Just what had her sister gotten herself involved in?
Kori’s entire body visibly tensed. “Is Mackenzie hurt? In danger?”
The heart monitor beat faster, but the woman remained quiet.
“Please?” Kori murmured. “I need to know.”
The beeps quickened again.
Wyatt glanced at the machine by the bed.
The woman’s heart rate continued to climb . Her pulse was far faster now than it had been when they walked in.
“Kori . . .” Wyatt murmured.
But Kori leaned closer, desperation pressing into her voice. “Is she being kept there against her will? Why?”
The woman’s breathing grew shallow. Her eyes darted toward the door as if she expected someone to burst through it at any moment.
“They’ll know,” she whispered again.
The monitor shrilled.
As it did, the door flew open.
Two nurses rushed inside followed by a doctor. Their attention immediately shifted to the woman and the flashing numbers on the monitor.
“Her heart rate’s spiking,” one of the nurses said.
“We need space.” The doctor grabbed a syringe from a nearby tray.
Wyatt stepped back, tugging Kori with him, and led her all the way into the hallway.
Whether she liked it or not, this conversation was done.
Kori stood in the hallway staring at the closed door.
Guilt flashed through her as she realized that she’d pushed the woman too hard. She’d been so close to finding answers andhadn’t wanted the moment to slip away. But it had. And now the woman was in the middle of a medical emergency.
“I didn’t mean to make her heart rate spike.” She rubbed her throat as her voice cracked. “I wasn’t trying to upset her.”
“You didn’t.”
“But her heart rate?—”
“She’s been through something traumatic,” he assured her. “You asking about your sister didn’t cause that.”
Kori rubbed her neck, feeling the tension all over her body. “She knows something. She was about to tell us.”
“She’s obviously frightened,” Wyatt said. “It will take time to break through that.”
Kori’s mind continued to race. “That place we saw in the woods. The compound. She came from there, didn’t she?”
“Most likely.”
“And Mackenzie is there.” The words came out before she could stop them. “What if she’s hurt?”
As if Thunder understood what was happening, he nuzzled her hand.
