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At the entrance of the building, she turned to see who had called her name. Ash was waving a hand toward her. She looked to where he was pointing and saw a man carrying another man over his shoulders. The closer he got, the clearer he became. It was Liam, carrying a man in a fireman’s uniform.
Seeming to move in slow motion, Aubrey ran as hard as she could. Two firemen pulled the man off Liam’s shoulders. The instant he was free, Aubrey hurled herself at him. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face against her neck. “I thought I’d lost you.”
“And I thought I’d lost you,” she sobbed.
“I—”
He wobbled on his feet, and Aubrey pulled away. “Liam?” She glanced at his shirt and realized it was soaked with blood. He had lost all color, and the strangest expression crossed his face a second before he collapsed at her feet.
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
Surrounded by seven OZ operatives, Aubrey sat in the hospital’s small waiting room. How could it be that just over a week ago she’d been in this same place, watching Becca take her last breath and then, only an hour later, seeing Uncle Syd take his?
And now this.
This couldn’t be happening. Not now. Not to Liam.
He was in surgery. The knife had nicked his liver, possibly his intestine. He’d lost a lot of blood. Doctors couldn’t believe that he’d walked out of the building on his own, much less that he’d carried a man on his back.
That man was now in the morgue. He’d died on the way to the hospital. Aubrey didn’t care about him. His intention had been to kill her. Instead, he might’ve killed Liam.
No! Her mind silently screamed the word. She had lost almost everyone she loved. She couldn’t lose him. Please God, please. She couldn’t lose him.
“Here, drink this.”
Dry-eyed, she looked up at Eve, who for the first time since she’d known her, looked exhausted and worn out.
“I don’t think I can drink any more caffeine.”
“It’s green tea. Decaf. I carry it with me wherever I go. It’s good. Will give you some energy. Try it.”
Taking the cup, Aubrey sipped and felt the warmth permeate her being. It was good, but nothing was going to make her feel better. Not until the surgeon walked through those doors and told her that Liam was going to be okay. That was the only way she was ever going to be able to function again. Liam had to live.
“Hey.”
She looked up to see Serena coming toward her. All the other operatives had been in the waiting room
with her, but Serena had been somewhere else.
She dropped down into a chair beside Aubrey. “How you holding up?”
Unable to articulate the agony she was experiencing, she just shook her head.
Wrapping an arm around Aubrey’s shoulders, Serena hugged her. “Have faith. You and Liam were brought back together again for a reason. It wasn’t for this.”
A tendril of hope unfurled within her. Serena was right. There was no logical reason that they should have found each other again. But they had. She had to believe it wasn’t just so she could watch him die. They were meant for more than this.
“Thank you.”
“I know you’re hurting and you’re exhausted, but I need you to do me a favor.”
“What?”
“I need you to look at the guy who tried to kill you.”
“Why?”
Serena held her phone up in front of Aubrey’s face. “Because I think you might know him.”
