I turned to Jerry. He was about the same build, only a few inches taller. “Give me your shirt and shoes.”
Jerry laughed and took a step back. “Bugger off.”
“Here,” Jinx said as he worked on the buttons of his uniform. “I’m a big guy, but I don’t think you care.” His uniform dropped to the ground, and he peeled off his under shirt and tossed it over to me. Next went his shoes.
“Thanks, mate. You’re a good man, I owe you one,” I slid the second one on, “You can grab mine from my dorm.” I turned to Lynch. “Let’s go.”
Lynch never cuffed me, and the ride to the hospital was tormenting. Visions of Mia lying on the floor covered in glass and blood filtered through my mind on non-stop replay.
She hadn’t left longer than ten minutes before a sickness crept inside me, and I’d known something wasn’t right. Oxygen had been sucked from the space around me, and walking to the community bathroom turned into a struggle in itself. All my senses had known the worst, but my heart hung on to the glimmer of hope as I’d pushed that door open.
And there she had been, my little explosion of hope.
It was as if a part of me left my body, running to her as the rest of me, the weak part, stood fucking frozen and unable to comprehend the scene laid out before me. My soul cried out, and my spirit died a thousand deaths in a matter of four seconds before my feet registered, treading through the glass, caring about one bloody thing—to get to her.
Still, I couldn’t feel the glass in my feet.
The only thing I felt was the ache in my chest.
I looked out before me in a daze as the city passed us by. Closing my eyes became impossible when it was all I wanted to do. The fog of fear trapped me.
“Oliver?” Lynch’s tone came out harsh and loud, pulling me out of the daze. I didn’t bother meeting his gaze as he whipped through winding roads to the hospital. “How did you know?”
It didn’t matter.
Lynch exhaled and rubbed his palm over his balding head before returning it over the wheel, and his thumb tapped to whatever mantra repeated in his head. “She can’t know. You can’t tell her,” he continued.
I remained silent for a moment, neither confirming or denying I’d keep his secret. I’d do whatever was best for Mia.
“Your eyes,” my voice came out low and quiet, “She has your eyes.”
My lips sucked in, and I was finally able to close my own eyes.
Mia had to be okay. She had to be okay.
“We’re here,” Lynch stated and the car whipped into a space in the car park. Before the gear moved to park, I was already out and running toward the entrance. Nothing moved fast enough. Even the air and blood pumping through me couldn’t keep up with my racing thoughts and stride.
“Mia Rose Jett,” my bloody hands trembled over the desk as the receptionist looked up in horror. “What room?”
“Sir, you need to si—
My fist slammed against the desk. “What room?”
People walked all around me. The energy from the crowd ricocheted off me, not able to touch me. Nothing could touch me.
“Are you family?” she asked with a raise of her testing brow.
The sudden hand on my shoulder was Lynch’s as he took over the conversation. “Jett is a patient of mine. I need an update on her status.”
My jaw tensed, and I shrugged his arm off me and broke out into a run through the double swinging doors. My eyes hit every inch of the place as I walked in circles, gripping my hair and my eyes burning from trying to keep it together for Mia. She had to be okay.
“Mia Jett?” I asked as a nurse passed by with her head down, and I stepped out in front of her. “Please, what room?”
Her attention landed on me. Her gaze roamed over me, studying me and judging me, then turned to her clipboard in her hands. “Umm … Jett? Uh … Mia, Mia, Mia … Ah there,” she looked back at me. She’s in the OR. You can wait with the officer in the waiting area until she’s released.”
Her tiny pale finger pointed behind me, and I turned my head back to see Scott behind a glass wall in a closed-off room down the hall, pacing in circles.
I looked back in front of me, and the girl disappeared.
