Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 112398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
She gasped when she placed the last suture, air rushing from her lungs as she sank back for one blink of relief before she was grabbing the stethoscope and placing it over Aria’s heart at the same second that she started throwing out instructions again, looking at Dani first. “I need bandages from the box near the rear of the bed over there, and a blanket.”
Then she turned to me. “Get another bag of blood from the cooler. Pull the tab out of the old one and attach the new. Do you think you can do that?”
“Yeah.” I scooted on my knees on the metal floor to where the cooler was in the corner. I reached in and grabbed one and did as she instructed, fumbling with the tube as I tried to change it as fast as I could. The whole time, she continued to listen to Aria’s heart, inhaling sharp breaths that she tried to keep controlled.
Fear rebounded when I turned around and saw the gloom that colored her face.
Crushing.
Excruciating.
The way whatever was in her eyes sucked the hope out of me.
I moved right back for Aria, taking her hand again and placing my other palm close to the spot where Jill still had the chest piece.
She stilled, frozen, before she whispered, “Don’t move your hand.”
Confused, I asked, “What?”
“Don’t move your hand. I think she feels you. When you touched her, her pulse grew a fraction stronger. It’s not possible, but . . .”
My fingers splayed wider, like I might be able to grip Aria’s spirit and keep it on this plane.
In this reality.
“None of it is possible, though, is it? This? Us? You coming here and knowing what we were going to need? Being here in the exact spot and at the exact moment that we needed it?”
“No,” she murmured as she sat back. Her warm brown eyes searched my face from where she remained kneeling. “No. None of this is possible. But it was too powerful to ignore. It was like I was being called to something. Something that was irresistible, even though I knew it was completely insane and reckless.”
“That’s exactly what it is . . . It’s irresistible,” I agreed.
Dani remained quiet, her gaze jumping between the two of us as she passed a box of large bandages to Jill. “Here.”
“Thank you,” she said.
It must have been the first time Jill really looked at Dani. At her eyes, which were the same color as mine and Aria’s.
So pale they were nearly white.
Otherworldly.
Jill held her gaze for one beat as another layer of acceptance rolled through her before she dug into the box and placed a large bandage that covered half of Aria’s abdomen; then she had Dani help her cover her with the blanket.
“What do we do now?” I asked, my words shards as I uttered them into the sudden silence that took over the van.
Everything was too fucking still after the frenzy.
Disquieting and unnerving.
Jill slumped back against the opposite wall. “We wait.”
I knew exactly what she was implying.
Wait to see if she would heal.
Wait to see if she would survive.
“We should probably get her someplace where it’s warm,” she added.
“Do you think it’s safe to go back to my house?” Worry saturated Dani’s question.
“No place is safe, Dani.” It had been proven time and again, and that threat was only growing. Getting worse with each twisted fuck Ambrose sent our way.
I didn’t know how we were going to survive more of them. If we were even surviving at all. Because without Aria . . .
My throat nearly closed off.
“We should take her back there then,” Dani said.
And hope that no one else comes for her tonight.
I could almost hear her saying it even though she left it off.
“Do you want to leave your car here or drive it back?” I asked.
“I’ll drive it back. I’ll follow you guys.”
“Okay.”
She pulled the latch to the double doors. A cold blast of air gushed in, cut off just as quickly when she jumped out, then secured the doors.
I met Timothy’s eyes through the rearview mirror. His expression was both sharp and soft. Overwhelmed and staunch. A silent promise that we were all in this together.
A second later, he put the van into gear and slowly pulled back onto the road. I remained at Aria’s side, touching her in every place I could, hand still splayed wide over the quiet but steady thud of her heart. Still on my knees, I leaned forward and rested my cheek on her shoulder while Jill’s stare burned into the side of my face.
“What’s happening?” she finally asked, her voice held on a tremulous whisper.
My chest knotted with trepidation over what had transpired tonight.
I was utterly unable to wrap my head around the fact that Kruen had been here. Part of me wanted to ascribe it to some sort of hallucination. That all of it had been a fabrication of our minds.