I blinked. “What does that mean?”
Megan rubbed my shoulder. “It means they got the sucker, babe.”
Dr. Palmer. “Although up to twenty percent of WPW patients may require an additional ablation to keep their symptoms under control, there is still a strong likelihood that once you recover, your heart will function normally.” When I still stared at him blankly, he nodded at Megan and my dad. “In other words, your friend is correct. We got the sucker.”
By the time he was finished, I was shaking. Not because of a chill, but out of shock.
Just like that, the condition I’d been living with for years was gone. My fears remained, but slowly, they would realize they didn’t need to stay.
Why had I waited so long to do this?
And what must Ronan—oh, God, Ronan.
I turned to Megan. “What happened to?—?”
“In a second.” Like any good best friend, she knew exactly what I was thinking. “Doctor, do you need anything else?”
Dr. Palmer shook his head. “I’ll come back in about an hour to check on you before I leave for the night. Just get some rest and recover, Laney.”
Only after he left did Dad and Megan turn to me.
“Honey,” my dad started.
“Where. Is. He?” My voice was still croaky, but stronger now.
“I—” Megan looked genuinely uneasy. “We don’t know. The detective brought him to the squad car while the other two police were working on you. He was going crazy. I called the police after you went into surgery, and they wouldn’t tell us anything. Laney, whoa, you can’t get out of bed.”
Again, it took my IV line tugging on my hand again to remind me that I had to stay put. “We have to call Liam Kelly.”
“Who’s that?” Dad wondered.
“Ronan’s best friend,” I said. “And we should probably call his brother, Brendan, too. I have his girlfriend’s number in my phone, I think, and?—”
“That won’t be necessary.”
The three of us turned to greet two new visitors who had entered the room: Liam Kelly… and Owen Black.
“Oh, hi. Owen, isn’t it? Good to see you again.” Dad stood to offer handshakes to both men. “Hi, I’m Jan Fisher, Laney’s father.”
“Liam Kelly. Pleasure.”
Owen, looking uncertain, turned to me. “Laney?—”
“You should not be here,” Megan cut in. “This is a space for recovery, and it’s almost midnight?—”
“It’s also a place that’s willing to break the rules for large donations,” Liam said, more than a little wryly.
I looked between the two men, both of whom held the same posture that Ronan had in places like these—one built on the knowledge that the rules for regular people didn’t apply to them. Even with a bruised face and a nose brace, Owen still managed to look like he expected to get his way, and Liam, even if he wasn’t a part of the family, was close enough to them that he had learned their mannerisms and posture. In fact, right now, he kind of resembled them.
But while Ronan typically walked a fine line between arrogant and charming, Owen and Liam were just plain on the wrong side of it.
Still, I knew there was no use in arguing.
“Fine,” I said. “You’re here. Do you know where Ronan is?”
Liam and Owen exchanged glances, then cast another awkward glance at Megan and my dad.
Megan seethed, but Dad stood. “Megan, let’s give them some privacy to talk. Get some tea and see if Laney can have some ice chips.” He turned to me. “You all right, kiddo?”
