Page 70 of Charged By the Razorbacks

No hesitation. No distance left to close.

Just the three of them.

And the future they’d chosen. Together.

Chapter Twelve

“They haven’t moved.”

Naomi dragged her focus toward the nurse, the words cutting through the fog that clung stubbornly to her mind. The room felt too bright, too clean, the steady beep of the monitor beside her a constant reminder that she was here—alive—when she hadn’t expected to be.

“Who hasn’t?” she asked, her voice rough, thinner than she liked.

The nurse adjusted the IV line with practiced care, then glanced toward the closed door. “The men outside your room. They arrived a few hours ago. Haven’t left. Haven’t sat down. Just ... standing there.”

Naomi’s gaze flicked to the door, her body tightening instinctively despite the weakness dragging at her limbs.

“Have they come in?” she asked.

The nurse shook her head. “No. Said they’d stay out there.”

That should have reassured her.

It didn’t.

Her phone buzzed in the nurse’s hand.

“Here,” the nurse said, passing it over.

Naomi’s fingers curled around it, slower than they should have been. “Tamsin?”

“Hey,” Tamsin’s voice came through, steady, grounded. “You awake?”

“Barely,” Naomi muttered, a faint smile tugging at her lips despite everything. “Your timing’s terrible.”

“Yeah, well, you always did like chaos.”

Naomi exhaled softly, some of the tension easing at the sound of her voice. “I’ve got two very large men apparently guarding my door, should I be worried?”

“No,” Tamsin replied without hesitation. “I sent them.”

Naomi closed her eyes briefly in relief. “Okay, thank you.”

“They’re not going anywhere,” Tamsin added.

Naomi believed that.

“How are you feeling?” Tamsin asked.

Naomi hesitated, her gaze drifting to the ceiling as she tried to find a version of the truth that didn’t sound as bad as it felt.

“Fine,” she said.

Silence.

Then—

“Try again.”