So, maybe her attackers didn’t know she was here at the hospital. Not yet anyway. But word of that would soon get around. Not many secrets stayed secret in a small town.
“That means the men who hit the house were working for Hale,” Eli spelled out. “They wouldn’t have known where she was without that signal.”
“Probably,” Noah said. “But that tracker didn’t get there yesterday. It could’ve been with her the whole time she was at the Hale Institute. Which means Cyrus Hale might not be the only one who knew.”
Eli felt the cold ripple of that implication run down his spine. “Her grandfather.”
Delaney looked over quickly at Noah. “Where is he?”
Noah’s mouth pulled into a tight line. “At his estate near San Antonio. We’ve tried contacting him, but his staff says he’s unavailable. No calls taken, no visitors allowed.”
Delaney’s jaw clenched. “That’s convenient.”
Eli glanced toward the waiting room door, back in the direction of Olivia’s mother. “Does Vivian know?”
Noah shook his head. “Not yet. Not until we know more.”
Eli nodded slowly. The tracker changedeverything. It meant they hadn’t just stumbled into a breach. Someone had planned this. Planted that device. Waited.
He glanced at Delaney. She looked as tense as he felt.
If Olivia had been marked from the start, then Ava might be even deeper in danger.
Eli looked up when he spotted some movement just up the hallway. A nurse in navy scrubs approached, her expression tight with fatigue.
“Excuse me,” she said. “Are you Eli Tarrant and Delaney Hart?”
Eli straightened. “That’s us.”
The nurse nodded. “Olivia asked to see you. She said she wanted to speak with the man and woman who rescued her.”
Before Eli could respond, Vivian came hurrying out of the waiting room, Grant right on her heels.
“My daughter’s finished with her exam?” Vivian asked, eyes wide. “Can I see her?”
The nurse hesitated for just a second, then said carefully, “Olivia was very specific. She asked to see the two people who brought her out of the woods. She said she’ll speak to her mother after that.”
Vivian blinked, stunned for a moment. Grant put a steadying hand on her back. Eli noted that he didn’t look stunned. He looked pissed.
“I understand,” Vivian murmured, though hervoice cracked around the words. “Just please… tell her I’m here.”
“I will,” the nurse said gently. Then she turned back to Eli and Delaney. “Follow me.”
Eli caught Delaney’s eye. Her jaw was tight, her hand drifting briefly toward the rubber band on her wrist before falling away.
They walked behind the nurse in silence, past curtained rooms and rolling gurneys, toward whatever waited for them behind Olivia Camden’s hospital door.
The nurse led them down a quiet corridor and stopped outside one of the private rooms near the end. A security officer stood nearby, arms folded, stationed at the door like a silent warning.
“She’s stable,” the nurse said quietly. “Dehydrated and bruised, but no internal injuries. She’s on fluids, mild sedatives, and we’ve already run a full trauma panel. We’ll keep her for observation at least overnight.”
Eli nodded his thanks. The nurse gave them a final look, then opened the door.
Inside, the room was dim but clean, the blinds pulled halfway down against the morning light. Machines beeped steadily near the bed, monitoring heart rate and blood pressure. An IV bag hung from a metal stand, tubing running to the crook of Olivia’s arm. A nurse’s cart sat nearby, neatly stocked.
Olivia looked impossibly small in the hospital bed, her dark hair tangled across the pillow. Abruise shadowed her left cheekbone, and fresh bandages covered a scrape on her temple. Her hospital gown was loose, too big on her frame, and her eyes—when they turned toward the door—were raw with exhaustion.
But she was awake.
