Ryan got up and answered the door.
“Nina,” John said as he approached my bed. “We’re all so relieved you’re okay.”
Tears filled my eyes.
“Does my grandmother know?”
“No, we figured we’d let you decide what you want to tell her.”
“Nothing yet. She doesn’t need the extra stress.” I wiped my tears. “Is she doing okay?”
“She’s home and fine. Things happened so fast, we never took her to the home Madi found.”
That’s what Ryan said. It was hard to believe we’d left the SSI office for the safe house less than twelve hours ago.
“Will Austin be okay?”
Sadness filled John’s eyes. “Eventually, though he may walk with a limp for the rest of his life.”
“They wanted to kill him because of me.” More tears filled my eyes and slow-rolled down my cheeks.
“Here.” John handed me a cup of water with a straw. “While you drink, I want you to listen to me.”
I nodded and sucked on the straw.
“None of this is your fault.”
“He’s right,” Ryan said from the other side of my bed.
“Not what happened to your parents. Not what they did to you. Not what they did to Austin.”
More memories came back. The chase. The SSI car going off the road. Ryan getting shot.
My head snapped toward Ryan. “They shot you.”
“They did; two of the three shots hit my vest. The other tore up my arm a bit.”
It was then I noticed that one bicep looked thicker than the other.
“What about Jay, Cate, and AJ?” I asked.
“They’re fine,” John said. “I promise.”
Ryan added, “Once they were out of the chase, they weren’t deemed important enough to kill.”
“Gibson,” John growled.
“Sorry, Nina. If it helps, it’s the same reason they left me in the ditch instead of finishing me off.”
It did, and it didn’t. Everyone who’d helped me had been in danger, and I my guilt piled higher.
“Luckily, John had backup on the way as soon as Cate called in our tail. SSI picked us all up, and we met up with the Shepherd team,” Ryan said, changing the subject.
John’s phone buzzed. After glancing at his screen, he said, “I need to go. I’ll come back later and check on you.”
“Thank you,” I said around a yawn.
Chapter 62
