“Hey.”
I lean closer immediately.
“Don’t do that.”
A weak breath leaves her. “Bossy…”
“Yeah.”
Her fingers twitch against the ground beside her.
Then pain suddenly hits her full force.
I see it happen.
Her body locks tight.
A broken sound catches in her throat.
And her hand grabs fistfuls of my shirt hard enough to wrinkle the fabric beneath my vest.
I still instantly.
Her fingers stay curled there like she’s anchoring herself.
“Easy,” I murmur.
She shakes her head once, barely. “Hurts…”
“I know.”
Blood coats Hannah’s gloves while she works near Olivia’s ribs.
“We need to remove the fragment,” Hannah says quietly. “It’s lodged deep enough we can’t leave it.”
Stephen grimaces. “No anesthetic.”
Of course not.
Olivia lets out a weak laugh that sounds more exhausted than amused. “Fantastic.”
I reach for her hand before she can start shaking again.
Her fingers lock around mine immediately.
Strong despite the blood loss.
Despite the pain.
“Look at me,” I tell her.
She does.
God.
That almost wrecks me.
Because she trusts me enough to look.
