her arm.
She pulled the connection out of the port and waited with her heart pounding. Long seconds passed, and she felt pretty normal, all things considered. Cautiously she pushed herself up and immediately felt light-headed. Easing back down, she waited for a few more minutes, then looked up again. She could see Grant and Terry still staring at the screen, their backs to her. All she could do was pray that they were they both caught up enough in the VR drama so she could get out of here without their being the wiser.
She rocked back and forth in the bed, getting used to the feel of her muscles working.
Praying she wasn’t going to fall on her face and staying low, she swung her body over the side of the bed and eased down so that she was standing on the floor. It was a shock to feel the cold tiles under her bare feet, and she fought not to cry out. Instinctively, she clamped her hands on the rails and hung on.
She’d been horizontal for so long. Now she was seized by a wave of dizziness as though all the blood was rushing out of her head.
Glancing across the room, she saw the men were still focused on what was happening in the VR.
She wanted to get away before one of them turned around, but if she tried to move fast, she knew she would end up on her face. How much time did she have? There was no way of knowing.
Moving very quietly, she eased to the next bed, and saw Tom Wright lying there, his lips turned up in a grin.
It looked like he was having a good time in the imaginary world Art Landon had created. Turning her head away, she tried not to think about what he was probably doing.
Making sure Grant and Terry were still focused on the screen, she moved to the next bed—heading for the room where Mack and Lily had changed their clothes. There was no way to move quickly, and it seemed to take forever to reach the door. But finally she knew she was out of the men’s sight if one of them happened to turn around. Of course, there was still the danger that Terry would make another sweep through the beds.
Hoping he was too absorbed in the drama unfolding in the VR, Jenny eased along the wall, still unsteady on her feet. She’d planned this escape, but she hadn’t been absolutely sure she had the guts—or the stamina—to do what was necessary.
Breathing hard from the exertion, she sat down on the bench next to the clothes Lily had laid there. After stripping off her hospital gown with a shaky hand, she pulled Lily’s knit top over her head, thankful that the doctor was about her size. Next she pulled on the woman’s slacks and sat panting from the effort. Too bad everything she did seemed to take hours and drain her of energy. Now she understood that when she’d pictured herself walking out of the building, she hadn’t been realistic. But she wasn’t going to wimp out. Either she’d make it out of here, or she’d get caught.
By Grant? When she thought of the way he’d look when he discovered her escape attempt, she felt like the floor was falling away from under her. He’d be confused. Angry. And he’d feel betrayed. She was sure of that. So she’d better not let him catch her.
Unsteadily, she pulled on Lily’s socks and shoes.
Finally dressed, she dragged in a breath and let it out. She had come this far, and she wasn’t going to give up. But she was beginning to think she had to do a couple of things that were going to make her feel even worse than she did now.
Teeth gritted, she looked around the room and spotted a bank of lockers. After tottering over to them, she steadied herself with one hand while she opened doors with the other. She found the one Lily had used.
Before she could change her mind, she took out the other woman’s purse. Rummaging inside she found her keys. She opened more lockers and found a set of men’s clothes. Mack’s she hoped.
Why was it better to steal from him than from Terry Montrose? she asked herself as she opened his wallet.
He had what looked like $250