Page 74 of Sloane

I bit back a sob as he continued, “He was in an explosion and injured pretty badly. They airlifted him to Germany, and he’s in surgery now, but that’s all I know.”

My mind raced, and I immediately went into crisis mode.

“Where in Germany?”

“The trauma unit at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. It’s—”

I cut him off. In my mind, I was trying to remember where my passport was.

“Do you know the closest airport?”

His tone was kind but firm. “Ash, you can’t fly over there. Not yet, anyway.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’d be a wasted trip. They won’t let you see him, and because you’re not immediate family or listed as his emergency contact, they won’t even give you an update on his condition.”

“I can’t just sit here and wait, Craig.”

“I’m sorry, honey. But that’s exactly what you’re going to have to do.”

Crisis mode—having something to fix, I could do. It would keep my mind busy. But sitting around doing nothing while the man I loved was injured halfway around the world?

I wasn’t sure I could do that.

Like Tom Petty said, the waiting is the hardest part.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Ashley

True to his word, Craig called me the next morning with an update on Sloane’s condition. It was a good thing I was sitting on the edge of my bed, otherwise I might have fallen over.

Tammy, who’d insisted on spending the night so I wouldn’t be alone, took one look at my face, took the phone from my hand, and hit the speaker button.

“Hey, Craig, it’s Tammy. I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

“Hi, Tammy. I was just telling Ashley what I know. A squad of Sloane’s men were in a vehicle that hit a roadside bomb. Sloane was part of the rescue mission, and his Humvee was hit by an RPG. Three men in the vehicle were seriously injured and one didn’t make it.”

“How is Sloane?”

“He lost his left leg below the knee.”

I let out a deep breath. It wasn’t the best news, but he was strong. He could come back from that and live a totally normal life. I saw it happen every day.

Then Craig continued. “And the entire left side of his body suffered third and fourth-degree burns. He was pinned under a hunk of metal from the destroyed Humvee, so that saved his right side, but it meant his left side was completely exposed to the fire while he was trapped.”

With my hand over my mouth, I ran to the bathroom and puked the leftover pizza I’d had for breakfast as tears streamed down my cheeks. I couldn’t imagine the pain he’d gone through.

After a deep breath, I quickly rinsed my face, swished some mouthwash in my mouth, then went back to hear what else Craig had to say.

Tammy’s voice was low while she told him, “Please let her know the second you hear anything.”

“You have my word.”

“Can I go see him now?” I called out before Craig had a chance to hang up.

“I’m afraid not. They put him in a medically induced coma before he was able to give permission for any visitors not listed in his file.”

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