“Don’t.” Pilar held her close. “Don’t say it. Don’t think it.”
Harmony could only breathe, a fight against the fear that was settled in her chest.
“My boy told me about you, Harmony. He told me how much he cares… and I’m not going to say the words he wants to say to you because I know…” she drew in a breath, “I know he’s going to be fine and then he’s going to tell you himself. So you hold onto that, Harmony, my sweet girl. You hold onto that thought.”
Okay… okay.
“Thanks, Mama.”
“Awww… that’s my girl.”
Her girl?
All at once, Harmony was inundated with warmth.
“Harmony?”
She looked up and saw that Roan Ashley had returned to the waiting room.
Pilar and Kate helped her stand up and Harmony held up the phone, telling the trauma doctor. “I have Crois’ mama on the phone.”
Roan held out his hand and she gave the phone over to him.
“The surgery is going well. They’re finishing up now and then they’ll move him into recovery.” He smiled at the assembled group. “The surgeons give you a lot of credit Harmony. What you did for him in the field made all the difference.”
Pilar turned her and pulled her into an embrace. “Did you hear that, Harmony?” Pilar drew in a shaking breath. “You saved him.”
If Pilar hadn’t been holding her, she would have folded and dropped to the floor in relief.
In Crois’ private hospital room, Harmony refused to leave his side.
She had no official reason to be there with him. They weren’t married, but no one questioned her presence. That had to be one of the odd perks of working for the first responder community in Center City.
There was a steady stream of visitors from both the fire house and the police precinct.
The later for a few reasons.
While Captain Catalano had not shown up to the room, there had been a few official representatives to he CCPD. Kate had headed them off at the pass with a rather sunny representative from the Police Union. A woman who gave off the energy of a Valkyrie. Her name was Tess and she had a rather dim view of the circumstances of the… of Crois’ injury.
Even in her head, Harmony couldn’t bear to say the words.
As Harmony settled into the chair beside his hospital bed, she went over the conversation she’d just had with the Union Rep.
Tess had shown up with Kate, entering the room with a take out bag from Peggy Ann’s diner and a drink tray with some strong black coffee.
Kate had begun the discussion with her normal straight forward aplomb.
She’d even brought over a folder full of information on the arrest of Veronica and the Captain’s efforts to sweep it under the rug.
As Tess went over the file, her expression went from alarmed to downright frightening.
“This is ridiculous.”
Kate had nodded, leaning over the arm of her chair as she pointed out another note in the file. “There was the incident at Crois’ apartment which is why we believe that Veronica focused on Harmony.”
Wait. What?
That’s when Kate filled her in on what had happened after the shooting.
