. Lamont descended on me as soon as I finished, ordering me to eat a large bowl of her special soup. I needed to visit Logan, but she wouldn’t let me leave until I agreed to a full physical.

I stifled the desire to argue and remind her of her promise not to mother me. Her medical request bordered on overprotectiveness. However, it had been nice to know people had been upset by my abduction and had been looking for me. Before I had gotten involved in the search for Gateway, I could have died in the pipes and only Cog would have cared.

“Aside from some bruising, a couple strained muscles and slight dehydration, you’re in good health,” Lamont said.

I jumped down from the examination table glad to be done.

“Do you really need to leave so soon?” she asked. “You should rest and rehydrate.”

“There’s too much going on right now. I’ll rest later,” I said.

I debated if I should climb into the shafts or not. Almost everyone in Inside knew about the tracer. Deciding not to risk being seen in the wrong place by the wrong people, I returned to my room.

Lamont trailed after me. “Trella, wait.”

I turned. She hovered in the doorway, uncertain and vulnerable. Not Doctor Lamont, but Kiana Garrard. Interesting how she morphed from one to the other. At least I had some warning that this wasn’t medical.

“You understood my clues, right? You knew there were two armed men waiting to ambush you.”

“Yes. That’s why I dropped in from the ceiling and tried to stun them.” I still needed to get my gun back from Jacy.

“Why did you come? You could have saved yourself twenty-six hours of suffering. You had to know they wouldn’t hurt me, and yet you came anyway and ended up turning yourself over to them.”

Ah. A good question. Did I have a good answer? Was it because she was my mother? Or because she was an excellent doctor? Or because I was the reason she had been targeted in the first place? How about all of the above?

Riley’s comment from the maintenance closet replayed in my mind. “It’s what I do. I guess you could say it’s my role or job. Rushing to the rescue, and doing what I can so others don’t suffer.” I spread my hands, trying to find the right words. “I don’t really think about it, I just react and hope for the best.” I shrugged. “Worked so far.”