It tookten frustrating minutes of verification with the Dunn security team before I was allowed access to the hospital waiting room. The formidable Gisela Osterhägen, Jason and Shawn’s mother, sat beside Laurel, clasping her daughter-in-law’s hand.
With everything that had happened, I was probably the last person on Earth she wanted to see, and Laurel’s eyes reflected that for a shadow of a moment.
“How is he?” I asked.
“He is in surgery.” Gisela’s English was heavily accented.
Her face was unemotional, but her hand worried the necklace she wore, and it hinted at the frantic state vibrating below her surface. Her gaze darted to Laurel, who stared at the carpet, looking weary. “He might lose some mobility in the arm, but otherwise, they predict a good recovery.”
“Olivia? Shawn and Kara?”
“He went to give blood for Jason,” Gisela said.
Laurel lifted her focus to me, her blue eyes teeming with worry. “Why did they come after us?”
“I’m not sure.” I hated that I didn’t have an answer for her. “But this will all be over soon, I promise you. No more hiding, no more worrying about your lives being in danger.” After all that I had let Juric do to her... “Ioweyou at least that.”
She shivered, but it felt off. Like maybe she’d done it on purpose. Her attention shifted to her mother-in-law. “Gisela, would you mind seeing if the nurses have a blanket for me? I’d ask, but my German is terrible.”
Gisela rose from her seat and nodded quickly. She seemedalmost pleased about the request, and I understood that. Her son was in surgery, and with nothing to do but wait, she felt powerless. So she was eager to be helpful.
She stepped out of the waiting area, and when the door shut behind her, I was alone with Laurel. Her vibrant blue eyes sharpened as she peered up at me, and my heart thumped painfully in my chest.
“Ethan,” her voice was soft, “I know you did everything you could for me.”
I let out a tight breath, unable to find words.
“I don’t remember all of it,” she continued. “Time bled together. Some of it felt like hours when it was probably minutes, and sometimes I’d blink and it’d suddenly be dark outside.”
“I’m sorry.” The words finally sprang from me. “I’m so fucking sorry.”
“But I remember you staying close. You warned me about the doctor. You let me into his safe.” She reached out, grabbing my hand, gripping it tightly. “You helped me get off the drugs. Plavko saved my life.”
The revulsion at hearing my old cover’s name was like an electrical shock, and I jolted, but she wasn’t deterred.
“I would have died,” she said, “or Juric would have killed me, without you.”
The pain I’d carried in my chest for nearly two years eased a fraction of an inch, so every breath was no longer sharp and debilitating. Now it was merely a dull ache.
“You tried to warn us about the brewery bombing. You saved Kara. You helped Jason. Like I said, you’ve done everything you can.”
“The man responsible for all this?—”
“You’ll get him. I know you will.” Her expression was fierce. “Get him for Jason.”
This was a command I’d follow with pleasure. “Yes, ma’am.”
Gisela returned, unfolded the white blanket she’d received,and draped it over Laurel’s shoulders at the same moment her oldest son and Kara appeared. Shawn’s shirt sleeve was pushed up, a bandage over where he’d had blood drawn, and his hand clasped around his wife’s. They strode toward us, two suits trailing behind them.
But not the woman I’d told to stay with them. “Where’s Olivia?”
“She went downstairs with one of my men to get some air,” Kara said, glancing around. “They’re not back yet?”
I still wasn’t used to the sudden onset of emotion Olivia could give me. “She did what?”
“It seemed like hospitals make her uncomfortable.”
Fuck. Of course they did. “How long have they been gone?”
