When she approached the bed to examine him, Troy's eyes fluttered beneath closed lids. Elizabeth believed patients could hear despite all signs pointing the other way. "I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Dr. Beth Reed. I promise, no one is going to hurt you here. I'm going to examine you. I'll go slow."
Elizabeth placed a cool washcloth on his fevered brow. His body was so ill, his heart rate increased at her every touch. "Troy, I'm going to carry you off the mountain. I'm Farmer's friend." She waited for his heart rate to slow a little. She wasn't sure if he understood anything she said.
Kenny returned to find her holding Troy's hand. "Kenny, keep up the ice packs for his face. If his temp goes over 103, add ice packs to his voids and have the nurse wake Dr. Hedges. And one more thing, if you need to leave the room, make sure he isn't alone with the guards."
Julian stepped in stride with her as she walked to the nurse's station and logged into a computer to write her note. "Julian, when I’m finished, I'd like to visit Austin and Lola." Julian's gaze burned through her back as she typed her assessment of Troy.
Josh Stone, posing as CO Sonny Noone, and Sergeant Alden McAllister walked Martin down an endless corridor, then down a flight of metal stairs. "Home." They stopped in front of a cell. One bunk, sink, desk, built-in chair and a metal toilet.
"Welcome to the hole. This is for your protection. Chow is at 16:45 through the slot. You get one hour of recreation a day. Lights out are at 21:00. Here's the inmate manual. Memorize it." McAllister shoved it into Martin's gut, and with a hard push backward, the door slammed shut.
McAllister's snicker reverberated. Martin sat and read the manual. Losing track of time, he jumped when something banged on the door and a tray was slid through the slot. The dinner was sliced turkey roll and American cheese on a bun, chips, a chocolate chip muffin and enriched fruit punch. He managed to force down the meal to stay nourished, hydrated—and alive.
Lola cried on Seth's shoulder as Kieran washed his hands and pulled on a gown and gloves. "Hey, little one, I'm Uncle Kieran." His voice sounded sweet, "Your Daddy loves you." With her cradled in his arms, he swayed back and forth. Two big, teary blue eyes stared at him.
Kieran's voice took on a singsong quality, "Brady, if anyone tries to take her anywhere before the guardianship paperwork is signed, shoot them. We need to protect Elizabeth. We removed her name as Lola's next of kin, replacing it with mine. Uncle Kieran is going to fix this, baby girl." Kieran pressed two fingers to his lips and placed them against her pink hat.
Tighe sat coloring with Lissa when Joyce and Tucker walked into her room. The little girl looked to Tighe, who reassured her with his smile.
"Hi, Dr. Joyce. Do you want to color too?" She held up a crayon for Tucker. "You gonna help Dr. Kat and Dr. Joyce? I has to have another operation."
"I’ll be there. My name is Tuck."
"Tuck, Dr. Joyce has Cinderella hair."
His cornflower blue eyes sparkled. "She does, and you have Snow White hair.” He crouched to her eye level. “Lissa, we need some help. Can you tell us about Uncle Boyd?"
"Daddy told me Uncle Boyd was gonna babysit. Daddy went to find Mommy. Uncle Boyd lives in a castle with a tall fence with sharp points. We watched Dora and ate macaroni and cheese. I played with my dolly. Do you know where she is?"
"No, sweetie. I'm sorry," Tucker said.
"It's okay, Uncle Tighe got me this one."
"She's a beautiful dolly. After you had macaroni and cheese, what happened?" Tucker asked.
Her shoulders shrugged, and she leaned toward Tighe.
"I know it’s scary to talk about," Tighe said.
Lissa pulled the covers over her head. "Uncle Boyd said I would have to sleep in the cage with snakes if I told."
Tucker controlled his expression. "We won't let that happen, Lissa."
"Can I come under there with you?" Lissa picked up a corner for Tighe to join her. "Look what I have." He flipped on his flashlight. "This is our safe space, Lissa. Our scary things can stay in here."
"You have scary things?" Lissa's eyes widened.
"Yes. So do Dr. Joyce and Tuck." Tighe raised his shirt. "A bad person gave me this booboo."
Lissa touched a white scar on Tighe's flank. "Does it hurt?"
"No, sweet girl. It doesn't hurt anymore. My friends fixed it and made sure the bad person would never hurt me or anyone else again."
Lissa leaned in and whispered, "Dr. Joyce and Tuck are your friends? They will help keep the bad people away?" Tighe nodded. "Okay."
Tighe's face said it all when he lifted the sheet off his head. "Dr. Joyce and Tuck, will you come in our tent? Lissa is going to tell us about the bad people, and I promised her my friends would make sure they never hurt her or anyone again."
Lissa held Tighe's hand as his stomach tied into knots. "Uncle Boyd said we were having a party. I got to wear a yellow dress. We had soda, and I watched TV. Uncle Boyd carried me into a big room. There were toys and some other kids and some ladies in princess dresses. We had more soda."
