“Yeah.” He rubs the back of his neck.
I find fresh sweatpants and slide one leg in, then carefully lift my wounded one, which is already blooming purple around the large wound dressing, and it’s stiff as a motherfucker with swelling.
Smallest price to pay. I would have given a hell of a lot more to ensure Freya’s safety.
God, I need to get over there and see how the baby is.
Rio grabs my boots from the bottom of the bed and puts them next to me and waits to check that I can put them on though he offers no help as he knows I wouldn’t take it.
I tie the last knot in my boot and push myself upright, my leg screaming under the weight. This is going to hurt like a bitch when the adrenaline wears off later.
Doesn’t matter. I’d drag myself across this floor with my teeth if I have to.
Rio watches me. “You need anything else?
“Yeah.” I stand. “To get to Freya.”
He nods once, understanding written in the tight line of his jaw.
I grip the edge of the curtain, shove it aside, and limp into the hallway.
I follow the path of fluorescent lights, hunting for the room that holds my whole damn world.
The distance between us feels like a threat all on its own.
I need eyes on them.
I need proof they’re still safe.
39
I’ve been listeningto the whoosh of the fetal monitor for almost half an hour. It’s the only thing keeping me anchored to the present so the cliff scene doesn’t replay in the back of my mind.
The room is cool, and the air smells faintly of bleach and quiet worry.
The nurse reads the screen on the monitor next to me. “That’s a good trace. Nice and steady. I’ll report this back to the doctor and see how much longer she thinks you need.” She secures the flimsy blanket over my legs and leaves.
Nice and steady.
I cling to those words likethey’re oxygen.
Lara smiles at me. “That’s good news.”
She’s been here since I arrived. Gabriel called her, and Gabriel’s dad, Luis, drove her over so I wouldn’t be alone.
But until the doctor officially takes this monitor off my belly, I can’t shake the worry that something could take a turn. I listen carefully to her rapid, underwater heartbeat. She’s still strong. She was stubborn enough to hang on. I’ll take stubborn—and I’ll remember this moment when she’s sixteen and getting on my last nerve.
I run my hand over my bump.
God, give me stubborn, give me sassy, give me whatever you’ve got…just give me her.
Every nurse and doctor who has come in has been positive and told me how lucky I am,as if I don’t know.
I saw it all with my own eyes. The intent in Mike Ingram’s eyes. The gun in his hand. I felt it all—the gravel sliding, the flexi cuffs biting into my wrists, the ache in my toes as they gripped crumbling earth under my boots.
My calves tighten at the memory, my body still convinced it’s balancing on nothing.
And now, lying here with nothing but time and the monitor, everything sharpens in my mind again.
