Sounds came and went—a roaring engine, voices speaking in urgent tones, the beeping of machines. Occasionally, words would pierce through the fog.
“Core temperature 92.3.” … “Start warm saline.” … “Moderate hypothermia.”
I floated in and out of consciousness, never quite surfacing completely. Sometimes I felt hands on me, clinical and efficient—other times, a warm pressure around my fingers that felt like someone holding my hand.
And then, more clearly than anything else, a small voice called to me. “Wake up, Mommy. Please wake up.”
Nora. My baby needed me.
I fought against the heavy blanket of unconsciousness with renewed determination. Slowly, painfully, I clawed my way back to the surface. My eyelids felt weighted with lead, but I forced them open.
I winced at the bright lights as the ceiling came into focus, then I heard a beeping monitor. Hospital. I was in a hospital.
I tried to turn my head and immediately regretted it as pain shot through my neck and shoulders. A small groan escaped my lips.
“Mom?” Nora’s face appeared above me, her eyes wide and red-rimmed from crying. “She’s awake! Jake, she’s awake!”
“Hey, baby,” I managed, my throat felt raw, as if I’d swallowed broken glass. Trying to lift my hand to touch her face, my arm felt like it was made of lead, and that’s when I noticed an IV tube snaking from my wrist to a bag hanging beside the bed.
“Don’t try to move too much,” a deep voice cautioned, and Jake stepped into view. He looked worse than Nora—pale and drawn, with dark circles under his eyes, his hair disheveled. “You’re going to be pretty weak.”
Memories crashed back—the ice cracking beneath me, the freezing water closing over my head, the desperate struggle to find the surface. My dreamlike state, then just darkness. “How long?” I croaked.
“About twelve hours,” Jake said, moving closer to the bed. “It’s morning now.”
I glanced around, taking in the hospital room, the monitoring equipment, and the warming blankets wrapped around me. “What happened? After I... after the ice...”
Jake and Nora exchanged a glance, someunspoken communication passing between them. It struck me how comfortable they seemed with each other, how naturally they moved in each other’s space.
“Jake saved you,” Nora said solemnly, her small hand finding mine on the blanket. “He jumped in the water and pulled you out. Then Uncle Declan started pushing on your chest to make you breathe again while Jake breathed into your mouth.”
I looked at Jake, really looked at him. His clothes were different—hospital scrubs instead of his usual flannel and jeans. There was a raw intensity in his eyes that I’d never seen before.
“You went in after me,” I whispered.
He shrugged, as if diving into freezing water was nothing. “Couldn’t very well leave you down there.”
A nurse appeared, smiling at me when she saw that I was awake. “Well, look who’s decided to join us! How are you feeling, Ella?”
“Like I’ve been hit by a truck,” I admitted.
She nodded sympathetically as she checked my vitals. “That’s to be expected after what you’ve been through. Your temperature is almost back to normal, which is excellent news. The doctor will want to examine you now that you’re awake.”
As she bustled about, adjusting my IV and making notes in a chart, I looked beyond her to the doorway, where another figure stood watching.Mikhail.
His eyes met mine across the room. He stood motionless in the doorway, hands in his pockets, something unreadable in his expression. For a moment, I was transported back to his yacht in Cyprus when I’d planted the explosives.
Jake followed my gaze, his shoulders tensing when he spotted Mikhail. The air in the room shifted it felt charged, like it does before a storm.
“Nora, honey,” the nurse said, “why don’t we go get some hot chocolate while the doctor checks on your mom? I bet you’re hungry.
Nora looked hesitant, her fingers tightening around mine. “I want to stay with Mom.”
“It’s okay, sweetie,” I assured her, my voice still rough. “I’m not going anywhere. And Jake will stay with me, won’t you?”
Jake nodded, his eyes never leaving Mikhail. “I’ll be right here.”
Nora considered this, then leaned forward to kiss my cheek. “Promise you won’t go to sleep again?”
